The Absolute Essential Things to Know When Moving to New York

What’s it like to live in NYC?

People often say you aren’t a ‘true’ New Yorker until you have seen at least one Broadway show, have become a Yankees or Mets fan, and stored at least a dozen crisp bagels in your freezer for a rainy day. The Big Apple is the only place that gives you easy access to the best tasting food culture on the planet. It’s one of the few cities that allows you to buy Caribbean-Spanish food for breakfast, Turkish for lunch, authentic Italian cuisine for dinner, and Jewish chocolate rugelach for dessert. Living in New York is every cosmopolite’s dream. And we can give you a few tips on how to make it come true.

First step: Finding the right moving company

If you are relocating, you will need access to professional transportation firms that will spare you unnecessary stress. Lexel is a Boston to New York moving company that provides affordable weekly long-distance transits and specializes in both residential and commercial relocation. Besides, our licensed and trained specialists offer professional packing services. We will quickly deliver your boxes to your home or office on the day of your relocation. Thanks to our Boston movers, transferring your belongings to New York will be a breeze as we do everything possible to save you the trouble of packing, loading, transferring, and unloading. You can be assured that with our moving experts on your side, your relocation will go seamlessly.

Where to buy train tickets and MetroCards?

Unless you plan on driving, the first thing you will want to do is to get some subway rides. A MetroCard gives you access to the New York City underground transport system. They can be bought from MTA vending machines, sales booths, or any MTA Metro-North Railroad station. You can save time and avoid long lines by refilling your MetroCard through EasyPay.

If you plan to live in the suburbs and work in the city, Long Island Railroad tickets can be purchased at LIRR vending machines at every station (or Mail & Ride). You can also buy them on the train, but it is more expensive. Traveling peak hours is also more expensive, so try to plan your trips earlier or later if you want to save a couple of bucks. Consider Park & Ride if you wish to drive and then commute by train.

If you will be traveling to New Jersey, Philadelphia, Northeast PA (Poconos/Scranton/Wilkes Barre), or the Casino, Martz Trailways is a convenient transportation mode. Their buses have free Wi-Fi, and the rates are reasonably priced. Take advantage of their specials, commuter discounts, and casino fares. There are also $15 passenger vans that commute from NYC to Stroudsburg and Hazleton daily.

Finding your dream job or place of business in New York

Manhattan isn’t the only place to start a career or become an entrepreneur. Long Island is a great spot to work too. Jericho, Mineola, Westbury, Melville, Hauppauge, and Bohemia are considered major business hubs.

If you are an entrepreneur and you have your heart set on staying in the city, you will be pleased to know that NYC has a few affordable, trendy shared office spaces and co-working spaces to choose from. If you’re always on the go, there are even rent-free places. By the way, Central Park and other major NYC parks have free Wi-Fi. And if you’re an Apple user, you can visit the 24-hour Apple Store to get your iPhone, iPad, or other products of this company repaired.

What every newcomer should know about New York?

If you are moving from Boston to NYC, don’t neglect the other areas beyond the city boundary. There are so many things to do in New York that you can easily miss out. For example, Long Island has a few lovely beaches along the North Shore, South Shore, Fire Island, and Hampton Bays. There are also several recreation zones, such as Eisenhower Park on Long Island.

Don’t neglect Upstate New York. It is often treated like an unwanted stepchild because most people focus on NYC and Long Island, but this is absolutely not fair. Albany, the capital of New York, is a great place to visit. However, it is more rural compared to Long Island. Albany is about 3 hours away from NYC. Upstate New York has several towns, such as Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, etc. A lot of the city residents love to travel Upstate for weekend getaways.

Some out-of-towners get Staten Island, Long Island City, and Long Island mixed up. Long Island is a suburb of NYC (Nassau and Suffolk County). Staten Island is one of the longest and largest islands in the US (118 miles). Long Island City is in Queens, while Staten Island is one of the five boroughs of NYC. If you live in the latter, you can take the ferry to get to Manhattan.

Things to do and places to go

Music

During the summer, New York City has free concerts in Central Park and Jones Beach. But there is nothing more intriguing than the live street performers in Manhattan.

Clothes

Many people talk about the high cost of living in New York. But you can get good deals, especially in apparel. You’ll find Haute Couture clothing on the Upper East Side along 5th Avenue. Then you’ll see a lot of department stores throughout the city. Soho and Chelsea are great places to get clothing deals. But you are not a true New Yorker until you have purchased at least one or two articles from a street vendor. By the way, New York’s sales tax is 8.875%. Clothing or footwear that costs less than $110 is tax-free.

Significant events

These include New York Fashion Week, the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Tree Lighting Ceremony in Rockefeller Center, and the annual September 11th memorial.

Entertainment for kids

If you have children, don’t forget about the Bronx Zoo, the Planetarium, Coney Island, Rye Playland, Adventureland, and a few other amusement parks. Niagara Falls is also a great place to visit with friends and family.

Sports

If you love to run and you have dreamed about participating in the New York City Marathon, you’ll more than likely be placed on a waiting list. In the meantime, there are many other notable races across the state to join.

Special places

About 50 miles away from the city, there is a town called Huntington Village, known as Little New York. Located on the North Shore on Long Island, it is coined as Margaritaville because people love to come from afar to the village to eat and drink, especially on the weekends. During the day, it is a family-friendly town with a museum and a Cinema Arts Centre. Huntington also hosts the annual Tulip Festival in May and the October Festival during the fall.

Malls

New York has several big malls like the Manhattan Mall, The Shops at Columbus Circle, and Brookfield Place. Long Island also has a few of them, including Roosevelt Field Mall, Green Acres Mall, Westfield Sunrise Mall, Walt Whitman Mall, and the Smith Haven Mall. Then you have the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, Tanger Outlets in Deer Park, and Riverhead. And there is also Waterloo Premium Outlets in Upstate New York.

You don’t have to travel to the Jersey Shore to visit the beach

The first thing that comes to mind when people think about New York is the concrete jungle. Most people are unaware that there are 15 major beaches, not including the Hamptons and smaller ones throughout Long Island. Keep in mind that some beaches charge for parking. If you want to dodge the fee, your best bet is to go to the seaside after 6:00 pm.

The best underrated places to eat in New York

It will take a person a total of 8,361 days to have a meal at each restaurant in NYC – that’s approximately 22,9 years. Here are a few good places to start with:

• Make Sandwich (the new child of Melt Shop), in Union Square, has excellent gourmet sandwiches. Their chicken and chorizo are to die for!
• Katz Deli, on 205 E Houston St., on the Lower East Side, has the best sandwiches. Their Pastrami on rye with a Kosher pickle on the side is delicious. It’s a great family-friendly place to eat, but make sure you get there early to beat the crowd. If you’re planning to dine in, make sure you designate someone from your party to grab a table while you stand in line. Otherwise, you may not find seating together.
• Scoops on 624 Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn specializes in the tastiest dairy-free ice-cream and vegan, Caribbean comfort food at reasonable prices. Scoops has limited space, so plan on placing your order to-go.
• Trini Delite on 110-02 Liberty Ave, South Ozone Park, NY, is known for its West Indian vegetarian Roti, chicken Roti, and beef Roti. Order two doubles with curried chickpeas (Channa peas) with Tamarind sauce and a wrapped Roti with the bread skins on the side if you are a newbie to West Indian food. And there are many great authentic Trinidadian style restaurants throughout Liberty Avenue in Queens.
• Greek Garden restaurant (the last best restaurant before the beach exit) in Babylon Village is a nice place to have lunch if you’re planning to visit Robert Moses State Park Beach (Long Island) this summer. They have great gyros.
• The Atlantis Diner is a great family-friendly restaurant. They serve Greek, Mediterranean, and continental food. If you’re driving, take the scenic route back to NYC on Ocean Parkway. There’s no traffic, and you can drive alongside Captree State Park and Jones Beach State Park. The views are breathtaking.

Other places worth mentioning are Kai Fan Asian Cuisine & Sushi Bar on Riverdale Avenue in the Bronx, Red Apple Restaurant on Hylan Blvd, and Incas Grill Peruvian Kitchen in Grant City, in Staten Island.

Note that Manhattan pizza is good, but it isn’t known as the most incredible in the world. Brooklyn and Long Island can offer you the much better authentic Italian one. After you settle in, consider going on a food tour in NYC to familiarize yourself with the variety of dishes the city has to offer.

Groceries are no as expensive as people claim them to be

You just have to know which stores and food markets to shop at. Whole Foods is not the only place around. If you are a health nut, many small mom and pop grocery shops sell organic fare.  For example, Khasky Foods in Gravesend, Brooklyn, on Avenue U, sells affordable imported Kosher foods.

There are fruit and vegetable stands on every corner in Manhattan. So, you will not have a problem gaining access to affordable fresh gifts of nature. Harlem also has a few good organic fruits and vegetable markets. Some Manhattan bazaars will even deliver them to your home or place of business.

You’ll also want to try the Chinese food markets in Chinatown. Don’t neglect the bodegas out of pride. They are convenient places to shop when you’re in a hurry. Sometimes bodegas sell ripe mangoes on the cheap.

If you have a big family, and you’re budget conscious, consider stocking up on healthy eats outside of the five boroughs (Manhattan, Staten Island, The Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens) and shop at Costco in Farmingdale and Hauppauge, NY. You can get affordable organic foods at the Walmart Neighborhood Market in Levittown, NY – they’re open round the clock. Secaucus, New Jersey, also has a 24-hour Walmart close to NYC.

Hopefully, these tips have given you the essential things to know when relocating to the Big Apple. For a quote on our Boston and New York movers, call 1 (855) 605-7755 or contact us online.

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