People ask me lots of questions about what it's like to live in New York City, so I will try to answer some of those questions here. The most popular question so far has been about how I get around, oddly enough. So, for your information.
I always leave my apartment an hour before I want to get to school or work. If it is the weekend or if I am going further downtown (or if I have to transfer and go uptown), I need to leave about 1.5 to 2 hours before I need to be someplace. I walk about a mile to the train station. I have a monthly unlimited ride pass, which costs a little less than $100, so I don't hesitate going anywhere. I then wait for the train to come. I usually go into town on the weekends or the early morning, so I can usually get a spot on the first train that comes. If there isn't an open seat, there are bars to hold on to, and the train moves quite fast. Depending on which train I can catch (both my house and the Grad Center are near larger stations where several lines run), it is usually 15 to 25 minutes to get into the city (which is what the residents of the outer boroughs call Manhattan). Then I walk a long block and cross the street to my building. We're literally across the street from the Empire State Building, so I usually have to avoid a lot of traffic, people trying to hand me marketing or get me to go on tours.
There are also buses that I can take, but if I have to get anywhere I usually walk. The buses take some time (see yesterday's post), and I enjoy getting to walk so much, despite the pollution. I almost never take a cab, but I do have a small cab fund in case I need to get somewhere in a hurry. I took a cab once so far, when I only had 15 minutes to get to a show, and it was totally worth it. Nonetheless, cabs are expensive, and I couldn't afford to take one to class, for example.
Everything else is mostly in my neighborhood, although I wish I had a World Market or something. There are a few grocery stores and fruit stands within 10 blocks, a hardware store right down the street, and a few dollar stores within the block. There's a shipping store right across the street, and an organic food store 5 blocks west that sells Gil's food. There's a vet a few blocks away, although I might have to venture out further because I'm not sure I like this particular vet. There is also a laundromat a few blocks down, and my flat has a cart that I can stuff all my laundry in so that I don't have to carry it. There are two florists across the street, one good one and one lousy one. I didn't know that one of them was lousy until I bought these irises.
They're beautiful, as you can see, but they are already dying.
This all means that I am incredibly thankful to Andra, who taught me how to take public transportation. Without that, I'm sure I'd be stuck in Astoria.
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2 comments:
So interesting, thank you very much for sharing! I did wonder how you got around and what the cost was and things. I learned a lot today.
The cost is $2.25 per train ride, and an unlimited ride pass is $89. So as long as I made at least 40 trips/month, it's worth it. I have class 3 times/week (so that's 6 trips/week) times 4 weeks is only 24 trips. But I actually try to go into the city once per day, because if I stay in my apartment all day it's a lot more work to get to and from the train the next day. It's better to walk those couple miles every day so my body stays used to it.
To get to Staton Island there is a free ferry, from which you can see the statue of liberty. Also, as I learned when I was sick, my insurance covers a doctor a few blocks away that I intend to return to. Finally, there are many pharmacies and little shoe or clothing shops nearby (lots of Payless Shoes), even a Euromart (which has imported groceries and good cheese) near the train, and even a Lane Bryant half-way between my house and the train!
Anyway, I might not continue to buy an unlimited ride pass (I intend to do a thorough analysis next semester), but for now I like that I can just hop on a train anywhere anytime without having to worry about the cost. I get a lot more exploring in that way.
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