‘Big
Apple On A Budget’
by Dr Howe Sim
published in Doctor’s Review,
Oct 2006
New York has a well-deserved reputation as a pricey place. A recent
survey ranked the city as the most expensive in North America, and tenth
overall in the world. The cost of living in the Big Apple is said to be 240
percent the national average, almost twice that of the US’s second most costly
metropolitan area of Boston. So it’s
not surprising that one of the major concerns of many visitors to New York City
is the potentially unaffordable cost of the trip.
However, there are many things you can do to keep costs reasonable. The first is choosing the right time to
go. The most expensive time to visit is
around Christmas and New Year’s Eve, when hotel prices reach their peak and
theatre tickets and restaurant reservations are hard to come by. The least
costly time to visit is from mid-January until mid-spring. Fortunately, during these cool and often
snow-covered months, there’s still plenty to see and do in the city. The most popular times to visit are the late
spring and early autumn, when the performing arts seasons are at their peak and
weather conditions are mild and pleasant.
Summers can also be quite busy, though less so because of the hot muggy
months of July and August.
The next step is getting there on a budget. For most Canadians, the only
reasonable option is by plane. For the
Internet-savvy, the options for booking flights abound. Travelers can search for prices through
online travel agencies such as www.expedia.ca,
www.travelocity.ca,
and www.cheaptickets.com.
It’s also wise to check individual airline websites – both Westjet (www.westjet.com) and
Air Canada (www.aircanada.com)
offer seasonal seat sales. You can often shave a lot off your airfare if you’re
willing to fly to New York from the nearest American hub, such as flying out of
Bellingham or Seattle if you live in Vancouver.
For Ontario and Quebec residents, another option is driving. It takes about six hours from Montreal and
eight to nine from Toronto. Of course,
once you arrive in Manhattan, you’ll need to park your car in a garage, which
can tack on US$20-50 a day to your budget. You won’t want to use your car until
you leave – most Canadians find traffic in Manhattan to be a nightmare.
THE
CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS
Outside of airfare, the largest portion of a visitor’s budget will be
devoted to accommodations. As with
housing prices, hotel rates here are more expensive than in any other city in
the country. If you are want to pinch pennies – that is, you want to spend less
than US$100 a night – you’ll have to lower your expectations. Your options
include staying outside of Manhattan in one of the neighboring boroughs such as
Brooklyn or Queens, or in nearby New Jersey.
You can save money by choosing restaurants
and hotels outside the tourist district
You can also stay in shared sleeping quarters at one of the city’s
hostels (www.hostels.com), or
at the YMCA (www.ymcanyc.org)
in Harlem. Some small hotels are
“European-style,” that is, guests share washrooms.
All this is not to say there aren’t some hotels in Manhattan in the
US$100 to $250 price range. These are
easier to find if you stay outside of the popular Times Square/Theatre
District, either Uptown or Downtown. But even in Midtown Manhattan, hotels such
as the Broadway Inn (www.broadwayinn.com), Hotel Metro (www.hotelmetronyc.com), Red Roof Inn (www.redroof.com), and Super 8 Hotel Times Square (www.super8.com) offer
great value for the price. One of my
favorites is the Travel Inn (www.newyorkhotel.com),
which is just a 10-minute walk from the Theatre District and offers free
self-parking with in and out privileges – almost unheard of in the city. If you’re not sure whether a particular
hotel is a good bet, go to www.tripadvisor.com
and search for that accommodation. This terrific resource will rank your hotel
in comparison to others in the same city, based on detailed reviews written by
fellow travelers.
DOWN
THE AVENUE
Manhattan measures 21 kilometres in length and is four kilometres at its
widest point, so it’s too large to negotiate entirely on foot. Though during
rush hours, walking is often the fastest way to get from one nearby location to
another.
For attractions further afield, the fastest and most economical
alternative is the subway. You’ll find it safe and busy along the major
downtown lines even in the evenings, though it’s probably not advisable to use
it late at night, especially if you’re traveling alone. Since 2003, the MetroCard (http://www.mta.info)
has been the currency of the subway and bus system. These cards can be purchased from ATM-style vending machines
located at all stations. The fare is debited when swiped through a turnstile
(or the fare box on a city bus). They
come in different configurations and can be purchased by the number of rides or
by the day or week.
The subway is a cheap and generally safe means of
travel within the city
For those interested in hitting the most popular tourist attractions,
another affordable option is to use a sightseeing bus service. One of the most established is Gray Line New York (www.graylinenewyork.com),
which provides hop-on hop-off double-decker-bus tours with over 50 stops at
popular attractions. Packages range in
length from two hours to three days, with rates starting at US$34 per adult.
DISCOUNT
CULTURE
Most attractions charge an entry fee of at
least US$10, so you could end up spending a small fortune on sights alone. It helps to realize that it’s impossible to
take in the entire city in a single visit, and to focus on what interests you most.
New York’s Public Library is a must-see –
and it’s free
And many of the best experiences in Manhattan are free. These include
walking the neo-Gothic Brooklyn Bridge for views of the skyline; riding the Staten Island Ferry (www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/dot)
for a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island; admiring the stately
reading rooms and arched marble ceilings of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library
(www.nypl.org); viewing
the majestic main concourse of Grand
Central Terminal (www.grandcentralterminal.com); and taking in
the glitzy neon spectacle of Times Square at night.
In New York, even the train station is on
the must-see list
One of the best freebies in New York is Central Park (www.centralpark.org).
This large tranquil retreat is usually teeming with in-line skaters, joggers,
cyclists, and dog owners. It features some 100 kilometres of winding pedestrian
paths, the outdoor Wollman Rink for roller- or ice-skating, the Central Park
Zoo, the medieval-style Belvedere Castle, a lake where you can rent a rowboat
or take a gondola ride, the massive Metropolitan
Museum of Art (www.metmuseum.org),
and the North Meadow which features a dozen baseball and softball fields.
Walking the Brooklyn Bridge is an activity popular
with tourists and locals alike
A number of museums set aside a weekday afternoon or evening when you
can visit for free or pay-what-you-wish.
In addition, the art galleries that line 22nd, 25th and 26th Streets
between 10th and 11th Avenue in Chelsea are always free and gallery hopping is
a popular Saturday afternoon pastime for everyone from art students to yuppies
pushing strollers.
Central Park is one of the city’s best freebies
Buying New York’s CityPass (www.citypass.com),
which costs US$63 per adult and US$47 per child, will save you about 50 percent
on the cost of admission to six attractions: the spectacular American Museum of
Natural History (www.amnh.org),
the Guggenheim Museum (www.guggenheim.org),
the Empire State Building (www.esbnyc.com),
the recently renovated Museum of Modern Art (www.moma.org),
and a two-hour Circle Line (www.circleline42.com) sightseeing boat
cruise. (The Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, which is usually part of the
package, will be closed until May 2008 for renovations.) The pass is good for
nine days from the first time you use it.
AND
ALL THAT JAZZ
New York is arguably the theatre capital of the world, with more
productions running at any given time than London’s West End theatre
district. To find out what’s currently
playing, check out Live Broadway (www.livebroadway.com) and
NYC/Onstage (www.tdf.org).
Productions are classified as Broadway, Off-Broadway, and
Off-Off-Broadway.
Broadway productions such as Phantom of the Opera and Mamma Mia! garner
the most publicity and often feature well known screen actors. Off-Off-Broadway productions are typically
more experimental and avante-garde, and they are usually held in more intimate
theatres. In general, Broadway
productions are the most expensive, Off-Off-Broadway the least. Unfortunately, when it comes to New York
theatre, you usually get what you pay for: the best seats in the Orchestra
section are usually quite pricey, and cheap seats (US$20-50) are often in the
rear of the theatre or provide partially obstructed views.
Free online theatre-club memberships at www.playbillclub.com,
www.theatermania.com,
or www.hitshowclub.com can save you up to 50
percent on tickets if you purchase them in advance. The best deals for same-day
tickets for Broadway and Off-Broadway shows are at the Times Square Ticket
Centre (TKTS booth). Tickets for that day’s performances are usually offered at
25 to 50 percent off the regular price.
Credit cards are not accepted, only cash and traveller’s cheques.
Lineups are shorter at the TKTS Downtown Theatre Centre (www.tdf.org),
located in South Street Seaport at the corner of Front and John Streets. This
booth also offers matinee tickets the day before the show.
On-Broadway shows can be costly if you pay regular
rates
In the summer, the best of the city’s performing arts is offered at the
open-air Delacorte Theatre in Central Park – from Shakespeare in the Park, to
performances by the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera, or the
popular Summerstage (www.summerstage.org) concert festival, which has
featured such names as James Brown, Patti Smith, and the Jon Spencer Blues
Explosion. The Lincoln Centre Out Of
Doors festival (www.lincolncenter.org) presents over 100 free
performances every August, and is also hugely popular.
EAT
YOUR HEART OUT
Another way to cut costs is to make considered choices about where you
eat. At lunch, you’ll find street-side food carts offering not just traditional
hot dogs and pretzels, but also grilled lamb kebabs, Texas chili and
gyros. Choosing ethnic fare will also
help you save money. Thanks to its huge immigrant population, Manhattan offers
an astounding variety of cuisine from around the world, often at very low prices
in neighbourhoods like Chinatown and Little India. You can also head for one of the city’s innumerable delis.
It’s also a good idea to eat where the locals do, which may mean
venturing outside of tourist areas and into residential neighbourhoods. But every neighborhood has its share of
reasonably priced restaurants. In the Theatre District, my favorites include 44
Southwest (621 9th Avenue at 44th Street; tel: 212-315-4582) with Italian
cuisine, Joe Allen (326 West 46th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues; tel:
212-581-6464; www.joeallenrestaurant.com) for traditional pub
fare, and the Southern themed restaurant Virgil’s Real BBQ (152 West 44th
Street between 6th and 7th Avenues; tel: 212-921-9494; www.virgilsbbq.com).
IN
THE HOOD
Finally, to get a feel for the real New York experience, try to visit at
least one or two of its famous and colorful neighborhoods. Whether it is the trendy and affluent SoHo
with its cobblestone streets, cast-iron buildings and chic boutiques; the
Bohemian enclave of Greenwich Village with its Off-Broadway theatres, jazz
clubs, and historic brownstones; or the middle-class Upper West Side with its
quaint boutiques and cafés, there is a unique personality and flavor to each
neighborhood.
One of the best ways to learn about a particular neighborhood is through
Big Apple Greeters (www.bigapplegreeter.org). The first program of
its kind in the country, this non-profit volunteer organization matches
visitors with enthusiastic volunteer New Yorkers who provide a two- to four-
hour guided tour of a specific neighborhood. Requests for a volunteer Greeter should
be made three to four weeks before your arrival in New York.
So,
contrary to popular opinion, you can make a trip to New York City
affordable. In fact, many of the things
which native New Yorkers treasure most about their exciting city, are free for
the taking. As for the money you save
by following my suggestions, consider putting it aside for your next visit to
the Big Apple.
FREE IN NYC
There are free theatre and music performances, art exhibitions, films
and book readings going on almost every day in Manhattan. Visit the Free City Events (http://nyc.freecityevents.com) website for a
seemingly exhaustive daily list. You can also search the Village Voice’s (www.villagevoice.com)
listings, by looking for NYC Guide in the NYC Life section of the website, and
then selecting ‘free’ in the Category search tool. Or visit the NYC &
Company (www.nycvisit.com)
website and look for ‘NYC for Free’ under ‘Things to Do’.
Other great sources for general listings and tourist information are New York magazine (www.nymetro.com) and Time Out New York (www.timeoutny.com).