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Tell me the one thing that surprised you and you wished you knew ahead of time. Please, skip the obvious stuff, like how expensive it is, etc. If you didn't know that ahead of time then you deserved to be surprised. I want real surprises that aren't common knowledge. Whatcha got!?
Well I was born in the city but I"ll say "beore I moved out of my parent's place into my own place"... I wish I knew how ****ty the grocery stores are in some neighborhoods. I'm in East Harlem and your choices are basically "medium priced and awful quality" or "expensive and medium quality" unless you want to go 20+ minutes out of the way.
Cida, I would have if I lived there already, haha. Moving there as soon as possible so it's fun to see what people who already live there have to say about it.
Two things about the subway: if you’re on the platform and a train pulls in and the car that stops near you is noticeably emptier than the others, RUN to one of the more crowded cars. The reduced number of passengers in one car means something is really wrong like smell, no a/c, crazy person ranting, a rat running around or whatever.
The other thing is always check track work on weekends on the mta site on Friday to see how messed up your weekend trains will be.
Two things about the subway: if you’re on the platform and a train pulls in and the car that stops near you is noticeably emptier than the others, RUN to one of the more crowded cars. The reduced number of passengers in one car means something is really wrong like smell, no a/c, crazy person ranting, a rat running around or whatever.
The other thing is always check track work on weekends on the mta site on Friday to see how messed up your weekend trains will be.
Can’t rep you because I repped you enough recently, but these are quality advisories.
Food is so much more expensive, not just real estate, compared to my growing up years in nyc. However, if you know where to look, there are still bargains to be found. For me, in Manhattan’s sprawling Chinatown, there is a smaller restaurant across from the park on Chrystie ( nearest intersection is Grand). There are two markets at the corner of Grand and Chrystie, if you walk to the left away from Grand on Chrystie there is a very cheap Cantonese restaurant where you can get a fish veg meal for 5.99 or 6.99. Also many other choices. Also, Big Wong On Mott St. still has relatively cheap rice, noodle, porridge dishes with meat, seafood, veggies, etc. HK Supermarket and other smaller markets have produce and certain food that are cheaper than western markets.
In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, we had N.Y. Muffins which had the best chicken salad sandwich for 6.99 and nice greens smoothie for 5.49 regular size. Unfortunately, that closed due to high rent. Now I see that we have Krispy Krust pizza for $3 a slice plain. I get the plain and put mushrooms, sausage on the pizza at home, saving money ( maybe an extra $2.50 or so for each topping. Joes pizza plain slice used to be $1, now it is $3 or a little more. I like Krispy Krust more, it is closer to the waterfront so get some pizza and their great Calzones and sit in the waterfront parks to enjoy your food and the great views of Manhattan and the East River, boats, etc. The sausage one was a great deal at $7 but they somehow discovered the mistake and raised the price to $10-11. Some places charge $16 for Calzone that is not filled like theirs. Martha’s Bakery also opened on Bedford near the subway in Williamsburg and there are specials for certain days of the week that makes it a bargain to have say coffee and a baked item when you want a break from eating cereal at home. Pate et Traditions also in Williamsburg has wonderful savory and sweet crepes and excellent coffee for a reasonable price ( $10 to $12 for a crepe with small salad last time I was there but it has been awhile).
The point here is it is helpful to get local advice on where you can eat cheaply in the area you live in or visit more frequently. Also, the waterfront parks in Brooklyn like the New Domino Sugar Park, the N. 5th Pier Park, the East River Park, and ofc One Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn Heights are great places to spend the day (the latter park boasts gorgeous views and is approx. 88 acres with different activities, great walking areas, the Carousel, and restaurants, including the great Grimaldi pizza place nearby).
Also find out which museums and art institutes have free admissions on what days or hours and you will have a blast with all the cultural offerings that are free in NYC. As mentioned by others in another thread, just discovered NYPL ( NY Public Library) has An Author Discussion series ongoing right now for free. Just attended a session with the author of Choked on air pollution and the effects on personal health and our world globally.
Last edited by Evolving; 07-25-2019 at 08:47 PM..
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