10 TRAVEL QUESTIONS WITH MYLES TOE

 

 

With so much of travel, sadly, being just about making new Instagram videos, there are legions of self-called “travel journalists.” But how many are honest in what they say, and not just pandering to their hosts who comped them? And how many are funny about it? 

 

From Brooklyn to Salt Lake City to Baltimore, comedian Myles Toe can be counted on to define a destination in refreshing, hysterical short-form travel videos on social media. His biggest following is on Instagram.

 

Myles knows how to review a place. Boston is New York’s “little, angry, perpetually drunk, and bitter Irish cousin” and New York City’s own Lower East Side is “the tale of two cities shoved into the same five blocks.” And no review is complete without his brutally raw commentary on the natives. His ability to mercilessly — and validly — clock an area’s behavioral trends is clear through posts about “Hinge dates from Bushwick”, and the leather pants-wearing “parasites” found in a Lower East Side bar on any given night. 

 

Our man does not suffer fools lightly.

 

 

 

 

Originally from Baltimore but now based in New York, Myles’ travel diaries combine his stand-up comedy training with travel reporting that makes viewers laugh out loud. 

 

His followers flood his posts’ comments, begging him to come rip their area next. 

 

Because who else would call New York’s Myrtle Ave/Broadway subway station “the Bermuda Triangle of Brooklyn, the Bangladesh of Bushwick, and the Sistine Chapel of poor life choices?”

 

 

 

 

What inspired your brutal review style?

 

I was traveling with my ex-girlfriend to her hometown in South Dakota, and it was my first time in the Midwest, so I had no idea what it was like. And they had this weird little touristy hut with a sign that said “Al’s Liquor and Meat.” I thought that was so funny. I was like, this is your tourist thing? Your cultural gift to the world is Al’s liquor and meat? That’s ridiculous. 

 

I was like, what if I do a documentary just on this place and how it relates as a whole to this entire state. So I did that, and then I put it up, and it worked, and I forgot about it. 

 

And then I was in Williamsburg just walking around, and this guy pissed me off. I was like, “I hate this place.” This guy represents everything wrong with Williamsburg. So I was like, let me film something. Then that one went super viral, so I was gonna keep doing it, because it’s fun.

 

 

 

 

How do you decide where to go? 

 

I go wherever I feel like. I’ll wake up one day and I’ll be, “I’m gonna go to Hoboken.” It’s completely random.

 

I don’t like people telling me what to do, so whenever someone says, “You should come to my neighborhood,” I’m like, “Okay, I’m never going there.” 

 

 

Is New York as close to perfect as possible, since you chose to live there?

 

No, it’s absolutely not as close to perfect as possible. New York’s a shithole. Perfection is so hard to achieve. Where is there a perfect place on this entire planet? Besides, I don’t know, Copenhagen?

 

 

What’s the best area of New York?

 

The most authentic New York neighborhood is currently Bushwick. It’s full of people that are totally from New York. None of them are from elsewhere. And Bushwick is New York. Can you put this in writing and say I said this? “There’s really no other authentic area in New York City compared to Bushwick.”

 

 

 

 

Where have you liked?

 

Park Slope was nice. Hoboken, NJ was really decent. I went outside the main city, next to the PATH train. I said, this is a beautiful neighborhood. If I had money, this would be a place to settle down.

 

Salem, Massachusetts is always fun, and I love Boston. That was a great place to visit. And they loved my video, they were really into it.

 

 

What’s your criteria for a good place?

 

If the working class person is having a good time, it’s a great area. If the working class person does not enjoy the neighborhood and can’t afford to live there, that means there’s such a disconnect between the wealth that it’s uninviting and it’s not going to be fun. 

 

 

What are the worst places you’ve visited?

 

Williamsburg and Greenpoint in Brooklyn. There’s no culture there. It’s monochrome bullshit. It’s literally people who crave this separate culture from New York that is exclusive and boring. They all suck.

 

 

Favorite area of Brooklyn?

 

Bed–Stuy [Bedford-Stuyvesant]. Even though it’s turning into a gentrified mess, it still is a nice area. It’s beautiful, and it’s Black, and it’s fucking great food, and I like block parties and brownstones.

 

 

Where are you looking forward to visiting?

 

I definitely want to make a video about Harlem. I’m waiting for my mom to come up, because she loves Harlem and I want to film with her there. I also haven’t gone to the Bronx yet. People keep begging me to go to the Bronx.

 

 

What’s next?

 

When I went to Park Slope, I [saw] these three, very odd, very community-based businesses, with this whole drive towards helping the community and giving back. That’s beautiful and I want to promote it. 

 

New York is a community-based place. It’s all about social networks and people helping people. But that’s also what makes an area shitty — when you see people being individuals instead of being a community. So I decided I was going to help people who are based in the community, who’ve been here forever and who are trying to grow their businesses in a world that doesn’t want more community.