Getting around New York City as a solo traveller

As someone whose absolutely terrible with directions and lacks any instinct for bearings I was more nervous than usual for heading to New York on my own. I was worried I’d get stuck on an endless circle of subways without any clue where I was and no internet connection to find my way around. I flew into JFK and the Air Train is really easy to hop on and takes you to the Howard Beach train station. There you can buy a Metrocard that can be used on any train or bus throughout New York and is really easy to top up at the subway/train kiosks. I was really impressed by the train system in New York; the subways take you everywhere around the city and each journey (no matter how long or how many trains you have to take To get there) is $2.75. I found the easier way to figure out the trains was to type my location and my destination into apple maps on my iPhone. The maps tell you which train to get, at which station as well as which direction and destination you‘re looking for so you don’t accidentally get on a train headed in the wrong direction. If maps is letting me down, the subway staff in the station kiosks are really helpful and friendly when asked for directions!