18 of the most unrealistic moments in 'Dash and Lily," according to a New Yorker

The Strand is a popular bookstore and East Village staple that contains over 18 miles of books, with items for sale inside and outside.

The landmark is typically crowded — and would be extra popular around the holiday season when everyone's rushing to purchase gifts — and part of the store's charming chaos is that the shelves often end up a bit messy.

Every time I've been to The Strand, I've seen tons of misplaced books strewn on top of shelves, typically from customers who changed their mind about purchasing them or forgot where they belong.

So it was pretty unbelievable to me that whenever Dash and Lily are shown at the bookstore, all of the merchandise around them seems to be perfectly organized.

As mentioned, The Strand is a beloved New York City bookstore that tends to be pretty popular at any time of day (in pre-pandemic times, at least).

I've been there early in the morning, midday, and right before closing on weekdays, weekends, and holidays, and during every visit I saw plenty of shoppers and a line at the checkout.

But whenever The Strand is shown on "Dash and Lily," the bookstore is practically empty, with just a few customers in the background.

There are plenty of ways to get around Manhattan, including walking, driving, biking, or taking every combination imaginable of buses, trains, and subways.

And although some characters get around via subway, Dash and Lily's preferred method of transportation seems to be taking taxis and using ride-sharing apps.

Taking a taxi, Uber, or Lyft in the city can quickly get expensive, and it doesn't always make sense if traffic is moving slower than the subways do — which happens often during holidays and rush hour.

It's illogical to me that two teenagers would constantly be able to pay for car rides that are sometimes less convenient than just walking — especially when some of the locations they visit are within walking distance of each other.

New York City is typically crowded, especially during the holiday season when tourists are running around to see holiday attractions, like the tree at Rockefeller Center or the lights in Dyker Heights.

Still, Dash answers his mother's text while standing in front of a subway station in Union Square, a popular part of the city.

Dash should know better than to hold up foot traffic like that, so the brief moment already feels unrealistic. Even more shocking is that no one bumps into Dash or tells him to move while he's texting — both responses are basically guaranteed if you stop short in NYC.

Dash stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to answer a text without anyone bothering him was already an unlikely situation, but he and Lily stopping to read and write is even more impractical.

Throughout the series, they both stop walking in the middle of streets, sidewalks, and stores to read and write in the red notebook.

This is rather inconvenient for everyone around them who is trying to walk in the same area, so it seems surprising that no one really bumps into them or complains.

While heading to Santaland at Macy's Herald Square for a dare, Dash cuts in front of a long line of parents and kids who are waiting to meet Santa.

Some of the parents look annoyed and shake their heads, but no one yells at Dash or demands that he go to the back of the line.

This would feel unrealistic in any setting, but the idea that New Yorkers who have been waiting in line with their children wouldn't yell at a teen who cut the entire line is ridiculous — especially when considering the reputation New Yorkers have for speaking their mind.

It's also surprising that there doesn't seem to be any families sitting in the lit-up area outside of Macy's.

The Santaland was obviously packed, plus Herald Square is such a popular shopping spot and tourist destination.

Even when it's not a holiday, that seating area is usually filled with tourists, shoppers, and tired pedestrians.

Lily getting around the city with a map may be the most unrealistic part of the series.

She's grown up in NYC and, as we can see by the parts of her map she's marked, she frequents places within the same area of the city.

There's no real reason a New Yorker like Lily would need a map to navigate the handful of blocks she usually goes to.

Even if she did need to get directions, she could just use an app on her phone (which we know she has) rather than carry around a bulky paper map.

It makes no sense that Grand Central Station is empty when Lily visits.

Grand Central Station is a major transportation hub and iconic building that tourists flock to see.

The information area is massive, with marble floors, a huge golden clock, and a constellation-covered ceiling. It also leads into multiple train platforms, which run throughout the day and night.

Even though Lily arrived early, there would likely still be passengers waiting for their train, vendors, or tourists walking around.

When they're not leaving the red notebook with a trusted friend or family member, Dash and Lily leave it in various places throughout the city.

At one point, it's left on the Two Boots DVD shelf, in a collection bucket, and by the "Alice in Wonderland" sculpture in Central Park— yet no stranger ever takes the book.

Given that NYC has millions of people, and the pair leaves the notebook in very popular places, it doesn't make sense that a stranger never intercepted the exchange.

Not showing anyone glance twice at the notebook when it's left out in public is incredibly unrealistic, as anyone who saw a bright-red notebook sitting around would likely check it out, even if they wouldn't necessarily take it.

Anyone who has gone out to a party or club in NYC in December will likely have a story about freezing on the way to and from the event. Sometimes a bulky jacket can "ruin" an outfit, so it's better left behind as you shiver your way to where you need to go.

But although Lily is pretty well-bundled throughout the series, she's apparently not concerned about the weather when she goes to the Challah Back Boys show wearing just a dress and boots without any jacket, hat, gloves, or scarf.

Given that she's in NYC in December immediately after it's snowed and temperatures can go down to the single digits in Fahrenheit during this month, this is an unrealistic decision, made even more improbable by Lily not once complaining about the cold.

After getting overwhelmed at the Challah Back Boys show, Lily runs into the bathroom, cutting in front of a huge line of people who are waiting to get in.

Sure, some people bang on the door or yell for her to "Hurry up" and "Get out" while she's in there, but most of the individuals on the line seem surprisingly chill about this.

The idea that Lily cuts the line and gets into the bathroom at a club without a problem seems unlikely, but seeing her exit without anyone giving her attitude is surprising to me.

Boomer frequently interrupts his shift at Two Boots to chat with Dash or Lily in a booth, which neither his boss nor his coworkers seem to be bothered by.

Even worse is when Lily cuts the line to talk to Boomer, hands him the notebook, and tells him to get it to Dash immediately.

Boomer leaves the pizzeria to run this errand even though he's currently working and there's a line of customers waiting.

Realistically, Boomer could lose his job for running out during a shift and leaving a cash register unattended — yet he doesn't seem to face any consequences for this bold decision.

Catching a subway in New York City isn't difficult, as they run pretty regularly and there are hundreds of subway stations throughout the city.

But catching a train exactly as it pulls into the station isn't common. Neither is not having to push through a massive crowd to board a train during the early evening hours.

Dash manages to do both on his way to Dyker Heights.

Dyker Heights is a Brooklyn neighborhood that's famous for having beautiful holiday decorations. Some houses put up nutcrackers and other lawn decorations while others create massive displays with hundreds of lights.

But somehow when Dash goes to the area to check out the festive displays, there's barely anyone else looking at the decorations.

Given that it's just before Christmas, it makes no sense that one of the most well-known, crowded holiday attractions in the city would have so few people there.

Sofia and Dash spend Christmas Eve night alone at The Morgan Library and Museum together.

Sofia tells Dash she's able to get them into the museum because she has a connection there — Priya's dad is on the board and Priya "owes" Sofia — but even knowing someone at a museum likely wouldn't get two teens permission to stay there overnight.

We don't see Sofia unlock the doors at The Morgan, which is a real-life cultural institution, so it also seems like her connection just left the entire museum unlocked just for them, which also seems unlikely.

It's bizarre that Dash is able to show up at the New Year's Eve Jonas Brothers concert that his friends are attending.

He doesn't seem to have a ticket — and the NYC concert would likely be a sold-out event or, at the very least, one you'd have to wait in line for hours to get into.

And after Dash manages to get into the concert, he and his friends are able to get into Nick Jonas' trailer, too.

Though Jonas' cameo is somewhat expected since he's a producer on the series, the idea that a group of high schoolers manages to get into his trailer (even if one of them did claim to go to band camp with Nick) is ridiculous.

It makes sense that Lily's family has to leave quickly to accommodate the start date of the father's job, but it's unclear (aside from dramatic effect for the series) why they'd have to fly out on New Year's Eve at midnight.

Manhattan on New Year's Eve is usually a nightmare to drive through, especially due to the huge turnout for the annual Times Square ball drop and the many streets that get closed down for celebrations.

It makes no sense that Lily's parents would choose to get a flight that night rather than the next day or the day before, especially since they're both New Yorkers who should know how hellish traffic would be on New Year's Eve.

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