They’ll be there for you.
Friends was, and still is, one of the most iconic television shows of all time and will almost certainly possess that reputation for many years to come. The show was set in good old New York City and while you’d think that would have played a key role in proceedings, we’re not so sure it did.
Today, we want to take a look at a few reasons why Friends didn’t really do all that much when it came to wanting us to make the move to the Big Apple - and on the flip side, we’ll also look at how it did.
DID - The Apartments
While it may just be a case of fans having their own personal attachment, it’s hard not to fall in love with the apartments that we’ve seen in Friends over the years.
From Monica & Rachel’s place to Joey & Chandler’s to Ross’ new apartment and beyond, even though we know they’re nothing more than ‘stages’, these locations are still supposed to be set in New York City.
The popular opinion is that all NYC apartments are too small, but these seem spacious enough for one or two people at the very least.
DIDN’T - Concrete Jungle
Aside from the game of football the gang played and Ross’ game of rugby, there aren’t all too many instances in which there was a lot of grass on display in Friends.
In real life you’ve got Central Park which fills the nature quota quite nicely, but everyone is aware of the fact that New York City is a concrete jungle. That’s perfectly fine for those of us who are interested in the hustle and bustle associated with such a lifestyle, but it may be a little bit too gritty for some.
DID - Chandler Enjoys NYC
One of the more amusing segments of the tenth season comes when Chandler and Monica decide to take Erica on a tour of New York City to see the sights and sounds.
In the end, though, it’s Chandler who gets caught up in the madness of actually embracing the city. It’s as if this is one of the few major advertisements of NYC throughout the show’s entire run, and props need to go to Matthew Perry for selling it so well.
From the Statue of Liberty to the cheesy t-shirts, they nailed it.
DIDN’T - Ross’ Travel Ordeal
In an episode where Ross has to choose between dating a girl he really likes who lives up in Poughkeepsie and dating a girl he isn’t all too fond of from right uptown, we get an interesting picture of what the travel situation is like in Manhattan and beyond.
New York is a very big state and getting from place to place can be incredibly difficult. While it’s all fictional it does paint a very real picture of what it’s like to commute in and out of the city every day, and beyond that, they don’t make the subway look particularly appealing whenever they show it either.
DID - Seemingly Great Coffee
New York is known for great food from pizza to bagels and beyond, and they should be commended for that – with Joey alone proving to the masses that you can find a good pizza there.
With the coffee, though, it’s pretty clear to see that it’s good, seeing as the gang goes to the same coffee shop day after day after day.
Central Perk is a place we’d all love to visit if only because of the outstanding legacy it has been able to create for this show and the millions of viewers who adore it.
DIDN’T - Not Seeing Much Of The City
A show like How I Met Your Mother succeeds where Friends fails in one very important aspect: they make you fall in love with New York City.
A big part of that comes as a result of Ted Mosby’s job as an architect, but in general, HIMYM appears to be one big love letter to the city that many consider to be the greatest on Earth. On the flip side, there are many times where it can be easy to forget which American city Friends is located in at all.
DID - Incredibly Sociable
If there’s one ‘vibe’ that comes off of Friends being based in NYC, it’s that the city is a really, really sociable place.
People hang out together every single night and they do so without much worry about what’s happening the next day or what other plans they’ve got, mainly because they’re all situated on this one island.
Arranging to meet up with your pals comes as second nature to people who live there, and the show is able to portray that really accurately from the first season until the very last.
DIDN’T - The Mugging Cult
The fact that Phoebe as a mugger didn’t cause too many alarm bells to go off in itself, but when it soon becomes clear that there are more than a few lingering around the city, it can get a bit worrisome.
The fiction translates to real life quite well because if you don’t know the right areas or streets to walk down late at night, you could find yourself in a spot of bother.
While there may not be a ‘cult’ exactly, there’s definitely an issue with crime that needs to be resolved.
DID - The City That Never Sleeps
If the gang is able to prove one thing it is this: New York City truly is the city that never sleeps with the sights and sounds often serving as overwhelming proof that you have to be on the money 24/7 in a place like NYC.
The main six characters often stay up late, have lots of fun and laughs and generally embrace the city’s reputation for being as crazy as it is non-stop.
Even their jobs don’t seem to end on a typical 9-5 schedule, and that’s the sort of grind New York is known for.
DIDN’T - Monica, Chandler & Joey Leaving
While we don’t know for sure what the future of Ross, Rachel & Phoebe was going to be in the immediate aftermath of the final episode, one thing we do know to be true is that Monica, Chandler and Joey all left New York City.
Monica & Chandler decided to move upstate as they didn’t want to raise a child in the city, whereas Joey flew off to Los Angeles in order to further his career as an actor.
Despite being so loyal to the city for so long, these three characters alone proved that the glamour of NYC doesn’t last forever.
