Quote:
Originally Posted by RageX
NYC is a very walkable city, the amount of driving you -won't- do shaves a lot of car costs of your expenses. 3 miles (~45 min. walk) in ANY other place in the US passes you by like 3 or 4 stores, in NYC it's literally more like 200.
Be careful about using the subway too much, $2.25 adds up real quick and at $104/month the infinite ride monthly metro card is not as great a bargain as other cities (e.g Boston infinite T for $59)
Rent and Groceries though, are so much higher than the rest of the country it almost makes my eyes bleed just thinking about it. Assuming standard cheapo neighborhood rent of "only" $1100 and a little eating out plus like $4 Milk Gallons and $3 Egg Dozens, you're looking at $2000/month for JUST food and shelter...
Utilities, there's way to shorten those anywhere and, cell phones, Metro PCS beats the big 3 by a -Long Shot- Yea that's right F-U Big 3!! (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile)
Clothes and stuff are pretty cheap cuz' of the ChinaTown sweatshops (groan all you want, they'll still exist). The 9% sales tax is a kick in the teeth but, electronics are a litle lower than some other places and the selection is Much wider...
Y'know you got your plus and minus to alomost any place...
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The cost of groceries really depends on where you are in the city. In Queens, for example, there are dozens (probably hundreds) of produce markets that are super cheap compared to many other places in the country.
A friend was just here visiting from a mid-sized midwestern city and she was amazed at the low cost of fruit and veggies at the place we stopped in Astoria on 30th Ave. We spent $6 on quite a bag full of stuff; she said it would have cost triple that at the Kroger (or wherever people shop for groceries in that other city). These local produce places also generally sell eggs for between $1 and $1.50 per dozen, or $2.99 for organic.