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Before I start this, let me apologize for anything stupid I might say. I'm an 18 year old male from the middle of nowhere, Ocklawaha Florida. Redneckville. Seriously, my neighbor has pigs, goats & donkeys. I drive 30 minutes each way to school, 20 minutes to the grocery store, 10 minutes to a gas station, etc. I needed to get out, so I applied & was accepted into The Kings College which is a small Christian University in Manhattan- I'm moving August 25th. I'm going to be living in the schools dorms in the lower east side (The Ludlow apartments on the corner of Delancey & Ludlow street if it means anything. It is 1 block away from the F trains delancey street stop) & the school is located on 52 Broadway.
I was looking at the NYC Safety Map and it showed Ludlow Street as being an "orange" danger zone, granted it was on the VERY edge, but is there really anything to be worried about as long as I keep to myself and don't whip my wallet out on the sidewalk? I'm going to have to take the subway to school- I gather it's about a 15-20 minute commute? So I'll have a backpack with my school stuff & maybe a laptop.. Is there a chance of me being marked & robbed or anything? I visited exactly 1 month ago & other then a couple of people on the street saying some things to me I had no problem whatsoever.. Manhattan in itself seemed overall an extremely safe place to live, but my uncle who is former military/police was with me when I visited and he would just randomly switch what side of the street we were on or start walking on the very outside of the sidewalk when we were passing people and he told me some people just sit on the street alllll day and wait for an easy target. Is this something I need to be legitimately looking out for when I'm on the streets? I can't envision myself being out that much late at night, and I don't drink alcohol other then maybe on New Years or something so I don't really need to worry about stumbling drunk out of a taxi into a bad area or anything. Just generally, how safe is the lower east side & what should I be looking out for?
Another thing I was wondering about is jobs & money. The school is 40 grand a year & I maxed out my financial aid package at 35,000. I'm going to need to either take out a private student loan for this last 5,000 or work like 30 hours a week to pay for it + everyday things like food/drinks, transportation, etc. Either way I'm getting a job, but I was hoping to only have to work like 20 hours and be able to use all of that money for personal expenses. I also didn't want to have to work that many hours because I'm planning on playing Basketball and/or joining the Debate team so I can meet people. So I guess my question would be how hard is it to actually get a job in NYC, what is the usual hourly wage, how much is deducted for taxes, and for anyone who is currently working their way through college or has in the past how hard is it to work & still pull straight A's? (I want to get into Columbia either as a transfer or at least grad school so I need to get the grades..)
So once I have school paid for, I'll need to obviously survive in the city. Since I'm living in the dorms I don't have to pay rent, electricity, water, gas, heat, etc. Laundry is also free, which I guess is a rarity in the city. All I have to do is feed myself technically.. I'm really not that picky, but I'm 6'5 & about 215 so food is like a premium to me, lmao. I talked to alot of guy students at the college & they said they only spend like 50$ a week on food, granted they aren't eating steak and potatoes but they aren't exactly on ramen either. They also said the Lower East Side has extremely cheap groceries if you know where to go. All I really need is a 24 pack of water per week and some cheap college guy food. Other then food & school expenses I'm going to obviously need to get the unlimited metro card every month which is 104$ right? & I guess toiletries.. i'm a guy so I really have no idea, how much does just like toilet paper shampoo conditioner body wash etc cost per month? Also how much would it be to get high speed internet? The apartment has free wifi but they said it can get pretty slow depending on the time of day.
Other then that, I was just wondering about generally how hard is it to make friends & meet people in such a huge city? The college is about the same size as my High School but obviously Manhattan & the Ocala national forest are 2 different beasts. Does everyone tend to stick to themselves or is it really like the movies where people will just walk up to you or vice versa and talk to you? One of my really close friends might go with me & dorm together but if he doesn't end up going it'll just be me.
So assume I meet a girl, and I want to go on a date with her. How does that work in NYC? Where I live EVERYBODY has a car. Since Florida is really spread out everybody drives everywhere. I'm not bringing a car up to NYC though. So if I want to take a girl out to eat what exactly would the course of events? Would she look down on me if I don't have a car? o_o
Also, has anyone here ever went to a Christian college? I'm not the hugest religion guy but I want to develop my faith, but at the same time I want to be able to have a little bit of fun. Not really trying to go to school with a bunch of Tim Tebows you know what I mean?
Which leads me to my next question.. which is going to sound really stupid, but what exactly do people DO in NYC? When I was there a month ago, it was my 1st time so I just walked around the city all day in awe. But to someone who lives in Manhattan obviously you're not gonna want to go to the ESB or go take a picture with the bull on wall street every day.. What do you guys do for fun? Here in Florida, the only thing there is to do other then party is like going to the beach or going to the ymca/public basketball courts or a friends house. I'm planning on getting a gym membership as well, how much would that be per month? Is there a YMCA or any gym for that matter in Manhattan with an indoor Basketball court?
I probably left a bunch of questions out, but I feel like this post is already way too long so I'll drop them in as the thread progresses.
Sorry I don't have better advice, because I've never lived your lifestyle here in NYC.
But I would suggest that perhaps a NYC Park & Rec pass (Recreation Center Membership : NYC Parks) would be the best bet for you for gym. Gym membership can range from $60 a month (YMCA) to $150 a month, which may or may not sound like the best way to spend your limited money. Groupon also offers deals for gyms all the time, but you'll be switching gyms all the time. Also, does your school offer anything?
No one is going to look down on you for not having a car. Not having a car is the norm here. However, perhaps you should be more worried about school than dating. There are plenty to do in NYC, and you'll meet people (including girls) everywhere. Once you start making friends in school, I'm sure your social life will start to develop on its own. At your age, drinking is pretty high on the list. If not, comedy club, clubs, etc., are all widely available. Student rush and student discounts offer great access to cultural events. There are also plenty of free things, like festivals, or pay-as-you-wish museums.
As for safety, a little street smart, which I'm sure you'll develop, will keep you perfectly safe in LES.
Sorry I don't have better advice, because I've never lived your lifestyle here in NYC.
But I would suggest that perhaps a NYC Park & Rec pass (Recreation Center Membership : NYC Parks) would be the best bet for you for gym. Gym membership can range from $60 a month (YMCA) to $150 a month, which may or may not sound like the best way to spend your limited money. Groupon also offers deals for gyms all the time, but you'll be switching gyms all the time. Also, does your school offer anything?
No one is going to look down on you for not having a car. Not having a car is the norm here. However, perhaps you should be more worried about school than dating. There are plenty to do in NYC, and you'll meet people (including girls) everywhere. Once you start making friends in school, I'm sure your social life will start to develop on its own. At your age, drinking is pretty high on the list. If not, comedy club, clubs, etc., are all widely available. Student rush and student discounts offer great access to cultural events. There are also plenty of free things, like festivals, or pay-as-you-wish museums.
As for safety, a little street smart, which I'm sure you'll develop, will keep you perfectly safe in LES.
The school has a couple of partnerships with gyms in the area, one is actually directly across the street & it's 300/year but there's no indoor basketball court which is a huge selling point for me. & Yeah, I agree that if I'm living on a budget this tight I can't pay for a gym membership- But one of my Aunts offered to pay for my gym membership
& Yeah man, like I said I'm trying to transfer to Columbia ASAP so school is #1 over everything. I'm not doing ANYTHING until all of my studying & homework is done. I was just curious about how a date would actually work.
Are said comedy clubs / music venues generally inexpensive? Or do I have to catch them on one of those discount nights? As you can see I'm going to be stretched out for cash :|
There are plenty of gyms, but you may not be able to afford them with your modest budget. For fun, just like in Florida, there are the movies. There are free outdoor concerts and street fairs throughout the city. People jog in the park, rent a bike in Central Park, go row boating in Central Park. As a student, you will probably be able to get discounts to off broadway theater and many museums. Some museums are free on certain days or always free to students. There is a zoo or aquarium in every borough. Plenty of every type of music imaginable can be heard in large, medium, and small venues. There are comedy clubs that cater to the college crowd. I assume you are under 21 so you wouldn't be able to get into some places, but there are other places that allow 18 plus or you could get into earlier in the evening, at least if you want to be legal about it. You'll soon find out about the places that do not check ID so carefully.
For dating, you can meet the girl where you plan to hang out for the date or you could meet her where she lives or works or she can come to you and you can travel together where you had planned to go. Most people arrange it based on which is most efficient in terms of time or to go in the same direction. At the end of the date, if I may put it delicately, if you do go your separate ways, you might want to be a gentleman and at least offer to walk the girl to a subway station or her building or wait for her to get a cab, etc. or she may tell you she'd rather be alone.
For a job, well I don't know. That will depend on your skills, luck, your availablity, etc. Around October, retailers start hiring for the holiday season so that may help. The school should also help with finding part-time jobs too.
As for walking around, you'll get the hang of it soon enough. I think the hardest thing for a newcomer to figure out is the subway. It can be very overwhelming at first for someone who has not used any subway in their life regularly. Give yourself lots of extra time the first time you go some place new in case you get lost. Get/download the subway map. It will be confusing at first.
Can't really give you much advice bro but I give you a lot of props for taking a big step. I drove through Ocala twice and thought I was on a different planet. I'm glad to see that there are still teens out there that are willing to take big steps in their lives.
The school has a couple of partnerships with gyms in the area, one is actually directly across the street & it's 300/year but there's no indoor basketball court which is a huge selling point for me. & Yeah, I agree that if I'm living on a budget this tight I can't pay for a gym membership- But one of my Aunts offered to pay for my gym membership
& Yeah man, like I said I'm trying to transfer to Columbia ASAP so school is #1 over everything. I'm not doing ANYTHING until all of my studying & homework is done. I was just curious about how a date would actually work.
Are said comedy clubs / music venues generally inexpensive? Or do I have to catch them on one of those discount nights? As you can see I'm going to be stretched out for cash :|
For clubs, from word of mouth, you will find out all the places that are cheap and cater to the college crowd. There's a bunch in different areas in Manhattan. Different things are going on different nights of the week. Don't worry about finding things to do. If you spend 4 years here, you still will not have done everything.
How much did you research Columbia? It's kind of hard to get in as a transfer and they offer less financial aid to transfer students than to freshman. It won't be enough to just have a high GPA. You will need to do some heavy community service, published articles, etc. in order to be considered.
For clubs, from word of mouth, you will find out all the places that are cheap and cater to the college crowd. There's a bunch in different areas in Manhattan. Different things are going on different nights of the week. Don't worry about finding things to do. If you spend 4 years here, you still will not have done everything.
How much did you research Columbia? It's kind of hard to get in as a transfer and they offer less financial aid to transfer students than to freshman. It won't be enough to just have a high GPA. You will need to do some heavy community service, published articles, etc. in order to be considered.
Yeah, I'm aware how hard it is to get in, I'm at least going to give myself the best chance possible to get in. This will mean alot of my free time will be used up in internships and volunteer work, which I'm 100% ok with. As a business major anything other then an MBA from an Ivy means I'm going to be starting entry-level at like 40k :|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coney
I'll try to answer some of your questions.
There are plenty of gyms, but you may not be able to afford them with your modest budget. For fun, just like in Florida, there are the movies. There are free outdoor concerts and street fairs throughout the city. People jog in the park, rent a bike in Central Park, go row boating in Central Park. As a student, you will probably be able to get discounts to off broadway theater and many museums. Some museums are free on certain days or always free to students. There is a zoo or aquarium in every borough. Plenty of every type of music imaginable can be heard in large, medium, and small venues. There are comedy clubs that cater to the college crowd. I assume you are under 21 so you wouldn't be able to get into some places, but there are other places that allow 18 plus or you could get into earlier in the evening, at least if you want to be legal about it. You'll soon find out about the places that do not check ID so carefully.
For dating, you can meet the girl where you plan to hang out for the date or you could meet her where she lives or works or she can come to you and you can travel together where you had planned to go. Most people arrange it based on which is most efficient in terms of time or to go in the same direction. At the end of the date, if I may put it delicately, if you do go your separate ways, you might want to be a gentleman and at least offer to walk the girl to a subway station or her building or wait for her to get a cab, etc. or she may tell you she'd rather be alone.
For a job, well I don't know. That will depend on your skills, luck, your availablity, etc. Around October, retailers start hiring for the holiday season so that may help. The school should also help with finding part-time jobs too.
As for walking around, you'll get the hang of it soon enough. I think the hardest thing for a newcomer to figure out is the subway. It can be very overwhelming at first for someone who has not used any subway in their life regularly. Give yourself lots of extra time the first time you go some place new in case you get lost. Get/download the subway map. It will be confusing at first.
Awesome, have you personally been to any of the music venues? What are they like? Specifically hip hop if applicable.
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& I've noticed a lot of people in both this thread & others saying certain places "cater to college kids" - Like a comedy club for example, do some of these places actually dislike college students, or is it the CONTENT that makes them want to restrict who can get in o_o
But you can get an MBA from an Ivy even if you didn't finish your undergrad as an Ivy.
This is true, and TKC is a great school, but put it this way, if the opportunity presents itself (aka I apply for transfer and get accepted) there's no way I'm turning it down. That would be foolish. The sooner I get there, the better (in my opinion) especially because the money situation, if I'm taking on debt anyway I might as well try my hardest to get into one of the best schools in the country.
By catering to college kids, I think they mean the fee for entry is fairly low such as a small cover, or no minimum or no cover with a minimum or some combination. Also the entertainment whether it's music, improv, or stand-up will be more geared to younger people. The post college crowd, people who are in their mid or late 20s and working really don't want to mix with your group.
Another thing to consider about Columbia, make sure you check out their general education requirements, or whatever they are calling it these days. They have very structured required classes for the nonmajor classes and some of your courses may or may not transfer or you'll need additional classes to fulfill their requirements. You could end up needing to go for another semester or two. That's not easy if you have to pay for that out of pocket. If you are lookiing for a good cheap business program, check out Barauch College, CUNY in Manhattan.
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