Tips for moving to New York City

[Ziggy]

I actually detest the taste of vegetables. And it's bad enough that potatoes don't technically count. But I heard that if you have a juicer, throw in some veggies in with the fruit and the fruit hides the veggie taste. I guess I can add V8 Fusion to my list.

Yeah, it's true. There's this brand of drinks, Odwalla, that I really like. They have one flavor called Superfood. It's green, and it looks like it would be really nasty, but it tastes like fruit punch. And it's packed with antioxidants, vitamins, etc etc. Though I wouldn't recommend Odwalla to you, they're kinda expensive.

But to tell you the truth, I'm not a big fan of vegetables either. Cooked, I don't like almost any vegetable. Raw, I like almost any vegetable. I munch on stuff like raw celery, carrots, sweet peppers, and even broccoli almost every day. Cooked broccoli, YUCK!

Strange that something that technically is part of the dairy and grain groups would be "shit food".

There's no dairy in a box of Kraft mac and cheese. Only the butter and milk you add to it when cooking is actual dairy, the cheese that comes in the box is more like chemicals than actual cheese. And the milk has lots of antibiotics and hormones in it that they give the sick cows. But I don't wanna completely derail this thread with the topic of food and nutrition.

Good to know. And sorry about your winter weather work woes. I won't trade you my summer weather work woes, though, cuz I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Lol, my summer weather work woes might actually be worse. I still have to dress warm because a lot of the time I'm in a 35 degree cooler. But at times I have to work outside. So it might be even worse working in 90+ heat with humidity wearing warm clothes, I haven't decided yet. It's a real 'choose your poison' kind of thing. Having to wear a sweatshirt in the summer is not fun at all. Of course I take the sweatshirt off when I have to do something outside, but I'm still wearing pants. Sucks. I could dress lighter, but then I'd be freezing inside most of the day. With any luck I wont be at my job much longer though.

[REPO Man]

What about being a live-in housekeeper? I mentioned it in my 2nd or 3rd post (first page).

[o.pwuaioc]

Concerning healthy eating, at the very least take a multivitamin daily. And beans and rice. Together I believe they satisfy protein needs, and they're super cheap.

[REPO Man]

I detest beans, and I'm still asking for any info about being a live-in housekeeper.

[Limewater]

I detest beans, and I'm still asking for any info about being a live-in housekeeper.

It may be how you've always had them prepared. I hated beans all my life until I was almost 23. It turns out I just didn't like the way my mom made them because she cooked them down to mush. You're in the south as well, so that's probably the way you've most likely experienced them.

Try cooking them according to the instructions on the bag (throwing in some boullon and spices), but keep them on the low side of recommended cook time. Then drain them, and eat them with rice. Draining them and not cooking them to mush gives them a much more acceptable texture.

Also, apart from peanut butter, consider buying jars of unsalted or lightly-salted peanuts. If you shop the sales, they're actually pretty cheap for how filling they are.

Juice is just candy. It's not of much more value than drinking Kool-Aid.

But this is totally derailing the thread. Back on point:

I would not count on getting a job as a housekeeper. Part of it's your gender. People don't see a guy in his early twenties and think, "This is the kind of stranger I want in my house polishing my collectibles" or whatever.

New York folks-- how is the wind in NYC? Whenever I've been, it's been rather still, but again, I haven't been in a while. If it's windy, keep an eye out for a leather jacket at the thrift store. Mine is really crappy, but it helps quite a bit on windy days. Believe it or not, but parts of North Avenue in midtown Atlanta are actually really windy. Probably not Chicago windy, but still really uncomfortable.

I don't think you can legally ride a bicycle on the sidewalk in NYC. Something to keep in mind. I looked it up several years ago, but it might have changed since then.

Apparently you posted a link to a Consumerist article in your first post. I know you requested no negativity, but I'm going to be a jerk and mention anyway that the Consumerist banned me from posting for a really stupid reason. I hate to give them a pageview by going back there, but here is the article with the comment that got me banned. Mine is the third comment down.

http://consumerist.com/2011/05/watching ... gross.html

Since then, I don't support that site.

[REPO Man]

I've just never liked beans. It's never been about how they're prepared or what kind. I just don't like them.

And I'm actually quite healthy. I walk or bike-ride damn near everywhere, don't drink, don't smoke, no drugs, and no pork (except bacon) or red meat (except beef jerky). And this is despite having a bit too much sodium in my diet. Oh, and I push shopping carts most of my shifts at work.

[Limewater]

I've just never liked beans. It's never been about how they're prepared or what kind. I just don't like them.

And I'm actually quite healthy.

I'm not trying to make you healthy. I'm just suggesting you try it out because beans are a really cheap, really filling food. Just in terms of cheapness, beans and rice are better than just about anything else for filling you up. They're substantially cheaper than just about anything else.

Again, I thought I hated all beans in every situation for almost 23 years. That's the only reason I made a big deal about it.

[REPO Man]

I've just never liked beans. It's never been about how they're prepared or what kind. I just don't like them.

And I'm actually quite healthy.

I'm not trying to make you healthy. I'm just suggesting you try it out because beans are a really cheap, really filling food. Just in terms of cheapness, beans and rice are better than just about anything else for filling you up. They're substantially cheaper than just about anything else.

Again, I thought I hated all beans in every situation for almost 23 years. That's the only reason I made a big deal about it.

Noodles and potatoes are cheap and filling... and best served with either chicken broth or gravy.

[Evildeadmanwalking77]

I've heard that everyone is always in a hurry and that I should mistake being firm for being mean. And while I am a bit sensitive, I'm also much more hardskinned that you'd think.

Did you mean to say that you should'NT mistake being firm for being mean? I'd have to say that it's true, for the most part. But let me warn you, a lot of New Yorkers are straight up MEAN and very inconsiderate. Not all of them, but there are a lot. Plenty of people are polite, but don't expect them to be. A lot of people have "I hate my life" written on their face.


Seriously though, it sounds like you're willing to make a huge sacrifice with your food. I do understand being on a tight budget, trust me, I understand that. But it sounds like a very bad diet. You can't eat Ramen every night perpetually. I mean, you can and will stay alive. But your health will suffer.

About the weather conditions... NYC will get the best of every season. Summers can be very hot, and VERY humid. It's already been in the 80's and humid, and it's still only June. You should expect 80-90 all summer long. Expect heat waves during July and August that break 100. Again, it get VERY humid during the summer. I remember telling some one that moved from Germany that the summers were hot and humid. They were like, "Oh yeah, how bad could it be?" The realized after the first summer that it is indeed very humid during the summer.

Winters are the very opposite. It'll get very cold. 10-20 degrees, some times single digits during the peak of winter. Some bad winters will even go below 0. I remember the winter before last was extremely cold and there were a few weeks it was below 0 during the mornings. I had a coworker at the time that recently moved up from Florida, he was like "I didn't even know it could go below 0!" Expect snow as well. Last winter was particularly bad with snow. We had a lot of storms that dumped a LOT of snow. Sometimes 1-2 feet at a time. The city got a lot of shit because the first bad storm right after Christmas, they really fucked up with plowing.

I'm assuming you wont have a car, so be prepared for the winters. It's easy to wear shorts and a t-shirt in the summer and deal with the heat, but make sure you got enough clothes for the winter if you're planning to walk places.

You can say that again Zig and there's some pretty dman good bagel places too! Let's not forget the driving either! Nice to see another LI'er on here man!

I don't know too much about NYC because I have only visited there a bunch of times (which can be expensive as shit just doing that) and since I'm a suburban man but NY is just plain expensive in general. Just make sure you are prepared which it seems like you have done your homework. Good luck! I hope it works out!

LOL, yeah the driving. Oh, don't get me started! People don't know how to drive on the island! But yeah, same here, man. I live in Suffolk County. I go into the city every once in a while, but I wouldn't say often. Did you see that Newsday commercial? "You know if you're a New Yorker if you can pronounce 'Hauppauge'. "

Nah, say what you want about New York, I love it. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

edit: Definitely glad to see other NY'ers on the forum, especially from Long Island!

I currently live in Hauppauge (had an apartment in huntington station for 2 years), but I grew up in North Massapequa.

Cool deal. I used to do some back yard wrestling w/ some guys in Massapequa actually, my ex girlfriend actually introduced me to them but I lost contact w/ them after we broke up. You know the weird feeling thing w/ post beak ups in those situations? Anyways, small world guys.

@Repo:
Do what you have to do man. Don't let anyone discourage you from this. You won't starve or get mugged, just be street smart as far as con artists and other criminals go. Believe it or not NYC is actually one of the more safer cities in the US. Every city has it good and bad areas though but NYC has cleaned up ALOT in the recent years. People can be rude but it's an aggressive city too, it has to be. I guarantee you that you will be fine regardless man. Budgeting is key and once you get into that habit it becomes second nature but like I said earlier it really seems like you have all your ducks lined up in a row. Enjoy it man!

[fvgazi]

Cool deal. That's where I am too. I grew in Ronkonkoma, then moved to East Patchogue for like 6 years. I used to do some back yard wrestling w/ some guys in Massapequa actually, my ex girlfriend actually introduced me to them but I lost contact w/ them after we broke up. You know the weird feeling thing w/ post beak ups in those situations? Anyways, small world guys.

@Repo:
Do what you have to do man. Don't let anyone discourage you from this. You won't starve or get mugged, just be street smart as far as con artists and other criminals go. Believe it or not NYC is actually one of the more safer cities in the US. Every city has it good and bad areas though but NYC has cleaned up ALOT in the recent years. People can be rude but it's an aggressive city too, it has to be. I guarantee you that you will be fine regardless man. Budgeting is key and once you get into that habit it becomes second nature but like I said earlier it really seems like you have all your ducks lined up in a row. Enjoy it man!

Repo -

Honestly... living in NY is no different than anywhere else. Depending on how much you make you are going to have these expenses. Luckily you wont have a car so you wont need to pay insurance, gas, or parking.
Food For one person... maybe $100-150MAX / month. Get fresh fruits/veggies from small vendors.. they are cheap as hell and are healthy so you're not loading up on starches all day. Better than paying for medical bills in the long run.
You can find a lot of this in NY for cheap as well.

Rent Going to pay more for a one bedroom. Try to find roomates. Maybe $500-$700 / month
Utilities (gas, electric, or both) If I am any indicator... maybe $50 a month if
you're running Air Conditioning all the time.
Film Stuff (from what you said before)
I'm not sure if you already have school loans and stuff.. and then you just need the Security deposit for the apartment and to buy appliances or whatever.

Just be aware of yourself. NY can be a fast place for people not used to a city. Nothing terrible will happen to you as long as you're responsible.

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How old are you evildead? I used to wrestle (when I was like 13) in HWF-ny and I remember there being a backyard federation in lindenhurst that was pretty huge. That was in the late 90's though.

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Limewater - NY can be very windy at times. We can also be buried in 6 feet of snow or 106*F heat. Interesting tidbit though...Chicago is not called "The windy city" due to being actually windy (boston has higher avg wind speed!). http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Windy-City.