Tips for moving to New York City

[gtmtnbiker]

he can choose whichever shift he wants,

I find this hard to believe. I would think that there would be some mandatory shifts in order to make sure that there's sufficient coverage at all times. How would it work if everyone wanted to work Mon/Tue/Wed night shifts (tend to be slower) and not work any weekends?

[deathclaw]

he can choose whichever shift he wants,

I find this hard to believe. I would think that there would be some mandatory shifts in order to make sure that there's sufficient coverage at all times. How would it work if everyone wanted to work Mon/Tue/Wed night shifts (tend to be slower) and not work any weekends?

He said, sometimes, when there's a lack of employees, they call them to go to work. However, I think this is still not mandatory, they may call 50 employees and you can be sure they will find those 2 or 3 they need that will go voluntarily.

[saturnfan]

You do realize that all those people from Jersey Shore are from New York, right?

Long Island (Franklin Square and most of western Nassau county) and Staten Island are the "jersey shore" people. You'd be hard pressed to find "Guidos" living in any cool areas of Brooklyn.

Jersey smells too bad and the pizza is terrible (some of the worst i've had in the country). I have a lot of family in NJ.

Hoboken is a hipster town though, also Guido free.

[Limewater]

He said, sometimes, when there's a lack of employees, they call them to go to work. However, I think this is still not mandatory, they may call 50 employees and you can be sure they will find those 2 or 3 they need that will go voluntarily.

I think maybe McDonald's in Europe is a little different than in the states. You know, because of the metric system.

[Ziggy]

And what's so bad about working at McDonalds ?

Do you work at a McDonald's?

No, I don't but my university roommate works there part-time. I thought it would be a bad job but he said it's the best part-time job he ever had, he can choose whichever shift he wants, the pay is a bit over average and suprisingly, he says this job is not repetitive and boring! So even though I make some money by buying/selling games, I would like to give Mcdonald's a try, sounds much better than temporary jobs I have.

Well it really depends on your co-workers and managers. If your bosses are real dicks/bitches, then ANY job will suck. I worked at my local McDonald's for almost three years when I was 14, 15 and 16 (it was pretty much the only job that would hire a 14-year-old and I couldn't drive). There were good times, I had some friends. But honestly, I would NEVER work in a fast food place again. Only recently have I stopped having dreams about that place, which is something I laughed about a few months back with a former co-worker. It was mostly hearing the buzzers going off, which is REALLY annoying. But I've had a few dreams (nightmares?) of doing actual work there.

Free food is a good benefit, but at this point in my life, I don't want to be eating McDonald's at all. Let alone constantly. When I was hired, I did mostly register and drive through. "The pit" is the worst! But I weaseled into grill even though I was under age (you're suppose to be 16). As far as the behind the counter positions, grill is the best place to be. Though it's not really your choice what position your working. Eventually I made myself maintenance and cut my schedule back to just weekends, and eventually just Sundays. At that point, I did basically NOTHING all shift. Yeah, I had some awesome managers that I was friendly with. But coming home smelling like McDonald's is no good. Some times even after a shower that smell stays with you. It would suck if you had to walk home, you'd probably attract dogs.

Again, depends on location, but the pay was horrible. Maybe people aren't willing to pay teenagers much, but I was hired at minimum wage (which was $5.15 then) and it was impossible to get raises. When I would finally get a raise, it was for nearly nothing. I was making $6.00 at the end. Of course, crew ceifs and managers can make good pay. Especially the GM. I think the GM in my store was making around $25/hour at the time. I remember one manager making around $15/hr. That's not bad at all.

I find this hard to believe. I would think that there would be some mandatory shifts in order to make sure that there's sufficient coverage at all times. How would it work if everyone wanted to work Mon/Tue/Wed night shifts (tend to be slower) and not work any weekends?

McDonald's actually boasts flexible shifts. They HAVE to do it this way since at least half of the staff is made up by high school kids. Obviously they can't work during the day, but then they have to abide by the laws (how many hours in a day they can work on a school day, and what times). Most adults that have to resort to working at a place like this need flexible shifts as well. Usually their shift will have to revolve around when their kids get home, what days they have a car/can get a ride, a bus schedule, etc. The only time I remember not having a real choice in scheduling was during June because of graduations. I remember a note saying "if you're not graduating - you can't take off". I actually missed my older brother's graduation because I had to work. But other than that one time, the shifts you work were completely flexible.

I think maybe McDonald's in Europe is a little different than in the states. You know, because of the metric system.

LOL, Royale with cheese.

[REPO Man]

So, we're NOT gonna stay on topic, then?

I see. So, in lieu of just starting a new topic on McDonald's, we're just gonna hijack another one?

And I personally WISH I could chose my own shifts, so that I would NEVER work weekends. But then again, I'd also love for my four years of busting ass doing all of the store's grunt work (cart retrieval, running the floor machine, misc cleaning, bringing in ice (from the outside cooler to the inside one, don't ask) and refilling bags) to actually translate into something that benefits me without being just a fringe perk. I mean, for all my hard work, all I get in return is more grief, more bullshit, harder work, virtually no help with the cart retrieval (which I must get done before I can get my breaks, lunch or shift end), and getting bitched at for coming back a relatively little late from a break. And to add insult to injury, I'm the only one who uses logic, it seems like.


And if I plan on spending no more than $700/mo, how much should I save up before I leave?

If I leave before my family moves to Orlando, then I'll be going by Greyhound.

If I leave from Orlando, I'm just gonna go by train.

And travel is factored into the savings. As does luggage and misc.

[pakopako]

And if I plan on spending no more than $700/mo, how much should I save up before I leave?

A friend of mine was living by himself outside of Manhattan. His rent was more than his paycheck so he was eating peanut-butter sandwitches all day. Commerce magazines say a person's rent should be no more than half their paycheck. The only way he managed that was to move in with three other friends in Brooklyn. I think he was paying $500 a month a few years back? But that's less than a third of what he was paying when he was living by himself.

I did know someone who was offering to lease her Manhattan apartment for $800, but she's... well... she's a crazy cat lady. I'm pretty sure she had to move out, but if she did find a roommate, well, good luck to both of them.

[pakopako]

And if I plan on spending no more than $700/mo, how much should I save up before I leave?

A friend of mine was living by himself outside of Manhattan. His rent was more than his paycheck so he was eating peanut-butter sandwitches all day. Commerce magazines say a person's rent should be no more than half their paycheck. The only way he managed that was to move in with three other friends in Brooklyn. I think he was paying $500 a month a few years back? But that's less than a third of what he was paying when he was living by himself.

I did know someone who was offering to lease her downtown Manhattan apartment for $800, but she's... well... she's a crazy cat lady. I'm pretty sure she had to move out, but if she did find a roommate, well, good luck to both of them.

If you make $1000 a month after taxes, you spend $300 a month on food and utilities and communication, you can put $700 for rent and will still have to "borrow from your savings" each month. Expect to do this for a year... and this give you an idea of how much you should have saved?

If you're going into the film industry, may I suggest moving to Philly? More affordable, a 2-4 hours commute to NYC for the days you need to be in NYC, and has a decent media branch. (I did have a friend who commuted between Philly and NYC every day, went home only to shower, and slept on the trains... lasted a year before he found the same job in Philly.)

[Evildeadmanwalking77]

Ok.... we must live very close together because Branchinelli's is LITERALLY right around the block from me. I live across from the high school. There is a Greek place in Northport near my friend's studio that has the best fricken' greek food, but I don't remember the name.

**EDIT and derailing this thread a bit** Oh.. and pizza I almost forgot. I don't get it often because the prices have been jacked up over the past few years but here's my list of awesome places.

Branchinellis - Hauppauge
Little Vincents - Huntington Village
Uncle Guiseppe's(Spelling?) - Huntington Station
Pizzelli - East Meadow... my fav pizza place. Breadcrumb crust and sweet sauce!!!
Phils' - Massapequa - ate here all the time growing up
Abeetza Pizza - Massapequa...sadly no longer around
Papalardos - Massapequa around the block from my parents. I never liked it much, but the LI Press raves about it. The owner's son is a professional skater and Steve Guttenburg is best buds with the owner. The place is a Guttenberg shrine.
There's also another place in Huntington Station right near my friend's house on Depot RD, but I forget the name. I like it quite a lot.[/quote]

Lol! I know exactly where you are. Jade Garden is great for Chinese Food also but I'm sure you figured that out already. How is it there anyways? I love Little Vincents, assuming it's the same as the one in Lake Ronkonkoma of course. See ya around neighbor!

[fvgazi]

Lol! I know exactly where you are. I almost moved in there, I'm actually around the corner on vets hgwy like seconds away, literally. Depending on that freaking light!! I go running/walking around the track on occassions at the high school. Jade Garden is great for Chinese Food also but I'm sure you figured that out already. How is it there anyways? I love Little Vincents, assuming it's the same as the one in Lake Ronkonkoma of course. See ya around neighbor!

The small world of Racketboy! I occasionally walk around that track with my fiance! I live in those apartments right across. They are nice, but expensive. Maybe I'll see yah around, neighbor.

REPO
We totally hijacked this thread and I feel bad, but it's really random that we both live actually around the block from each other and had no idea! Hopefully a lot of the information you are getting from the NYer's here are helping you out decide where to move. I'll try to stay back on track again.