Seeking Your Help and Advice: NYC Edition

One of the hazards with all the running around I do is that occasionally things don’t go as planned. Flights get canceled, dates get changed, etc. You get the idea.

I was supposed to be traveling to Spain at the end of February, but the event I was going to be speaking at has been posponed. I am flying to New York City on the 17th where I was going to catch the flight to Spain, but now my ticket is a one way trip to nowhere.

That means I have about 10 days in my calendar where I have nothing scheduled, nowhere to stay, and I have no idea what to do.

The added twist to this is that that New York Times Travel Show takes place in New York on Feb. 25-27. I wasn’t planning on attending, but if I’m in the area, now I might as well.

So I’m opening things up to take some advice from the crowed on what you think I should do.

My general options break down as follows:

1) Stay in New York. Pros: I don’t have to go anywhere else, I can meet people and get some work done. Cons: New York is damn expensive and the though of paying for 10 days there gives me a rash. It is also winter and I didn’t really pack for cold weather.

2) Leave New York and come back for the travel show. I could go somewhere in the region that is cheaper and come back on the 25th or 26th. I’d still need to find something to do and somewhere to stay.

3) Leave NYC and forget the show. Screw New York, go somewhere warmer and wait out my time in sunshine before I go to the island of Lanai.

What say you?

16 thoughts on “Seeking Your Help and Advice: NYC Edition”

  1. Two suggestions (one involves a cheap beach :) — Personally, I’d stay in NYC and write a blog post about NYC on the Cheap (or affordably). I don’t think NYC has to be expensive (if you can get a good place to stay. Other posts have good recs). And I like the idea of being so close to other NE cities. BUT ABOUT THE BEACH — If you want to stay stateside to save $$$ and time, consider Pensacola FL (my town, though I go to NYC every chance I get). Sugar white sand beaches and temps in the 70s. Probably an inexpensive unrented condo on Perdido Key (Pensacola Beach can be expensive this season). Or, depending on what you want to spend, you can fly Southwest into Northwest Florida Airport and go to Destin, Grayton Beach or Rosemary Beach. Molly in FL

  2. Get a hotel in Jersey and just commute to New York when you have something in the city to go to or just want to explore.

  3. CouchSurf, I am going to NYC on starting March 4th and already have a place setup in NJ near water. That or a hostel as you get to meet a lot of cool people. Either way if your still in NYC in March you should come to a weekly CS meeting or something.

  4. If you have the money and it’s not to bad on your pockets, stay in NYC until travel show. You could go to NYC and stay in Downtown Jersey city, NJ. It may be cheaper and it is just one stop away from Downtown Manhattan. You could even stay in a hotel in one of the Boroughs so you can see the New Yorker’s NYC. When you stay only in Manahattan you see the tourist/business person/ rich person’s NYC (unless you hang out in the Village and Lower East Side the whole time).
    It is actually not that cold this week, highs of 40 to 60 degrees. Most of the snow has melted.

    • Unfortunately, Jersey City hotels aren’t really cheaper than NYC–we don’t have any decent budget accommodations. I’d suggest going around upstate NY and heading back into the city for the travel show.

      • Really? I’ve heard people say the stayed in JC because it was cheaper. When you say upstate, do you mean New Rochelle, NY; White Plains, NY; further up? I think at that point it might be better to pay more to stay close to the city than to pay less in hotel fees and then pay a lot in Metro North or car rental fees to get back down to Manhattan.

  5. I vote stay in NYC for the whole time. There is SO much to do here and as others have said, you’re so close to other cities in the northeast. And we’ve been having some warmer temperatures lately, though that could change in instants.

    Of course, I’m terribly biased. I live in NYC and love it dearly!

    • I just moved to NYC and some family is coming into town next month. What should we do? I have been to all the tourist stuff, but want to do something different with them. Any ideas?

      • If you haven’t done so already, take them on the Staten Island Ferry. It’s a really incredible experience offering fantastic views of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty and best of all, it’s FREE! It runs 24 hours too so you can see everything all lit up too if you want!

  6. The travel show is great, but will probably leave you with the feeling that you want to be somewhere else. If you do stay in NYC, hop on the train to Astoria, Queens. The Museum of the Moving Image just reopened and it is supposed to be fantastic.Feel free to message me if you want a museum buddy. Astoria in itself is worth the metro card! http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/big-idea/02/queens-genes

  7. You are in luck! I just checked the calendar for this lovely apartment in Park Slope and many of the days you need are available. http://www.vrbo.com/213414 It’s a super neighborhood with a chance to live local for a few days. Tell the owner I sent you.

    Stay in NYC. Go to the travel show. Eat cheesecake at Juniors. DM me if you need a couple of other things to do. My daughter’s there at NYU and knows every $2 falafel place for miles around.

  8. Gary,
    Would love to meet up if you’re in NYC (just said so on Twitter). But if you’re here you could explore the suburbs of NYC, it’s a bit cheaper then NYC and you otherwise probably wouldn’t do it. Long Island has a few historical spots, museums, beaches (ok, maybe not my best idea), and the weather your first few days here is actually supposed to be nice – 50’s. Not a bad time to be in NYC if you’re going to be here in the winter.
    But if I could get away somewhere warm, I would already be on the plane!
    Crissy

  9. Screw New York (at least in February). Go somewhere warmer, lie on a beach, sip a fruit cocktail, and come back for the show. But that’s just me….I’ve been in cold climes for a couple of months and just hit Thailand, so I’m ripe for some beach and sun time.

  10. You are just a train ride away from places like Boston, DC, Philly, etc. via Penn Station or Grand Central Station. You can otherwise take a quick 10 minute train ride via Penn Station to some lovely place like Secaucus where the lodging will be much cheaper — that way you can still venture into NYC and all it has to offer.

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