How Many $$$ to Bring to NYC? September 10, 2014

PC TECH staff member Tamila offers her suggestions for your time in New York City:

How much money should you bring with you when you come to the United States?  This question concerns many people who are planning to come to America.  Of course, the more you bring, the better!  Speaking practically though, using some simple calculations will help you to estimate how much money you will need during your stay here.

1. The first thing that you should keep in mind is where you are planning to live.  The amount of rent depends on what part of New York you want to live.  Rent is much higher in Manhattan, on average costing you around $2000 for a one-bedroom apartment.  In Brooklyn and Queens, the same type of apartment could cost you somewhat less.  If you go even farther, for example to New Jersey, the rent will often be even lower, averaging around $800-$950 per month for the same size apartment).  Consider the option of living with a roommate: this way you will save even more.
2. If you decide to live in NYC, there is no need to buy or rent a car, since public transportation here is very convenient.  Besides, the idea of spending hours in constant traffic would probably not sound attractive to you (unless you would love to spend half of your day in your own car!).  Buy a monthly MetroCard for $112 and use it as many times as you want!
3. The food in New York City can be relatively cheap, based on my experience.  However, the money you spend on it will depend on what type of food you choose.  For example, eating fast food (caution: unhealthy, not recommended!), such as hamburgers and French fries; will cost you around $200-$300 per month.  Eating better quality food will cost you around $500 per month. Your choice.
4. A mobile-phone connection is very important, especially nowadays. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on it, simply buy a prepaid card that will cost you around $40-$60 a month.
5. Now we have come to a very important topic: CLOTHING!  Here in New York, all of us are lucky.  Compared to other countries, clothes in the United States are very affordable.  If you want to save money, you might want to compare prices at stores like Century 21, Aeropostale, H&M, and JC Penney.
6. Regular spending: let’s add extra money that you may spend on things like a haircut, gym membership, entertainment, etc.  This is may be additional $80-$100 or more a month.
7. Other expenses may include money that you might spend on different activities, such as visiting museums or dining at restaurants (don’t eat at fancy ones very often though!).

Knowing how much money you might spend on each of these items can help you to calculate how much you should bring when you come to the United States. Hope this information helps!

PC TECH: English Language School in New York City