New York City is one of the busiest cities on the planet, drawing in new residents every year from outside states and countries across the world. People flock to NYC for a number of reasons, including the ample number of job opportunities, social life prospects and the glitz and glam that comes with living in the best city in the world. NYC can be a tough city to make it in so here we provide some simple tips for living in NYC you'll have wished someone told you before you experience these issues for yourself.
Tips For Living In NYC #1 - Learning Good Subway Etiquette Is Important
5.7 million people ride the NYC subways every, single, day. There are so many people riding the subway each day that it would be rare to see the same face more than once. Chances are you will never ever see the person you sat or stood next to ever again. Subways get crowded during rush hour tracking and commuters often pack into the cars like sardines. It's extremely difficult for people to be comfortable when you have multiple armpits in your face but take solace in the fact that you aren't alone and that it is literally happening to millions of people everyday. If you get stepped on, the inclination is to scream at the top of your lungs and scold the jerk who isn't being more careful. The proper way to go about it is not to yell or scream at the person because it is almost always an accident. A smile and acceptance of the apology goes a long way in keeping the peace and keeping all commuters calm.
For all the who are carrying bags. Make sure you zip and button up your handbags/backpacks/arm bags so that it is completely closed. It is always cringeworthy to see an unsuspecting lady on the subway with her handbag wide open and wallet in plain site. These are the favorite targets of local pickpocket grifters who see this as an easy score. Especially during rush hour when people crammed together bumper to bumper. If you see a wide open bag, be a good person and tell the person to zip up. They'll appreciate it.
Tips For Living In NYC #2 - Just In Case You Need That Yellow Taxi Cab
One of the basic skills a typical New Yorker needs to learn is the ability to hail down a Yellow taxi cab. Not saying the need for a Yellow taxi cab is going to occur on a daily basis because we are in the age of ride shares but the skill will come in handy in the event of general emergencies. Such as when there is a torrential downpour and the Uber/Lyft surge pricing is off the charts or if god forbid you need to get to the hospital asap and you see a vacant yellow cab passing by.
Yellow cabs remain a very popular form of transportation in NYC. It can seem scary at first, but hailing a cab is easy with some practice. Just step to the curb with a hand outstretched towards the street and wave at the yellow cabs within sight like a crazy person. Keep in mind, the light on top of the taxi MUST be lit up in order for them to pick you up. Here is the hidden secret most people don't know. On the left, you have a cab that is Active and willing to pick up nearby passengers. On the right, you have a cab that is not on duty and will not pick you up even though you are waving furiously. Why? Because the light is off and the car either already has a passenger or he's off duty and does not want to be bothered.
Tips For Living In NYC #3 - Bypass Thousand Dollar Broker Fees For A Rental Apartment
Only in NYC, where housing supply is far less than demand, are renters responsible for paying broker fees. In the rest of the country, the general standards are that landlords cover the broker fee expense as a way to get more prospective tenants through the door. In NYC where vacancy rates are low, there is so much demand that the landlords don't have to eat any of the costs associated to marketing at the expense of renters. The concept of a 'Broker Fee' is unknown to the rest of the country leaving renters absolutely flabbergasted to learn they have to pony up a few extra grand during the rental process.
Broker fees suck because they cost a lot. Contrary to popular belief, there are ways around paying the broker fee such as renting directly from landlords and property managers. All you need to do is look up the websites, location, phone number and email addresses of the property manager and contact them directly for an apartment showing. This ensures there is no broker involvement and no extra fee to be paid to a third party. Transparentcity.co has compiled a list of over 1800 of these types of no fee apartment buildings to browse. Put the thousand dollar savings to something more meaningful. Like some junk for your apartment.
Tips For Living In NYC #4 - Stay Away From Large Puddles of Water
Generally the worst days in the big apple are rainy days. Why? Because everyone lives in small apartments and generally spend most of their time outside of it. The rain also brings out the pungent smell of the city as opposed to the fresh wet grass and wet tree smell in the suburbs. Another reason why the rain sucks is because large puddles of water accumulate in those big and small potholes on the streets. A common scene that all New Yorkers will witness at some point is seeing someone walking through the streets, while minding their own business, walking by a large but unnoticeable puddle when all of a sudden BAM, a car drives by through the puddle and splashes the grossest type of water their is in the world all over your clothes. It always happens when you least expect it. Be very weary of those puddles. They are your enemy. Be far away from those diabolical puddles.
Tips For Living In NYC #5 - Don't Step On Dog Poop At Dark
NYC is a very pet friendly city with an estimated 600,000 dogs in the city and a dog park present about every 10-15 blocks. Yes, it is amazing there is that much furry cuteness just about everywhere you go in the city but stop and think about just how much dog crap that equals. An average dog poops 1 pound of crap a day. That's 600,000 pounds of poo a day. New Yorkers know dogs don't actually go in the apartment. They get walked a few times a day just so they can do their duties on the sidewalks. Then the dogs' slave, their owners, scoop up the gobs of dog poo like its no big deal. However, not every owner is a good responsible samaritan and there so many dogs in the city to the point where there is always dog crap hanging out on the side walk. During the daytime, you can see it mile away so you learn to swerve around it. It becomes more problematic at nighttime when the smelly chunks could be easily mistaken for small bits of trash. Imagine going for a nighttime job only to trail stinky poop back into your apartment. No thanks. Keep an eye out for those random brown spots on the streets at nighttime.
Tips For Living In NYC #6 - Utilizing Car Shares For Those Out Of City Trips
As mentioned above, nobody owns a car in the city. So what do you do when you need one? People leave the city all the time whether its a friends wedding in a local suburb, wedding getaway out east or up north, a shopping trip at Ikea. Every so often, you need a car. There is very little justification for car ownership in the city considering costs for parking itself are very high. Compare that to the actual usage of the vehicle, it just makes no sense to own a car in the city. Renting a car through the traditional channels are also very expensive. Prices start around $400/day. Luckily, the sharing economy in NYC has caught up with the times. Many New Yorkers are utilizing rental car shares where you can actually rent a car by the hour. Daily rates are as low as $80. The beauty of the rental car share model is that you reserve one online and then go to one of the thousand parking garages in the city and pick the car up. It's a godsend to New Yorkers.
These tips for living in NYC are like basic skills that are good to have: like riding a bicycle, changing a flat tire, or performing CPR. They will come in handy when you live in NYC.