I (still) live in New York City - Ask Me Anything

[allfurcoatnoknickers]

I did an AMA four years ago and thought it might be fun to do another one since I'm seeing more and NYC advice threads popping up on the Holiday board.
Anyone got any questions for a current Manhattanite? I love to play tour guide 😊.

I'm also married to a born and raised New Yorker, and we have a four year old in elementary school and a 5 month old baby, so feel free to ask away and pregnancy, birth, maternity leave and schools in the US. I see a lot of misconceptions on here I'd be happy to chat about.

Halloween question - on our train to NY from Boston we were talking to a guy and he said in his area in Massachusetts has so many truck or treaters he spends $500 on candy - is that normal??????

@Fluffycloudsfloatinginthesky I've got no idea what's normal in suburban Boston?! Basically everyone here lives in an apartment, so unless your building does trick or treating, or you live on one of the big trick or treating blocks, then you won't be giving out any candy.

@allfurcoatnoknickers

Just on our way back from trick or treating - we did the seal park area and then Greenwich village. It was an amazing experience and I think has made my girls holiday!

@Fluffycloudsfloatinginthesky Ahhhh! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. We were at/around seal Park too, if you saw a pterodactyl throwing a tantrum, that was us 🙃

@allfurcoatnoknickers
We arrived back from our trip today and I just wanted to say a big thanks for the recommendations! We loved staying in LIC - it was quieter and had a more neighbourhood feel than Manhatten but was close enough to get to all the sights easily. And the views of the Manhatten skyline were amazing! We had a lovely walk in Gantry Plaza Park yesterday. We also really enjoyed Jacx&co Foodhall and Partners Coffee.
We had a quick look at Times Square one evening which was plenty for us and it was so nice to be able to retreat from the crowds and noise.

@Roundaboot SO glad to hear you had a wonderful time! Love LIC, it's such a great place to stay. I really enjoyed living there back in the day.

Sorry I haven't contributed to this so far but I have just returned from 5 days in New York and this thread really helped me.

I last visited in 2011 and I was surprised how much had changed since then. I'm a massive fan of The National and it made me think of the lyrics: "New York is older and changing its skin again. It dies every ten years and then it begins again." Little Island was a highlight. The High Line is also evolved with the growth of the trees. Summit One Vanderbilt was amazing and we spent about 3 hours up there.

One thing has struck me coming back to London is in New York (apart from Maceys) I didn't see many Christmas decorations up. Here there are loads! I would have thought it would be the other way around. I saw a lot of beautiful fall displays in New York though which were more seasonal.

Not the OP I would say yes, but I went 5 years ago! It was $100 for 4 of us - may be a lot more now!!
And have lunch at Russ and Daughters nearby…

So glad this was helpful and that you had a good time!

The reason it isn't that Christmassy yet is because we have to get through Thanksgiving first. Then things really start to get festive.

@Goatymum Not that much more! $120 for 4. I just checked. They're also doing 30% off the walking tours right now.

I’m really enjoying this thread OP and it’s making me want to visit NYC. I just have one question as someone is who pretty claustrophobic and avoid lifts where possible…. Can you do NYC without lifts? It seems like every building you enter, you’d need to get in an elevator.

@Raggletaggles So glad to hear you're enjoying it! Accessibility in NYC is actually rubbish , so you could very easily avoid lifts. You just wouldn't be able to go up to any of the observation decks.

You might struggle a bit with hotels, but you could look into whether they have ground floor rooms. I'm sure some of them do - a quick google would be a good starting point.

@Raggletaggles A couple of further thoughts - can you do glass lifts? Because the Marriott Marquis in Times Square has glade lifts. I also bet that that a lot of the older, small hotels like the Warwick, the Benjamin and the Chatwal would have decent stairs to the lower floors.

Hi! I’m back again with another question if it’s okay.

im taking a Monzo card so plan on using mainly card instead of cash this time.

when it comes to paying the bill in restaurants how does it work? I’ve read they take the tip off a few days later?
ideally I want it all off at the same time.

could I pay the tip separate in cash?

and lastly, can we split the bill between us? Pay half each on card? I only ask this as in Spain last year we couldn’t split the bill with our cards!

I've never seen the tip taken off later, it always looks like one transaction on my credit card statement. You can always tip in. Cash though.

You should have no problem splitting the bill on 2 cards - some places get a bit shirty if you try and use loads of cards, but never had an issue with two.

I just wanted to add in regards to this most places don't use chip and pin. It was a culture shock for us! We used our cards for the vast majority of transactions. What we struggled with is that waiting staff kept taking our cards and trying to put the transaction through themselves which was obviously unsuccessful. Then we had one time when they insisted on a signature on top of chip and pin.

Shops are fine with chip and pin - just paying for meals that we struggled with.

Also I've checked my account and tips went out straight with meals as one transaction. Be prepared for 20% tipping and for everyone to want a tip.

Overall though, card was easy and we struggled to spend the $200 cash we brought with us on the last day.

@libertine80 Yes, almost everywhere is cashless. I was carrying the same $15 around in my wallet for two weeks recently. Ended up using it to tip my nail lady.

I pay my dog walker in cash and that's about it.

Excitedly planning a trip for DD and I in March. DD is 18 and quite likes a drink or two, I am assuming this is an absolute no-no in New York as the drinking age is 21?

Also tipping - in the UK it's a standard 10%, I understand in the US you are expected to leave more. What about grab and go places, coffee shops etc, are you still expected to tip?

@CharityShopChic Absolute no-go on the drinks I'm afraid. She'll likely get carded as they're very strict about it. I'm 36 and got carded at a restaurant a couple of weeks ago (I look well over 21...).

You generally tip 20% at sit down places, but not anywhere you're taking your food/coffee to go. They usually have a tip option on the payment screen, but it's fine to ignore it.

Rent would be $8.5 or $9k per month for a 2 bed wowsers that is so high, that must be more expensive than London?
We are in LA and people move from NY and happily pay 5-6 k to rent a 3 bed home and now I know why.
How do people who are earning 30-40 k get by with housing? Do they live further out to find the places for 1800-2k that must exist to accommodate the workers that a city like NY needs to keep going? Those workers always exist so where do they live for the lower rents I wonder?

@middler To be fair, I live in a bonkers expensive part of Manhattan. I would bite someone's hand off for a decent $6k 3 bed! The cheaper (but nice!) neighborhoods tend to be further out in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Oh and Staten Island, but we don't talk about that place 😂. I also wrote upthread about income restricted housing.

Hello, my and DH plan to visit NY perhaps in the spring for a few days for the first time.
please please, could you tell me some tips, like what airport is best, what month, what to avoid.
im totally never booked any transatlantic flights before, I have no clue what to look for..or how to even look.
thank you.

@Newyearhwre Have a look at the British Airways January sale. I booked through them in Jan last year and got a great deal on flights and hotel. We stayed in Long Island City which was great as it was a bit out of the hustle and bustle but still close enough to Manhatten to be able to get to all the key spots easily

@Newyearhwre Ahh sorry totally missed this. I would fly into JFK over Newark. I always find Newark a bit of a faff to get to. I prefer a night flight from the US to the UK and a day flight from the UK to the US, but that's personal preference. Other than that, I don't think booking transatlantic flights is any different to a normal flight? What's giving you trouble?

The best weather would be April or May. March it could be lovely or it could be snowing.

Like PP said, LIC is a great place to stay if you want to save some cash. I'd honestly avoid staying in Times Square as it's pretty horrible and overpriced. I'd stay closer towards Grand Central or Central Park or further downtown. FiDi is a great place to stay. Near lots of attractions, but very quiet.

@allfurcoatnoknickers hello, thank you.
We booked the flights and hotel, flying at 12pm from Heathrow to JKF and again from JKF at 8pm back to U.K.
We booked the Hyatt Grand Hotel near Grand Central.
Going in April.
Would you advice pls the best way of traveling in NY, something like a travel card for the subway, bus etc..