Hints on Accommodation and Cost of Living in New York

By Sophia Kagan and Linda Gyorki, Interns 2005-06

Neighbourhoods

Manhattan is a great place to live but be prepared to pay for the postcode. When renting a room, you are likely to pay anywhere from $US700 to $US1200 a month. If you are looking for cheaper accommodation, you may want to look at housing in Brooklyn. It is not difficult to commute between Manhattan and certain neighbourhoods in Brooklyn, such as Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights and North Side.

Areas close to Human Rights First are Midtown, Lower East Side and SoHo, Chinatown, East Side and Gramercy, Upper East and Upper West Sides. Further north you will find Harlem, Inwood and Washington Heights and in the far south you will find the Financial district (Wall street) and TriBeCa.

You may want to check how far the accommodation is from the Human Rights First offices, which are located at 333 Seventh Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. You can check this by going to www.mapquest.com. If you can’t find the Human Rights First offices on the map, look for Madison Square Gardens, as it is only a few blocks away from the office. Make sure to ask about near-by public transport as well.

Linda: I paid AU$1000 per month in rent. I also had to pay an AU$1000 deposit upon my arrival, which was returned to me prior to my departure. I lived in midtown Manhattan, just near Central Park and a thirty minute walk from the office. I shared a fully furnished studio apartment, which had a kitchen, a bathroom and internet access, with a medical intern from New York City.”

Accommodation

Before leaving, you might hear that accommodation is really hard to find in New York. But, luckily, there are heaps of great websites that make the process of finding somewhere to stay far easier. I have listed the websites that I know below.

There are also paid agencies that can arrange accommodation for you but having not used one in New York, I am unable to recommend one.

The most comprehensive and helpful website is Craig’s List, which can be found at http://newyork.craigslist.org. Craig’s List is a classifieds for apartments, jobs, furniture, etc. It’s great in that housing is conveniently divided into categories, including houses, apartments, shared rooms, etc. It’s free and easy to use, and you can register your own ad as well as searching for others’.

Furnished Quarters advertises furnished apartments. See www.furnishedquarters.com

The Housing and Residential Life section of the Website of Pace University has lots of links to student residences and YMCA’s in and around New York City. It can be found at http://appserv.pace.edu/execute/page.cfm?doc_id=13031 I have heard that the de Hirsch Residence (otherwise known as the 92^nd Street Y), which is listed on the Pace University site is a great place to stay. It can be found at http://www.92y.org/content/de_hirsch_residence.asp?d=47.

The Webster is a residence in midtown Manhattan for women only. The residence houses professionals, college interns and college students. www.websterapartments.org

Transport

There are several options when it comes to public transport in New York. It has to be said that the metro in New York is one of the best in the world. It is clean and safe, fairly frequent and runs 24 hours a day. The fare for a subway or a local bus ride is US$2. You can buy a metrocard and continue to recharge it during your stay. If you put US$10 or more on your metrocard, you receive a 20% bonus. So, if you place US$10 on your card, you can have six rides for the price of five. Alternatively, you can buy an unlimited metro card. A seven-day unlimited metro card costs US$24 and can be used on subways and local buses. A thirty-day unlimited metro card costs US$76 and can be used on subways and local buses.

If you plan to have any weekends away, a cost-effective way to travel between cities is the Chinatown bus system. These buses travel from Chinatown in New York to Chinatowns in other U.S. cities. For example, a one-way ticket from New York to Boston with the Fung Wah Transport Company costs US$15 and the service is impeccable.

Food

Food can be cheap or pricey depending on how and where you choose to eat. Supermarkets are fairly cheap (around the same price as Melbourne) and have conveniently long opening hours. I did my grocery shopping at a well-priced supermarket chain called Morton Williams. If shopping on the weekend or during the day, Chinatown’s grocery stores can be a fantastic place to stock up on fruit and veg.

Eating out, you will find a huge number of restaurants. The restaurants downtown, particularly around New York University, are quite cheap. You can sample any type of cuisine from Belorusian to Uzbek and dozens of others. You will find ‘Little Italy’ in the Lower East Side, ‘Little India’ in Jacksons Blvd, Queens and ‘Little Russia’ in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn (all streets/neighbourhoods with restaurant after restaurant serving a particular cuisine type). Meal prices will obviously vary but tend to be about $US10 for a small meal at a budget restaurant and can go up to $US200 a meal at a fancy restaurant like Per Se. But don’t despair, eating at a 5 star restaurant is possible on a reasonable budget if you go during ‘Restaurant Week’ - an event that occurs for two weeks a year in January (January 22 through 26 and January 29 through February 2) as well as a week in July. During this time, all participating restaurants offer 3 course meals for $US24 (lunch) and $US35 (dinner). Restaurants will also often drop their prices for set menus during the week so make sure you check weekly magazines like Time Out New York for offers.

Phone

If you want to have a mobile phone while you are away, there are a few things to keep in mind. If you plan to take your Australian mobile phone with you, it is important that you ensure that it is a tri-band phone; otherwise it will not work in the U.S. Buying an American sim card will keep down the cost of phone calls. I went on a pre-paid plan with Cingular Wireless (www.cingular.com). I can recommend Cingular as they sell pre-paid phone cards in most pharmacies and supermarkets.

Talks and Lectures in and around New York City

Linda: Whilst in New York, I made the most of the opportunity to hear as many public lectures as possible. Human Rights First will certainly send you e-mails about various talks taking place in New York. A good website which will give you further information is http://nyc.freecityevents.com/.

Entertainment in and around New York City

Sophia: Entertainment in New York is endless so I won’t even try to outline what is available. For up to date information about events in New York check out www.nycvisit.com. If you get your hands on a NYC guide book like the Lonely Planet, that will also having listings for interesting bars, theatres and music venues.

We hope that all the above hints help you out. Enjoy your time at Human Rights First!

Linda Gyorki and Sophia Kagan