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It depends on the type of life-style that you seeking...! If housing is free/covered as you stated, you don't socialize that much, and I think it is more than enough!
To have a good time the min you need is about 50 a day. On 1k you can certainly make it work though. Yo prob have to chop off 104 a month though for the metro card so in reality you have about 900 to work with.
How are we supposed to know what YOUcould do with $1000 a month?
I know what I could do. I know what I wouldn't do. I know what should do and I also know what I can't do.
I dunno about you though.
Do your own book keeping before you get here or this town will own you.
It can be done, but like wawa said, spend the first $104 on the Metropass.
Try to live on the $1 pizza or cook in because restaurants can burn through your money fast. You want to spend money on FUN stuff, not eating.
Agree with all the advice given so far, especially the Metrocard. You can pretty much do your own budgeting as to how to spend the other $896. Maybe add a 10-15% cushion to food, etc. to reflect likely higher costs here. If it were me, I would budget a good amount for eating out because that is one of the great things about NYC.... chinese carry out, great ethnic restaurants all over the city, interesting eats at sidewalk stands, etc.
$250 should cover, utilities, electric, gas, and phone, plus laundry and dry cleaning.
Another $250 should cover a few groceries, transportation, lunch and miscellaneous items.
That should leave roughly $125 per week to have a litle fun. Which is NOT a lot. It could buy a couple of dinners at modest, but quality restaurants per week. A ticket at a Broadway show and a modest dinner to follow. Then eat out cheaply and do a couple of museums, clubs, etc. There are also lots of free things to do which will stretch the budget.
If you are frugal, you may be able to sueeze another $50 or so per week from your expenses.
Like others have said eating in will help you out a ton. Avoid places like Starbucks. For breakfast living there I always made my own fresh-ground coffee at home and I baked and froze things I'd typically waste money on at Starbucks. I also shopped at Fairway a lot and bought these amazing bagels they had for 60 cents each. I'd freeze them and then schmear them with Philly on busy mornings. You learn to get creative. I'd splurge on an extravagant dinner about once or twice a month. To me the restaurants were one of the very best things about NYC and you should be able to take advantage of them if you save properly.
Another good place to check out is Jack's Dollar Store in Midtown, as well as all dollar stores. I bought a ton of basics there, like paper towel, stationary, cleaning supplies, incense and candles. That's another way to save some extra.
Also, never get your hair cut/colored in Manhattan. You can go out to the outer boroughs and get it done just as nicely for much less. You can also make your nightclub/bar money stretch a great deal further out there too. You can often get wasted for the night off of what two drinks would have cost in some uppity Soho bar lol. Just don't get too wasted if you have a little commute involved though. Subways and drinking don't mix!
My entire wardrobe changed upon arriving to NYC also. Urban living calls for a very different type of dressing than my prior suburban life did. You will need to invest a good amount of money into good rain & snow boots if you haven't already, a parka for really harsh winter cold, perhaps a waterproof bag to carry your electronic gadgets around in. Think about what you'll be carrying and the kind of conditions you'll be in and prepare for that. I was always amazed how when it rained so few people seemed to remember umbrellas lol.
NYC does not have to be super expensive. It's all what you make of it. But I would research so you're not completely shocked when you arrive. You may think you have it all figured out but be careful- those little nickel-and-dime expenses can creep up on you fast if you're not paying attention. If you could even pick up a side gig to pull in an extra $500 a month I'd say it would be more realistic... and you'd be able to enjoy the city that much more.
Last edited by EastBoundandDownChick; 07-17-2011 at 06:22 PM..
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