I wrote this blog partially while already having spent a week in New York and the latter part back at home in California.
If you haven’t followed my financial journal entries, you can read the first blog by clicking here. In it, I share how I’m achieving financial freedom. My goal after attaining financial freedom is to live bicoastal, from California to New York.
My daughter’s company headquarters are in New York. They invited her to spend four days there, and I tagged along. We also decided to extend our trip for two weeks.
Here, I’ll write about what I did for one week in New York. If you want to cut to the chase, scroll down to the header One Week In New York. I share a list of things to do (this way, you can skip reading about my personal play-by-play).
The first two days here in New York, I worked remotely. I enjoyed waking up early Eastern Standard Time (EST) and kicking off my day, even though I work Pacific Standard Time (California time).
For the first week, I woke up at 6:30 am EST. I start work at 7 am California time, which is 10 am EST. I had a good three and a half hours before my work day started.
I’d get up, have my coffee, and go for a morning walk. The first day in New York, I only took a 30-minute walk, wanting to get familiar with the area where we stayed, which was in Union Square. I didn’t want to get lost on my first day and clock in late for work.
I walked around our neighborhood and scoped out the places to eat, places I might be interested in checking out, and places to visit, like museums, etc.
Here’s where we stayed for the first four days while in New York City: Moxy NYC East Village. Loved the location!
The rooms were super small, as most New York City hotels are. However, the room had a queen-size bed. Based on my prior experience with staying at the Moxy in New York, they were one of the few hotels that had queen-size accommodations.
The other Moxy I stayed at back in March was Moxy NYC Downtown. Moxy NYC Downtown was further from a lot of things my girlfriends and I wanted to visit, making us commute via subway the majority of the time. But our room had a beautiful view of the Brooklyn Bridge and two queen-size beds to accommodate our group of four.
Moxy NYC East Village is in a great location! Like I mentioned, it’s centrally located to a lot of things. Making my morning walk nice and fun. This location was right next to Westside Market NYC, where I purchased drinks and snacks for the day. I noticed they also had a deli, which I totally utilized the following day.
As I mentioned, on my first day in New York, I had to work and wanted to get my bearings straight. So there’s not much to report, unfortunately. However, the second day of work was nice because I was able to get a bit more familiar with the location.
For my morning walk on the second day, I walked down 3rd Avenue towards E 6th Street and walked towards FDR Drive until I came to the John V Lindsay East River Park Track (East River). Here, I noticed a lot of people running and working out.
I also think I walked through the projects or lower-income housing. It just felt familiar to me since I grew up in the projects of Oakland, CA, for over twenty years. I’m used to that environment, but I can see that someone who has never been in the projects may feel uncomfortable.
Nonetheless, everyone was nice to me and even helped me when I almost walked into a high-rise residential building by accident. There was so much construction going on that it was easy to get lost.
When I got to the park, a lot of people were working out. But I was gifted with such a lovely view of the water and skyline. No one was hanging out there and having a picnic.
Instead, there were a lot of people working out, either jogging, playing sports, or dancing. I saw a group of older Asian women dancing to hip-hop. It was so cute.
The walk to the East River from Moxy NYC East Village and back took about an hour.
For lunch, I bought a sandwich from Westside Market NYC and walked to Washington Square Park, which was an 11-minute walk according to Google Maps. The neighborhood around that area was cute, so I wandered off a little bit.
The park was lively with an abundance of people on Wednesday. Even still, there were enough benches in the park that I was able to sit and enjoy my lunch. There were even people sunbathing on the grass since it was such a nice, warm, and sunny day.
Later that day, I worked in the lounge of Moxy NYC East Village, switching between outdoor and indoor sections they offered. Inside, there were outlets and an abundance of seating areas, along with nice, clean bathrooms and a bar.
Hotel lobbies are a great alternative to use as a workspace. You have everything you need. Except if you need to make calls, it may not be as quiet or private as you would like.
I share my workday experience with you in case you, too, are looking into working in different locations if your company allows. Now, I’ll write about the things I did on my day off that I highly enjoyed.
On my first day off, I walked from our location in Union Square to the Lower East Side. Initially, I was just wandering through the city, but I decided, since it was a hot day, to step into a museum. The closest museum to me at that time was the Tenement Museum. It is different than other museums because it’s not a large building where you can wander alone for hours. Everything is a guided tour.
This means that tours are offered daily during the museum’s business hours. I came just in time for the Tenement Women tour. I really enjoyed this tour!
Tickets can be purchased at the Tenement Museum store for $30 per person. Downstairs in the basement area are lockers, which you can use for a quarter in exchange for a key. There’s also a water station and bathrooms down there.
I used the lockers since I wanted to walk around freely. I must admit, I felt nervous during my tour that my locker might get broken into. There are cameras down there, but still. Thankfully, nothing happened. I made the mistake of locking up my phone, too. So I couldn’t take cool pictures.
We were guided into a tenement next door to the museum store. They purchased it when it was abandoned a long time ago. It was super cool to see the building in its original state.
They ask that we do not touch anything or lean on the walls to help keep the building preserved as much as possible. The story of the women who housed these tenements was also fascinating.
Our tour guide discussed how Jewish families immigrated here and created a life, family, and business for themselves, only to be met by a capitalist beef company that tried to increase the cost of beef by over 50%.
During the early 1900s, these women started protesting against the beef company and were met with resistance. Articles were written about them for not being “American”, and how they didn’t understand the “American way”.
It was interesting to hear the history of the Lower East Village.
Through their persistence and resilience (despite their adversities of being immigrant women back then), they negotiated with the beef company and had their beef costs only increase from $0.12 to $0.18. I say that is a definite win!
Their story, including the visual presentation, was such a good tour. I wish I had my daughters with me. Their story of how immigrants and women were viewed still mirrors today’s climate.
After the tour, I stumbled upon Bonbon, A Swedish Candy Company. I only know about this because my daughter asked me to get her some candy when I was leaving for New York.
It’s a cute little candy shop and more popular than I thought. My daughter walked around Greenwich eating from their pretty pink bag. A little girl saw it and squealed to her dad that they must go.
The candy was pretty good. They have a variety you can choose from. You get your own little scoop and walk around with your pink bag, picking from several different clear cubbies that house mainly gummy candies.
My favorite was the black licorice. My daughter’s favorite was the gummy skulls and sour candies. They charge per pound. Mine came out to around $13 for about 20 large pieces.
Another day, when my daughter was off, we walked the High Line, which I highly recommend. We started near Chelsea Market. Using the restroom at the Starbucks Reserve across from the Chelsea Market. We’ve been to the Chelsea Market before. It wasn’t something I needed to see again. It gets super busy in there.
Starbucks Reserve is also busy, but I like using the bathrooms in there better because it’s easier to get to. You walk through the main entrance, make a quick left. Walk towards a small set of stairs that can easily be missed. Walk towards your right and take the stairs in the middle to the lower level. From there, follow the signs to the bathrooms.
It’s a unisex bathroom. Stalls are abundant, so you’re never really waiting long. And if it does get super busy down there, a worker will guide the flow of traffic.
After, we headed towards the stairs for the High Line, which is right next to the Whitney Museum of American Art (another museum I’d like to check out). I love walking. The High Line is 1.45 miles long.
It was such a great treat because it was a super cool walking experience. There was beautiful foliage, flowers, plants, and city views. I saw bathrooms at the start of the High Line, not sure if there were more in other areas, small food kiosks, and vendors.
My daughter and I purchased some small art prints from a vendor tucked underneath an overpass. 5 prints for $20 total!
We decided to walk the whole High Line, starting from Chelsea Market and ending at the Hudson Yard on W 34th St. We then walked back along the Hudson River to catch the sunset. Unlike East River Side, although there were still runners along the Hudson River, there were a lot of people also hanging out.
I’m so glad we walked the High Line and decided to walk back along the Hudson River. There was so much to see.
People were playing pickleball with the beautiful water as their backdrop. My daughter was fascinated by all the helicopters landing and flying out of the Hudson River. They were coming and going so frequently.
We stumbled upon a small sandy beach and park, Chelsea Piers, Market 57, and Little Island.
Market 57 was a great stopping point for us to take a bathroom break, get a quick bite to eat, and rest our feet. The bathrooms here are clean, and the whole area is not as busy as it would be at Chelsea Market. There were plenty of seats and not a lot of lines for food.
We also stumbled upon Chelsea Pier, which seemed to be a very family-oriented location with lots of activities for kids.
After, we walked to Little Island, which was a cute, fun location. I’m glad we could walk through it and see what it was all about. You can see it when you’re at the High Line. There are a lot of sitting areas and an amphitheater. I’m assuming the amphitheater is for shows. At the time, nothing was playing, so entry was free. It’s a cool little park on the water. It’s pretty nice and free to walk around.
Since we were staying in New York for two weeks and spending a lot on food, we wanted to do affordable activities, so we opted to walk around a lot and see the city on foot.
On this day, we walked about 26k steps! I definitely got a good workout in New York just by walking every day. That’s why I love the city so much. Everything is accessible on foot or by subway. It’s such an easy city to stay active in.
One Week In New York
If you, too, are going to spend a week in New York, here’s an easy list of affordable things to do (click on the headers for links):
Lunch at the Park
Grab a sandwich from a local bodega and have lunch at the park. The city is always so vibrant and lively. My favorite parks so far are Washington Park and Central Park. Most likely, it’s because I’m more familiar with both parks. Take your lunch and eat it along the Hudson River, like at the Little Island.
Walk On The High Line (Hudson River)
I highly recommend walking The High Line. It’s a cool walkway. That’s beautiful with a great juxtaposition of green self-seeded landscape, modern skyscrapers, and what could possibly be rent-controlled, older, beautiful apartment buildings. My daughter described it as feeling a little dystopian.
Walk Along the Hudson River
We started our walk along the river on W 34th Street. On W 30th Street, you can view the helicopters landing and flying out. Super cool if you’re into that kind of thing.
Visit Little Island (Hudson River)
If you decide to walk along the Hudson River, visit the Little Island. You can have a picnic there or read. You could do the same with parts of The High Line. I saw some people sunbathing and reading on The Highline static lounge chairs.
Market 57 near Chelsea Piers (Hudson River)
Need a bathroom break? If you’re close, stop by Market 57. It’s less crowded and cleaner. There are a lot of options for what to eat, as well.
Tenement Museum (Lower East Village)
If you are in the Lower East Village, the Tenement Museum is pretty interesting. The tour I went on exceeded my expectations. I didn’t know what to expect. I happened to be in the area and decided to check it out.
Plus, I needed to use the restroom. There are several different types of tours happening throughout the day. I took the tour of Tenement Women: 1902.
The next tour I’d like to do is 100 Years Apart. Tenement Women only explores one tenement. I later found out that the 100 Years Apart tour two tenements that still have original furnishings from two Chinese families who occupied them.
Bonbon Candy (Lower East Village)
If you’re in the Lower East Village, be sure to check out Bonbon, A Swedish Candy Company. I know they have several locations in New York. I’m just familiar with the one in Lower East Village.
My daughter and I loved their sour gummies, especially the skull ones. And I loved their salty black licorice, which they unfortunately no longer carry.
Rooftop Bar (Lower East Side)
Check out the bar at Untitled at 3 Freeman Alley called Unlisted. I’d suggest going when there’s still light because you can see the cool art throughout the alley. If not, the bar’s skyline view at night is beautiful nonetheless.
However, I didn’t appreciate much of the artwork along the alley because it was too dark to enjoy.
There are also bathrooms at the top right before the bar when stepping out of the elevator.
Chelsea Market (Chelsea)
If you’re in the Chelsea area, drop by Chelsea Market and Starbucks Reserve. I will be honest, Chelsea Market isn’t my favorite. It gets busy and congested with large crowds.
However, if you have time, you should at least visit once, kinda like Times Square.
Starbucks Reserve Roastery (Chelsea)
This, too, can get crowded. It’s also not my favorite Starbucks Reserve (my favorite is in Shanghai). However, if you’re already at Chelsea Market, pop in for a few minutes.
I’d also suggest a bathroom break here versus at Chelsea Market.
Bike Ride Through Central Park
Last one! Another thing I’ve experienced during other trips in New York City was taking a guided bike tour through Central Park.
I booked it through TripAdvisor. It was pretty expensive at $40 per person, minus tip. However, this included the rental of bikes and helmets also. The guided tour lasted 2 hours.
We met at (I think) Bike Rent NYC on W58 St. I’ve included the link above in the header of this paragraph.
I liked several things about a guided bike tour. One, I liked how she taught us the rules expected of bikers in Central Park.
Don’t quote me on the things I share right now. I believe there are three lanes in Central Park. One for cars, one for slow bikes, and the other for faster cyclists.
Unfortunately, I don’t remember which lane she had us riding in. Obviously, it was the lane for slower bikers.
Another thing I liked is that she took us through Central Park and stopped at little pocket parks, including hidden gardens (bring allergy meds) and a rocky area (to sit) with a view of the water, that I would have never known about.
It was nice to sit back and have someone to follow while enjoying my little ride through the park. To me, it’s a lot easier having someone navigate when they know where they’re going versus me trying to figure it out myself, especially when I just want to enjoy a nice bike ride.
Our guide also watched our bikes while she gave us a little time to explore the places she took us to.
My daughter said on another trip after ours, she took her boyfriend. They did their own unguided ride through Central Park. Since the park was so big, she was getting overwhelmed and lost in the park. This made her second experience, albeit cheaper, less enjoyable.
I would say the only con about a guided tour is that we needed to follow a strict timeline. I didn’t mind because everything else was such a benefit.
I know this blog was pretty long. I hope it gives you ideas on affordable things to do while you spend one week in New York.
As always, thanks for reading!
Love, Sutivi.
