I was wondering if there are any New Yorkers in here? I've been accepted to transfer to NYU (INCREDIBLY EXCITED) and I have several questions about living in NYC.
I was wondering if there are any New Yorkers in here? I've been accepted to transfer to NYU (INCREDIBLY EXCITED) and I have several questions about living in NYC.
I do have questions about living in Manhattan. I'll start with a few regarding food:
- How do you do grocery shopping?
- Am I really going to pay like $7 for a box of cereal?
- Is there any equivalent to a typical supermarket like Kroger that's good? (as in not like Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe's)
- How do you take your groceries back home? I'm so used to just filling up my car.
- What kind of food budget do you recommend per month? I currently spend about $300/month or approx. $10/day on food.
+1 for freshdirect.com I have a friend there and him and the roommates use that for groceries. I think there's some other services like that available as well. Just the one I know of.Fresh Direct! Grandma is an OG NYCer so I go a few times a year, but she always has everything we need because she orders from there for all our needs. Rarely need to run to the Food Lion. I believe the prices are in line with a grocery store, and they deliver to your building.
Thank you! I decided to not go to Paris because I was accepted to transfer. This was the last semester I could transfer since they don't accept senior transfers. I understand that it's going to cost a lot of money to live in Manhattan. My dad has to make a minimum of 80x the monthly rent per year since he'll be a guarantor? That's insane. My parents will just be paying my rent for me and I will be working as a real estate agent to support myself. I'm already anticipating paying roughly $1800-1900/month for a studio or 1 bedroom and assuming that I should make a large budget for myself monthly to pay for utilities, food, transportation, and so forth. I also believe that I will be living in the UWS since my job is located there. My classes will be held at Greenwich Village or Midtown.
I do have questions about living in Manhattan. I'll start with a few regarding food:
- How do you do grocery shopping?
- Am I really going to pay like $7 for a box of cereal?
- Is there any equivalent to a typical supermarket like Kroger that's good? (as in not like Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe's)
- How do you take your groceries back home? I'm so used to just filling up my car.
- What kind of food budget do you recommend per month? I currently spend about $300/month or approx. $10/day on food.
Luckily, I don't do any grocery shopping at all. I have the benefit of my fiance taking care of that portion of things. Cereal doesn't cost $7. You would probably pay somewhere in the $3 range for your typical cereal (fruit loops, frosted flakes, cheerios, etc). All over NYC, you'll find supermarkets like The Food Emporium which sells a mixture of organic foods as well as your normal run of the mill fatty stuff. They also deliver to your home. Many people you'll come to find travel with bags of groceries on foot. Being that we feed ourselves plus our daughter, our budget is a bit higher than it would be for just the two of us. Your best bet would likely be to just buy everything at once then hit the corner stores for any extras you'll require as time goes by.
You maybe should look into living in the surrounding areas outside of Manhattan that are connected by public transportation (subway). There's no real need to move into Manhattan and go broke on a studio apt if you can get a nice one bedroom for cheaper in the surrounding area and still have a quality commute time to work/school.
Thank you for your input! Is Trader Joe's there one of the cheaper supermarkets? I've been told that they have a lot of deals and such.
My father actually wants me to live in Manhattan and not the surrounding areas. He still has images of the surrounding boroughs from the 80s. I know that there are definitely nice areas in Brooklyn and Queens but I'd really prefer not to have to extend my commute time to school and work. I will most likely be working in the UWS or Chelsea, depending on where my senior agent will be, so that's why I want to live in the UWS. I know that Chelsea would not be feasible as it's crazy expensive to live in that neighborhood. I really don't care that much about space as I am very good at maximizing space... as long as like my kitchen isn't like 2 steps away from my bed. lol
Thank you! I decided to not go to Paris because I was accepted to transfer. This was the last semester I could transfer since they don't accept senior transfers. I understand that it's going to cost a lot of money to live in Manhattan. My dad has to make a minimum of 80x the monthly rent per year since he'll be a guarantor? That's insane. My parents will just be paying my rent for me and I will be working as a real estate agent to support myself. I'm already anticipating paying roughly $1800-1900/month for a studio or 1 bedroom and assuming that I should make a large budget for myself monthly to pay for utilities, food, transportation, and so forth. I also believe that I will be living in the UWS since my job is located there. My classes will be held at Greenwich Village or Midtown.
I do have questions about living in Manhattan. I'll start with a few regarding food:
- How do you do grocery shopping?
- Am I really going to pay like $7 for a box of cereal?
- Is there any equivalent to a typical supermarket like Kroger that's good? (as in not like Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe's)
- How do you take your groceries back home? I'm so used to just filling up my car.
- What kind of food budget do you recommend per month? I currently spend about $300/month or approx. $10/day on food.
1800/1900 on the upper westside. I think not. Add about 400/500 to that for a crappy studio. Morningside heights/Central Harlem may get you a 1 bedroom for that.
- How do you do grocery shopping? Like anyone else. I go to the grocery store and pick thing out. Toss them in my reusable bags, load up my granny cart and walk home. When I dont feel like doing that I use a service like Fresh Direct.
- Am I really going to pay like $7 for a box of cereal? Possibly, depending on the brand. But that could happen anywhere.
- Is there any equivalent to a typical supermarket like Kroger that's good? (as in not like Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe's) Pathmark, Food Emporium, C-Town, Key Foods, Associated. Some neighborhoods have smaller or neighborhood stores which can be great.
- How do you take your groceries back home? I walk. If I have a lot of groceries, I take my "granny" cart. Sounds like you live in a car centric city. Get over that NOW! NYC is a walking city. Invest in a comfortable pair of walking shoes.
- What kind of food budget do you recommend per month? Depends on what you eat and will you be eating at home that often. I'm single dude and I often spend about 200 on groceries a month and I'm a cheap coupon cutting whore.
$200 on groceries in a month?? Frak that's expensive. I live in the mid-west and am also a single dude. I budget $100 a month and probably spend $20-40 a month eating out as well. So $150 tops and that includes groceries and the times I'm eating out. Honestly I usually end up spending less than $100 on groceries though. Probably in the $75-80 range.
I don't know how you do that. lol I believe I spend right around $10 per day give or take $2. I'll raise my food budget to $450 for groceries for NYC and perhaps $150 for eating out. Overestimating is better than underestimating.
Not to sound too negative but I lived in Washington, D.C. area and Baltimore. While it was fun when I was young, I find it a pain in the %@# visiting them now. The traffic, costs, and rude people are enough to keep me away. Nice for a visit but I wouldn't live in a big city again. Ever!
Enjoy it while you are young...and don't get too brainwashed by the media.
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