Queens is the best part of New York and probably the world

Last year, the Lonely Planet crowned Queens the top travel destination in the US. And yeah, sure, we were closely followed by Western South Dakota, but we reveled in the victory.

Queens isn’t your typical front-runner like Manhattan. We’ve always been the silent hero type. A silent hero who houses the New York Mets, the US Open, the iconic unisphere in Flushing Meadow Park, food from every area of the world and most refreshing of all, down to earth people. Queens is home, and in our hearts we’ve always known it is the best one of all.

We are literally the most diverse place in the world

Universities love to brag about their diversity, but let’s just say none of them hold a candle to a school bus in Queens. We grew up with kids from China, Guyana and Ukraine and most of us speak a language other than English at home. We made friends who observed Ramadan, Easter, Rosh Hashanah and holidays you’ve never even heard of (shout out to my Unitarian Universalist friends). We danced awkwardly at bar mitzvahs and exchanged red envelopes with our classmates on Chinese New Year. Queens is the best representation of what America is supposed to be – a place where all the cultures of the world come together.

So obviously, our food is on point

From dim sum, bubble tea and Korean BBQ in Flushing (move over, Chinatown) to the delicious Greek bakeries in Astoria and all the Halal guys out there who give us life, we’ll never leave Queens hungry. We’ll soon be the first NYC location for the Cheesecake Factory, and we’ll always have our local legends like Cherry Valley in Whitestone and the retro Eddie’s Sweet Shop in Forest Hills.

We churn out heroes

Queens is full of characters – which apparently, builds character. Some of the coolest people in the world have roots in Queens. Rappers 50 Cent, Nicki Minaj, LL Cool J and Nas grew up here. Directors Martin Scorsese and Judd Apatow. Authors Jack Kerouac and Dale Carnegie. Broadway star Idina Menzel and actress Lucy Liu. Former first lady Nancy Reagan. The late Justice Antonin Scalia. Before Estée Lauder was a makeup brand, the woman herself had her humble beginnings in Corona.

Sure, we’ve also had our share of shady characters, like mob boss John Gotti or Bernie Madoff, who pleaded guilty to one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in history. And of course, Donald Trump grew up here, too.

But we also have Adrien Brody and Spiderman.

There’s a lot going on

We’re home to the mighty New York Mets, the US Open and the Warm Up summer music series at MoMa PS. 1, which has quickly become a New York staple. We’ve got the coolest accurate panorama of the city in the Queens Museum. We also have both NYC airports – LaGuardia and JFK – so we’re basically the noble gatekeepers of the city.

We’ve got the best of both worlds

We can get into the hustle and bustle of Manhattan quickly – and we can escape it just as fast. We’re part of the city that never sleeps, but we personally won’t be kept awake by loud bars and taxis whizzing around outside out window in the middle of the night. We are all the comfort of a country home with all the excitement of the city.

We’re pretty down to earth

We may not be as glamorous as other boroughs, but we also haven’t been overrun by hipsters who’ve ruined it for everyone. Instead we’ve got the real MVPs – elderly grandparents from every corner of the world – and they’re all right.