Questions about NYC...(and Boston)

[byebyelove]

Off to NYC and Boston in 3 weeks for 10 days. 8 in NYC and 2 in Boston. Both accommodation is paid for, and NYC is a self-service apartment in Brooklyn. (aware of the air bnb rules, owner lives above the flat) as are all activities. Boston is a hotel in the south side.

I was just wondering how much spending money to take? There are 2 of us going. We aren't planning on doing loads of shopping, just the odd souvenir- maybe a candle or two- we will also be cooking, and having takeaways mostly- we may eat a restaurant once or twice.

We've never been before to the US so have no idea what to expect. We've done our research but a friend whose been recently said NY is the most dangerous she'd ever seen it- people wielding knives on the subway, so I'm guessing we'll have to factor in Ubers as well.

I guess my question is, what would you take to spend/what are must do activites? How was NYC for you? or Boston?

I went to Boston in April and absolutely loved it! We visited the Science Museum, Fenway Park for a Redsox game, the Aquarium, lots of walking around the City centre and along the river. It's a beautiful city and I felt totally safe at all times. The "T" (subway) is easy to use. It was a bit more expensive than I was expecting and with the pound being weak I would budget for slightly more spending money than you think you'll need. Things like coffees and eating out were more expensive than the UK. No experience of New York sorry but would love to go soon!

I was in NYC just a few weeks ago. Lone female, I took the subway everywhere and had no issues. To / from Brooklyn included, although I wasn’t out past 11pm.

It’s expensive. Excruciatingly expensive. I was there with a friend and we didn’t eat at proper restaurants bar once - and that was $35 pp for a water and a plate of pasta. We’d have a big brunch at a small cafe type of place in the morning - $25 each. Croissant and coffee in Pret - $15. Only cheap places were Shake Shack and Mc’s / Burger King - which I wasn’t going to eat every day. We were in Manhattan so Brooklyn residential areas might be a little cheaper, but I don’t suppose you’ll be doing touristy stuff in Brooklyn only.

I didn’t go to a proper supermarket during my stay there (hotel and just a few days) but the corner shop was just as bad. $7-8 for a smoothie. $4-5 for a small chocolate bar. Grabbing drinks on the go is just too expensive.

Pizza slices and street food, bagels are a bit cheaper. I also recommend finding the student area that’s after Little Italy as you walk west towards the Village, we found some more affordable places for $15-20 each at lunchtime.

That’s all without any alcohol as neither of us drank. Basically, you can do it a bit cheaper than the average, but NYC is huge and there’s so much to see, so unless you go specifically out of your way to find all the bargains, you won’t be making the most of your time there.

I live in the greater boston area. Food in general is way more expensive than in the UK. I am often shocked at the prices of tins of beans/potatoes/whatever in the UK when it comes up on threads here. So even if you are eating in, you might want to consider the cost of food. Go online to a grocery store near where you are staying and do an imaginary shop to see what it will be like (Stop and Shop/Shaws/Market Basket - stay away from Whole Foods).

Boston is a great city and great just to walk around. Do the Freedom Trail, the Black Freedom Trail. Walk along the Charles River, through the North End (Italian quarter), Fanuiel Hall, Rose Kennedy Greenway - all for free. If you are interested in art the Isabella Stewart Gardner and the MFA are great. You can rent kayaks and take them on the river. Walk around Beacon Hill and through the public gardens and Boston Common. There is a lot of history in Boston so if you have any interest in that it is the place to be.

I can't remember how much I spent but it was fucking loads. Get the credit card ready.

Also I would really not cook... You're in one of the greatest cities on earth! Please enjoy the cuisine. Yes there are expensive restaurants but you can also get cheaper options. In some of the dive bars in Brooklyn you get a free pizza with every beer... I would definitely spend on eating out and not bother buying candles (?!)

My DD moved to NYC just before the pandemic and I’ve visited a few times. It is expensive, food especially, so eating out can be worth it especially if you can find local cheaper but good places. I’ve used guides that have been helpful-just check how up to date they are. DD has moved around (now in Harlem) and uses the subway a lot but tends not to late at night.

There are cheaper things to do, out of the way museums for example, the high line, and some museums/galleries have cheap or free days so check out websites for those. I’ve loved Central Park and window shopping, and wholefoods is expensive but fab as noted upthread.

Must do for me is Central Park, walk the high line, see Times Square. If you want to do the Empire State it’s worth paying for a quick pass or you queue for ever. The boat ride to Staten Island and Statue of Liberty is fun. The Metropolitan museum is wonderful. Expensive but so much to see. The Natural History museum is also awesome. If you like a book shop go to the Strand. I’m back out there in October and I can’t wait!!

Went to NYC with older teen dd in July.
didn’t use the Subway as we stayed fairly centrally so walked a lot and took occasional Ubers. Have heard from a lot of sources that the subway can vary in terms of safety (I travel on the Tube frequently and feel safe so it isn’t a case of me being unfamiliar with that sort or transport). Places felt a bit less safe after dark but ok centrally. I did notice a difference as I was last in NYC 15 years ago.

I also noticed high prices - partly due to the exchange rate and also things like fresh fruit are very expensive compared to home. However I worked out with dd that US wages for my job are approximately double the UK wage. So in effect if you are trying to work out how much something is (and convert it in your head) a rough guide is to half it.

for example, strawberries $8 dollars per punnet (£7 approx at current exchange).
So ‘in my head’ I’d convert that to more like £3.50 given the factors I mentioned above so I then felt more able to accept it!

We had a couple of take out self serve meals from Wholefoods - you can eat these in the table area in the shop which also the has loos you can use. Similar arrangement at Eataly. Both of these cheaper than a proper restaurant but more than Wendy’s or McDonalds…

At the burger type places I occasionally ordered the fresh fruit as part of a children’s meal. I do eat fast food but not every day.

For cheap ish drinks out and about some of the stall do water for a dollar. Soft drinks at McDonalds also cheap. Coffee and sandwiches from Starbucks not too expensive particularly if you are used to buying it at home. . Black filter about $3 and sandwiches $6-7. 7/11 shops have cheap ish slushes ($2-3) and some have coffee machines. As a pp said, pizza or bagels are cheaper options.

we were lucky to have a fridge in our room so stocked up on multi packs of water and breakfast pastries for the room.

I’d also recommend visiting the 9/11 memorial and leave plenty of time to see it all. We paid extra to have a local tour guide and he was excellent - it was very moving and we were privileged to listen to his experiences.

I went to NYC in June with my daughter. We travelled by subway everyday multiply times and never felt unsafe or seen anything untoward, we did however walk home at night and didn't use the subways then. There are police on the streets and cameras everywhere so I felt safe.

Food isn't and expensive. Uber is very expensive in NY.

We did the electric scooter tour around Central Park and it was great fun. Summit one was cool to do - look it up it's quite new.
spends for NY for 4 days was hitting the 2k mark but we did shop a little and we did as much tourist attractions as we could.

We just returned from Boston and NYC - we had a brilliant time but it was incredibly expensive. We are from London and are used to high prices but we were shocked. Even getting 3 coffees at an average place there was rarely much change from $20. We had no problems with the subway in either city though and didn't feel unsafe (although we mainly stayed central). For nyc would recommend the high line, the met, the Whitney museum of art, 9/11 museum, wandering round the meat packing district, Chelsea, Central Park, little Italy for pizza and cannoli. We thought the natural history museum was very dated and poor compared to the London museum.

Have you booked your nyc to Boston train ticket op? Worth doing as far ahead as poss