New York City Staten Island

The “forgotten borough” felt so neglected that it voted to secede in 1993. Nothing doing, obviously, so Staten Island remains a somewhat oddball inclusion in New York City. It's closer to New Jersey and feels it—you'd be hard-pressed to distinguish between the two, what with the island's crowded beaches, cluttered homes, and general feel of intensified suburbia. Though the famous Staten Island Ferry (still the borough's most famous “landmark”) began linking the island to Manhattan in 1713, this black sheep of the city wasn't incorporated until 1898. It remained a fairly isolated, undeveloped immigrant-heavy community until 1964, when the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge linked the island to Brooklyn and sparked a population and housing explosion. Today, many green spaces, including the enormous Fresh Kills Park to the east, fight for space with crowded neighborhoods.

Without a Subway system, you'll most likely have to rely on buses to get around—they all leave from the ferry terminal, making coordination fairly easy. Though there's nothing too aesthetically pleasant about the surroundings, several unique museums and cultural spaces should make a journey beyond the Staten Island Ferry terminal worth your while.