New York City on a budget!

By Saskia Perez-Cooke, North Carolina State University, United States

New York City has a reputation for being super expensive which can definitely put some students off from travelling there. But as I was nearing the end of my time of my study abroad in the states, I knew I would regret not making the trip to NYC.

But fortunately I found that a trip to NYC does not necessarily have to drain your bank account- it can be done on a budget, and this blog post is here to show you how!

When to visit:

The cheapest time of year to visit NYC tends to be in Feb/March. I would recommend visiting towards the end of March if you wanted to benefit from these cheap flights but also not be absolutely freezing. We got lucky with the weather and it ended up being around 18 degrees and sunny but if we went any earlier in March I fear it would be a lot cooler.

September and October are also said to be great times of year to visit, here you avoid the boiling hot summers and the super cold winters!

Where we stayed:

It was not our first time in NYC, so we decided to skip the classic tourist spots like Times Square or Midtown hotels as they charge crazy prices. If it is your first visit, staying more central would maybe be better for making the most of your visit, but we wanted a more cost-effective trip

We found a great Airbnb in Manhattanville, near Harlem. It was just a 2-minute walk to the subway and if we took the 1 subway line we would be in Midtown in just 10 minutes and down in SoHo or Lower Manhattan in about 25 minutes!

Harlem was a lot safer than I had heard it to be, it was super cheap, everyone was very friendly and there were lots of local spots to eat and grocery shops which was very helpful.

Overall, Airbnb’s are a lot cheaper but they do not tend to be located in central Manhattan so if you go for an Airbnb just make sure it is in a neighbourhood near a subway line.

Food:

As we had an Airbnb with a kitchen, we actually cooked quite a few meals at home which helped us save a lot of money. But of course we would not have gone to NYC and not tried the food. Here are some of the iconic (and budget-friendly) food spots we would recommend.

Joe’s pizza
Katz’s Delicatessen
Modern Bread and Bagel
Leon’s Bagels
Levain Bakery
Maman Cafe
Bluestone Lane

Activities:

The truth is the absolute best thing you can do in NYC is just wander the streets and get lost in the neighbourhoods like SoHo or the West Village. This was definitely what we spent most of days doing.

That being said here were some of our completely free activities- so that you feel you hit all the classic tourist spots without spending a whole lot!

The High Line- an elevated park with amazing views of lower manhatten
Central Park- simply walking through it will take you a good hour, great on a sunny morning!
Brooklyn Bridge- a nice long walk across and you get great views of Manhatten
Staten Island Ferry- totally free and goes right past the Statue of Liberty (don’t get scammed by the Statue of Liberty boat trips- they are exactly the same as the free Staten Island Ferry)
MoMA- entrance is usually 30$ each, but on a Friday night it is free for all NYC residents, (although a bit cheeky) we just used our Airbnb address to register for free.

New York City will always be an expensive city, but if you plan your trip correctly it does not have to be a pricey trip. So if you are thinking about going whilst on your year abroad in the states just go for it, remember that after all a flight from Raleigh-NYC is about a fifth of the price of a flight from England-NYC, so make the most of it whilst you can!!!