Practical Survival Tips for Living in New York City

New York looks exciting from the outside, but daily life here is mostly quiet problem-solving. Where you live, how you commute, what you eat, and how you protect your energy matters more than ambition ever will. These are the small, practical lessons you only learn by living here — usually the hard way.

1. Choose Your Apartment, Not the Neighborhood

A bad apartment will drain you faster than a bad job.

Prioritize sunlight, noise level, and heat over location bragging rights. A smaller place that feels calm beats a bigger one that stresses you out.

2. Avoid Peak Hours Whenever Possible

New York has two versions: peak and off-peak. The off-peak city is quieter, cheaper, and far more livable. Try grocery shopping late at night, doing laundry on weekdays, and avoiding travel between 7–10 AM and 4–7 PM. Timing is a survival skill here.

3. Cooking Is Not Optional

Eating out adds quickly — even “cheap” meals.

Learn three simple dishes and rotate them. Shop at ethnic grocery stores, buy frozen food without guilt, and keep one comfort meal from home. Cooking gives you control in a city that rarely does.

4. Make Peace with the Subway

Delays happen. Crowds happen. Headphones help. Standing to the right helps. Accepting delays helps the most. Once you stop fighting the subway, your stress level drops noticeably.

5. Budget for Peace, Not Just Rent

Ubers, takeout, and small conveniences aren’t failures — they are your tools. Being too strict often leads to burnout, which costs more in the long run. Spend intentionally, not emotionally.

Final Thought

New York won’t take care of you. It assumes you already know how to survive. Every day forces you to make choices about what deserves your time, what drains your energy, and what threatens your mental health. If you learn to protect those things here — in a city that constantly demands more — you’ll find that living anywhere else feels manageable by comparison.

For more details, Click following blogs:

https://www.kaplanpathways.com/blog/5-tips-for-living-in-new-york/

By: Tingbin Zhao (career peer)

Comments

DEI & The Workplace

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), is a broad term that covers the issues of equality in the United States. It existed throughout the years, trying to advocate for equality amongst individuals regardless of their race, sex, or religion. Thi helps foster respect and equality in every sector of the society, ensuring that as long as a person is a citizen of the United States, they are allowed to receive the same benefits as others. In the workplace, DEI is very essential as it ensures that people are hired based on the fact that they meet the qualifications of the position they applied for, and not discriminated against by not qualifying them for unknown reasons even if they reach all other qualifications. Below are a few important reasons for DEI in the workplace: 1. The Workplace Should Reflect Today’s Emerging Workforce: Social change has historically often led to backlash, but that isn’t necessarily a good reason to retreat or pivot away from one’s DEI mandate. Today’s emerg...

To Wear or Not To Wear?: Tips on dressing for success

So, the first step is over. You finished filling out the application for the job; listing all of your work experience, answering numerous questions about your work ethic on an online questionnaire, and you even polished up your hand dandy resume! After restless nights of worrying, you finally get a call saying they would love to have you come in for an interview: now what? First, don't panic ! Finding an appropriate outfit can be intimidating, but with the help of Google it is possible. Second, the outfit you should wear is based on what type of position you are going for or what your potential company is. If it's a store like Macy's, for example, it would make sense for you to wear all black since that's the kind of uniform the employees wear. If you're working in an office setting, then you should go either business casual or professional. When in doubt of what to wear, go with business casual! Here are a few images of what business casual and professional ou...

The Elements of a Resume

There are many formats and designs for a resume, but there are essential components that EVERY resume MUST have, no matter what the layout is. HEADER Should contain your name, full address, phone numbers where you can be reached and a PROFESSIONAL email address. EDUCATION Include the name of your college ( in bold ), location (city and state without zip code), major, and expected graduation date. If you have any major achievements, such as being on the Dean's List, you can include it here. **Your GPA should be included ONLY if it is a 3.0 or above. EXPERIENCE Include the name of company ( in bold ), location (city and state without zip code), position title, dates of employment (month & year) and, starting with action verbs, list your responsibilities using bullets. Be sure to list your experiences is chronological order starting with the most recent position. SKILLS List computer programs you are familiar with and your skill level ...

Search This Blog