A bustling city, New York is an invigorating and exciting place to attend a university and experience your college years, but it can also be one of the most challenging places to adjust to, especially if you’re not used to living in a major city.
As you might expect, NYC students are knowledgeable about how to navigate a bustling metropolis without any hassle. In fact, a New Yorker might argue that NYC has some of the savviest students in the country.
If you’re planning on moving to the Big Apple and being a student there, you can take a few pages from the books of NYC students to make your life a a little bit easier. More specifically, here are 7 tips to keep in mind:
- Serviced Apartments
When you factor in the notoriously high cost of living and rent prices, the other expenses and steps that come with moving into an apartment can create a huge burden on a busy student.
As a result, many opt for serviced apartments in NYC because that takes care of the furnishing, utilities, maintenance, upkeep, and other duties and expenses that the student would normally be responsible for. Check out the options offered by Blueground, one of the best places to find mid to long-term accommodation in NYC.
They drastically simplify the process of moving to NYC as a student, with the option to choose between monthly, or yearly plans. You can see their listing of serviced apartments in NYC on this page: https://www.theblueground.com/apartments-in-new-york.
- Scheduled Socialization Time
With a place called Times Square, it shouldn’t be surprising that everything seems to be running on never-ending deadlines. Your train leaves at a certain time. Your class starts at a certain time. You wake up around the same time every day.
That’s the type of consistency that you’ll need to develop to avoid hassle as a student in NYC. However, one area that many students struggle with is scheduling their socialization time.
After all, “free time” is supposed to be spontaneous, right? While a degree of spontaneity is great for achieving a study-life balance, you need to at least be firm about the hours during which you allow yourself to socialize.
That way, you won’t find yourself succumbing to peer pressure when you should be studying.
- Roommates
Most students who don’t live with their parents in NYC have roommates. This is an almost unavoidable fact of life unless you have a generous budget to allocate to your own rent. As you probably know, even a studio apartment in NYC can cost the same as a 2 or 3-bedroom house does in many other areas of the country. As such, having someone to split the cost of living with will always help. Many college students in NYC have 2-4 roommates or more.
- The Public Transportation System
The idea of driving yourself around as a student in NYC might seem liberating, but you’d quickly find out that it can be just the opposite when you’re stuck in traffic for long periods of time. The public transportation system might not be as glamorous as piloting your own ship, but at least it reliably takes you from point A to point B, which is what really matters when you have to stick to a strict schedule.
- Avoiding Frequent Partying
Everyone knows that NYC is a city that never sleeps, and there are always parties going on in every borough. There’s no reason to completely forbid yourself from partying, but it’s good to fit it into your socialization schedule and exercise moderation. Don’t fall into a cycle of partying 3 or more days out of the week and let your studies fall behind.
- Create a Budget
In a city where everything can be more expensive, it’s best to create accurate budgets for all of your basic expense categories, such as food, transportation, rent, clothing, hygiene, phone & internet, leisure & entertainment, etc. This might seem like an unnecessary step to take right now, but it could help you avoid unexpected financial troubles later on.
- Choose the Right Neighborhood to Live In
Be sure to take your time when choosing an apartment in NYC, as it might not be wise to settle for living in a bad neighborhood just to save money. Try to opt for an affordable yet still decent neighborhood when you can make lots of great memories.
Student Life in NYC Can Be Amazing with a Bit of Research & Planning
With all of the tips above, life as a student in NYC can actually be a very fun and memorable experience. Create a game plan based on this advice and you should have minimal problems going forward.
