21 Tips For Surviving New York City
Friday, August 29, 2014
Moving to New York doesn't have to be THIS scary.
(Escape From New York)
As any New Yorker will tell you, the city can be
overwhelming, -- and even more so if you’re new to it. We sat down with
some of WNYC’s most loved hosts and producers to get their advice about
navigating and enjoying the Big Apple. They talk about their personal
struggles and how they overcame them to find success in the bustle of
the city that never sleeps. Here are their tips, disaster stories, and
reasons they love the city.
Your Guides:
Manoush Zomorodi: Host and managing editor of WNYC’s New Tech City.Ellen Horne: Executive producer at Radiolab.Kate Hinds: Associate producer and reporter for WNYC News and Transportation Nation.Anna Sale: Host of WNYC’s Death, Sex, and Money.Mythili Rao: Producer on The Takeaway.Learn To Manage Your Money
- Manoush: Write everything down. Mint is a great program that helps you budget and keep track of things. Sign up for one, force yourself to log in every week, set some goals, take a personal finance class.
- Kate: Roomates, roomates, roomates! I ate a lot of canned soup. I lived in cheap apartments in neighborhoods that were always a little edgy. Anytime I’m in the suburbs, I try to get food and basics somewhere that’s cheaper than Whole Foods.
- Anna: I got really into finding cheap lunch deals. When you move here, you realize how much of a cash economy it is. You don’t use debit cards like you do in other parts of the country. I’m really glad I discovered cheap falafel sandwiches. I was late to adopt laundry drop-off but I’m really into dropping off my laundry now. It’s made life easier. Getting a bank that refunds my ATM fees is also really nice.
- Mythili: I made a very rookie mistake that a lot of people make. I thought that cabs were an efficient way to travel and they’re neither fast nor affordable. You pay extra and you don’t get there any faster, except in rare circumstances. Cutting out cabs will save a lot of money: get to know your subway system.
When You’re Stressed: Take A Walk, Find Some Green
- Manoush: I think the best way to get to know a city is just to walk and walk and walk. You know you’re a New Yorker when someone says an intersection and you can picture it in your mind.
- Kate: There are some super special places like Wave Hill in the Bronx, where you can have a little peace and quiet. I try to find nature in New York when I can. Just standing alongside the Hudson river and smelling that salty bay smell is great stress-killer for me.
- Ellen: You cannot be in a bad mood at Coney Island. Even if it’s crazy and crowded. It’s a very specifically joyful place for me. It’s so diverse and such a weird mash up of beach culture and urban culture. It’s a great trip for any New Yorker to get out of the city, while still being in the city.
- Mythili: One of the nicest things about the city is how run accessible and bike accessible it is. There’s great waterfront everywhere, there’s great parks everywhere. We’re all packed into this small concrete island. Figure out which parks you like and where you like to hang out, and get that little bit of green space.
Ellie Kemper performing at the UCB Theatre in 2008 (Alex Erde/flickr)
Explore The City And Fall In Love With It
- Anna: I discovered improv really early, that it’s cheaper than seeing a movie, and it’s made me really appreciate the talent in this city. You see these young up-and-comers and months later they’re famous and all over pop culture. I also really love Queens. It reminds me more than anything else of the spirit of the city, which is that this is the place where we all come to figure out how to make our dreams come true.
- Kate: I live in a bunch of different neighborhoods and I tried to get out of those neighborhoods as often as I could. I tried to be a tourist in the city. And to talk to strangers. I’ve had some great conversations with people on park benches...those shared moments of New York City humanity are what make this place so great.
- Ellen: Take advantage of the city. I went to all the free outdoor concerts, and the free outdoors movies. Go to really far flung places to try that soup dumpling, or whatever crazy food you’ve heard of. Those are the times when New York really stands out.
- Mythili: Stay busy. If you’ve got time to be homesick you might be moping around your apartment too much.
Remember That It’s Hard For Everyone
- Kate: Be kind to yourself, New York can be a tough place. You practically see streets paved with money — it’s hard to get away from the materialism sometimes. But remember that most people had it hard at one time in their life and you just gotta pay your dues. Hopefully it will all work out.
- Manoush: Let up on being in touch with everybody all the time. You’re about to start a new chapter in your life.
- Ellen: I have a hate/tolerate relationship with New York. There have been times where I felt like it’s a wonderfully alive, exciting place to be. And on the low end of the spectrum, it’s a dirty, way too crowded, very frustrating place to live, that’s divorced from nature. I definitely feel like I spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to live here in a way that’s comfortable and happy. One difficult New York moment early on was getting locked out of my apartment. I thought I was going to have to spend the night on the street. I ended up breaking into a building next store, climbing a fire escape, climbing onto the roof and breaking a window to get into my apartment. My arm was all bloody.
- Anna: I had a friend early on that was in recovery, and I went to her one-year anniversary meeting. I remember sitting in that room and hearing people tell the stories of what they had struggled with in this city and I remember feeling so profoundly moved and not alone. And, weirdly, jealous that I didn’t have a space to go to where people shared like that. It’s lonely when you’re struggling in the city at first. The first year-and-a-half is hard, and then it starts to feel manageable.
More Advice
- Manoush: Always carry a bottle of water because subways get stuck — stay hydrated! My favorite app is Exit Strategy. It helps you figure out which subway car you should get into so you can get out at your destination as quickly as possible.
- Kate: I
learned very quickly to trust my instincts and not to apologize to
myself mentally. If I was sitting across from someone on the subway and I
didn’t like how they were looking at me, I would just get up and find a
place I thought was safer. As a woman, I was very attuned to physical
safety.
- Mythili: I was lucky to have a cool older
brother already living in New York when I moved to the city. One of the
first things he did was to introduce me to a girl in his office who was
my age and who lived down my street. She was a soccer player and runner
like me so I had an instant workout buddy and
partner-in-crime to explore the neighborhood with. Having a friend you
see almost every day goes a long way in making a new city start to feel
like your own.
- Anna: This is a place that people want to come. It’s actually not that hard staying in touch with people who aren’t from here because they’re always looking to crash on an air mattress.
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