Living on Staten Island isn't always enjoyable, but it does have its perks. I've lived on Staten Island practically my whole life. While I have traveled to Florida, New Jersey, Italy, and Switzerland, Staten Island is my home, and always will be. Staten Island is known for the famous accents, being a place to transit drugs between New Jersey and the rest of the city, and for its dominant Italian population. Obviously, almost none of that is really positive, maybe the Italian thing is! This is a joke, please don't get insulted my fellow Staten islanders! I promise I have the answer to, "What makes Staten Island great?"
The food
Staten Island has some of the absolute best places to eat in my opinion, and it also has a different food options from many cultures.We have: Italian, Vietnamese, Japanese, Tex-Mex, Spanish, Middle Eastern breakfast, desserts, and many more restaurants to eat at. Basically, we have something for every craving. Also, if you don't know what to eat tonight read this article .
The history
Staten Island is literally full of history. Just to name a few of our most historic and interesting sites: Richmond Town, Snug Harbor, North Shore Railroad--PM Winston Churchill was the railroads' most famous customer, the conference house, the infamous Freshkills landfill, and Willowbrook.
The people
Staten Island is full of culturally diverse people. Many people on Staten Island have family roots here, and if they don't they were raised here for the majority of their life. Staten Island is home to some interesting individuals. You're also bound to know a guy who knows a guy who also knows a guy that you know because Staten Island is really that small.
Easy transportation
I know I'm a frequent commuter so I really despise the public transportation on Staten Island, but we should all really be thankful. We have an accessible railway system that connects St.George all the way to Tottenville and a ferry to Manhattan. We also have bridges connecting us to Brooklyn and New Jersey! How convenient!
Entertainment
I'm guilty of saying there's nothing to do on Staten Island, but there shockingly is a lot to do. Staten Island has many options of entertainment. We have newly redesigned cinemas, the Staten Island Zoo, St. George Theater, multiple bowling places, Christmas tree lightings, and various bars and nightlife.
New additions to entertainment include Fly High Indoor Trampoline and Escape the Room: Staten Island.
Access to numerous parks
We're lucky we're not like the rest of the city, in the fact that we have access to numerous parks and all of them are quite beautiful. A nice contribution to our park system is the redesigned landfill; however, I'm not sure how keen I am on visiting.
The famous people
Yes, we do have stars born and bred in Staten Island. Christina Aguilera, Steve Augeri, Bobby Flay, the cast of Impractical Jokers, and Alyssa Milano just to name a few. We also are home to Pete Davidson, who is considered famous due to his current role on SNL; however, he really despises Staten Island and denounces it constantly. Just a side note, if I was famous and came from Staten Island I would bring attention to our drug epidemic, and not how Staten Island is "New York's abortion that lived." How tasteless.
The new wheel and mall upgrades
We're getting a huge Ferris wheel that will overlook the city and a ton of awesome outlets. The mall is also renovating and adding on a Shake Shack and a David Busters!
All in all Staten Island can actually be pretty awesome sometimes. I'm thankful for being raised on an Island that is so close to Manhattan, but feels like another world when you're there. Staten Island is my home, and I am proud to be from the forgotten borough. I may not always be proud and I may complain, but Staten Island has made me.
