29
   

New York, on a budget

 
 
Thomas
 
  1  
Reply Thu 25 Jun, 2009 11:14 pm
@Rockhead,
Rockhead, that's about what I would take with me if it was my trip -- but I didn't want to say that just because I wouldn't do it with $100, it's impossible.
Rockhead
 
  1  
Reply Thu 25 Jun, 2009 11:16 pm
@Thomas,
used to travel a bit. never made NYC. (been all 'round it)

better safe than in trouble...
0 Replies
 
ossobuco
 
  1  
Reply Thu 25 Jun, 2009 11:22 pm
@shewolfnm,
I'll think about that, as I was on low money, although that was all back in 2003, places and prices different. Still, same concept. To skip, I'd forget where you Have To Eat, and do street except when you meet people like the Kick. And the occasional treat. In rome, I'll have gelato; in new york, I'd have a real bagel, but not waste that experience - I'd ask real a2k new yorkers re the best bagel.

0 Replies
 
ossobuco
 
  1  
Reply Thu 25 Jun, 2009 11:28 pm
@Thomas,
Hard to figure. I can get by on nothing much for a day or three or four. I go for weeks with ten dollars in my wallet. On the other hand, stuff adds up.
0 Replies
 
ossobuco
 
  1  
Reply Thu 25 Jun, 2009 11:39 pm
@Thomas,
I'll have to see if I can figure it out. My expenses were spare, but I also had candy at that fancy place in the Plaza. The nums are in a file, but not handy.
0 Replies
 
Green Witch
 
  1  
Reply Fri 26 Jun, 2009 02:26 pm
Please skip Coney Island, it's soooo not worth it. NYC is very expensive, especially if you are not familiar with the terrain. Entrance into the MET or MOMA is $20 per person, lunch in the cafeteria will run you another $20 for a sandwich and drink. Don't even think of taking a taxi anywhere. Even vendor/cart food will run about $6-$10. You could check out supermarkets and buy fruit, deli by the slice and salad bar items, probably the cheapest way to eat. You might want to bring some granola bars along as back up.

Osso is right about bagels ($2.50 with butter) or maybe pizza that I think is now @ $3 for a plain slice depending what part of town you are in. Kicky should know current food prices.
MontereyJack
 
  1  
Reply Fri 26 Jun, 2009 02:33 pm
I'm a big fan of lunch from street carts. You get a lot, and they start around $5, There's a good middle eastern one somewhere around Broadway and the lower 20's, makes a great lamb pita wrap, but I never remember exactly where it is. Or it's certainly not exotic, but you can always get something off the McDonald's or Burger King value menus for a buck or a little more, which will fuel you if nothing else. If you know anyone in the city with memberships in something like the Met, they can likely get you in free on their membership. They also have reduced prices for seniors, whic h might fit given a2k demographics.
Thomas
 
  1  
Reply Fri 26 Jun, 2009 02:54 pm
@Green Witch,
Green Witch wrote:
Please skip Coney Island, it's soooo not worth it.

Bummer, Green Witch. Guess you and I can't be friends anymore. Drunk
Green Witch
 
  1  
Reply Fri 26 Jun, 2009 03:03 pm
@Thomas,
Sorry Thomas, but it hasn't been worth visiting since it looked like this:

http://www.photosofoldamerica.com/webart/large/279.JPG

Other than the Mermaid Parade it's a dump. I get depressed when I see all the empty places where the rides and booths used to be.
0 Replies
 
ossobuco
 
  1  
Reply Fri 26 Jun, 2009 07:37 pm
@MontereyJack,
Right on the Met - Paola let Diane and I in three days running.
I don't know how fond of museums you are, shewolf - guessing you want to explore the streets more. But if you like them, maybe there is some kind of general museum ticket deal in new york like there is in some other cities.
0 Replies
 
Thomas
 
  1  
Reply Fri 26 Jun, 2009 07:45 pm
If you are fond of museums, shewolf -- I'm very fond of the Metropolitan Museum. But you'll need all three days to cover it entirely.
0 Replies
 
shewolfnm
 
  1  
Reply Fri 26 Jun, 2009 08:01 pm
I am fond of museums. And i do want to do at least one.
There are several that are famous in that area ( I think? )
Maybe not the Metro if it is that big, but something else.. ?
ossobuco
 
  1  
Reply Fri 26 Jun, 2009 08:09 pm
@shewolfnm,
We all have our biases - me, I'd pick the Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art) if I could only see one, though I get a kick out of the Frick. Haven't been to the Natural History Museum in decades, and I'd probably enjoy that. I didn't get to that photography place, ICP, I think is the name of it, and I would check it out if I were in NYC again. Or at least read about it and consider. The Cloisters is cool - bit of a subway ride, but I thought it was worth it. MOMA, I've never been inside (there were shutting the doors when I got there more decades ago). Cooper Hewitt, I must see that some day.
0 Replies
 
chai2
 
  1  
Reply Fri 26 Jun, 2009 08:10 pm
@shewolfnm,
museum of natural history, where the whale and hayden planatarium are.
0 Replies
 
shewolfnm
 
  1  
Reply Fri 26 Jun, 2009 09:06 pm
opinions on this location?
anyone familiar with this place?

http://www.boo.com/newyork/hostels/hostel_fresh
ehBeth
 
  1  
Reply Fri 26 Jun, 2009 11:26 pm
@shewolfnm,
One of the things I learned from Roberta and Frank is that most museums in New York have "suggested minimum donation". There's not an actual admission fee for a lot of New York Museums, and there is a good group of them that are free or reduced admission on various days of the week or parts of a day. You need to read the website details carefully. We were told to smartly advance to the booths and say "this is my donation" - hand over our $5 or whatever and march in. Works for some museums, but not for any of the special exhibitions they might have (and who has time to do an entire museum in one day anyway?)

Again, for best food options I recommend Yelp.

When I travelled just with The Empress, we usually spent $15 - $20 on meals. Bagel/tea from a food cart - $2 - $3. Fruit from a food cart - $1. Shawarma or something similar mid-day from a cart - mebbe $5. Muffin/yogurt/fruit/tea later in the day - a total of $5 - $6. We each bought one small bottle of water the first day, and brought a porta-bottle in our luggage, then went to a CVS to buy a 4 gallon vat of water which we kept refrigerated in our room and topped our smaller bottles off throughout the days as we went along. We budgeted for $40/day on food, so that the leftover from the 'lighter' days went to one splash-out meal during the trip.

You do need money for transit. I'd recommend one of the 7 (?) day passes. You can find fellas selling them out of briefcases in or near quite a few stations for a reduced fee. I was leery, but they worked.

I recommend studying this and making yourself a short list. We did quite well with the 2006 and 2007 versions.


http://nymag.com/restaurants/cheapeats/2008/

http://nymag.com/restaurants/cheapeats/2008/48673/

the $1 list

Quote:
The Plain Cheese Slice

Critics' Pick
99¢ Fresh Pizza
151 E. 43rd St.
Relatively light and crisp, with a garlic-powder nose and visible flecks of oregano. The flat lip has a vaguely greasy, fried flavor, but the balance is good, the components integrated, and sag nonexistent. The winner"despite a stealthily applied sales tax that edges the price up to $1.07.

2 Bros. Pizza
32 St. Marks Pl.
Doughy, saucy, and so overloaded with cheese it suffers from chronic droop syndrome. The lip is thick and somewhat detached, like deep-dish or pan pizza, and the overall flavor is cafeteria school lunch. On the plus side, it is more filling.


Quote:
The Xinjiang Lamb Skewer

Manhattan Chinatown Cart
Forsyth St. at Division St.
Smaller chunks of meat, a modest dusting of spice, and an overall lambier flavor. All in all, a nice snack for a Chinatown stroll.



Quote:
Chive-and-Pork Fried Dumplings

Vanessa’s Dumpling House
118A Eldridge St.
After a recent renovation, Vanessa’s dropped from five to four for a dollar, brazenly deviating from the going rate. But what you lose in volume, you gain in a superb contrast of textures: the crisp chewiness of the golden-seared side versus its soft, quasi-tender counterpart.

Critics' Pick
Prosperity Dumpling
46 Eldridge St.
A five-minute wait guaranteed freshness, and the plump, irregularly shaped beauties have the tenderest wrapper and a loosely packed, juicy filling. The crisp side could be crisper, but sheer quantity and thus better value nudge the dark horse Prosperity into the winner’s seat.


the best $5 or less options

http://nymag.com/restaurants/cheapeats/2008/48680/

http://images.nymag.com/restaurants/cheapeats/2008/cheapleadstory080728_4_560.jpg
0 Replies
 
ehBeth
 
  1  
Reply Fri 26 Jun, 2009 11:28 pm
@MontereyJack,
This is the list I want to work through

http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/33527/

or find the 2009 version at least.

Quote:
The Concrete Elite
New York’s twenty best food carts ranked, in order.
0 Replies
 
ehBeth
 
  1  
Reply Fri 26 Jun, 2009 11:40 pm
@shewolfnm,
Good free museum, walking distance from the Staten Island ferry docks in the Wall Street area.

http://www.nmai.si.edu (click on visitor info)

National Museum of the American Indian.

A good early morning adventure - take the subway down to Wall Street - grab a bagel and tea at one of the carts, hop on the Staten Island ferry - enjoy your bagel/tea on the way over - head back to land back in Manhattan around 9:30 a.m. - walk up to the museum in time for its 10 a.m. opening. It's not an enormous museum, so you can sample it in a couple of hours and still have most of the day left to walk back uptown through Chinatown/Canal Street/Greenwich Village.

~~~

Washington Square Park is wonderful in a lot of ways, including the dosa cart ( I hope he's still there - the dosas were pheeeeeeeenomenal).
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/ny_dosas/
ehBeth
 
  1  
Reply Fri 26 Jun, 2009 11:42 pm
@Thomas,
Tons going on here again this summer.

http://www.govisland.com/Visit_the_Island/default.asp

The ferry over is free, as are many of the concerts. Great great view of the city and up the river.
0 Replies
 
ehBeth
 
  1  
Reply Fri 26 Jun, 2009 11:47 pm
@shewolfnm,
shewolfnm wrote:
What would be a reasonable amount of money for one person doing pretty much just sight seeing for three days?


I don't think I'd want to try it for much less than $200.00. I'd want to have $300.00 available, and I could probably do it for $100.00, but I'd be awfully nervous at the $100.00 level .

Sit-down restos won't fit into the $100.00 budget, and will barely fit into a $200.00 budget - and sometimes you just need to be able to sit down.

New York "you have to eat" restos could blow your 3 day budget in one meal.
0 Replies
 
 

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