Bob

so what exactly is there in Newburyport? had an interview down there once a few years back, well over the phone, but it's a bit away so never bothered explore the place, nor gloucester....

and wouldn't touch TJ Maxx and the cohorts with a shitty stick after their fun little credit card balls up that they kept hidden for a while.

Englishmum

The trains are quite expensive if you're travelling between Boston and NYC.

A fun and cheap way is to go on the Chinatown buses for as little as $15 each way:

http://www.nychinatown.org/directory/m_bus.html

http://www.fungwahbus.com/ticket/

Chinatown bus FAQs:

http://www.blacktable.com/gillin031105.htm


PS: If you have a student card, bring it with you as you can often get discounts in art galleries, museums and on some forms of public transport eg. Greyhound buses and Amtrak.

Do you know where you will be staying in NYC? I don't know if you will be staying with friends or need to find cheap accommodation eg. hostels? Here's a reasonably cheap place to stay in Chelsea:

http://www.chelsealodge.com

If this is beyond your budget there are a number of hostels in the city - approx from $38 per night in a dorm with shared facilities....not sure if that's up your street or not but I can post links if you're interested.

Cheap eats: any ethic area eg. Chinatown, Little Korea and plenty of Indian and Turkish places....again can post links if interested...not sure of your likes and dislikes in this area?

Bob

oh really? that's cool...because around here, and up in Maine, unless it was a local uni student ID, they wouldn't make a difference...and the missus has a shiny, unused Kings College ID

newenglander

http://www.newburyportchamber.org/ Go on here if you want to see what's there. Look at the pictures way down at the bottom. It's touristy in the summer but it's a truly a great year round place to go. It has a thriving business community and I know lots of people who would LOVE to live or work there.

Maybe it's not your cup of tea, maybe you are more urbanized but people around here love it and go there often. Yes, it's away from Boston, but that's part of the attraction -- away from hustle and bustle and noise and crowds. It's also on the border with the state of New Hampshire where there are NO taxes on ANYTHING and living is cheaper than in MA. Live in NH, work in MA.

Gloucester is not as fancy but it's coming up in the world and is a desirable place to live or visit. It's an old fishing village, the real thing.

Essex is boats, boats, boats, antique shops, pretty scenery, and boats and more boats. All of these towns are fun to visit unless you want to see cities. There are PLENTY of cities here, just to the south of Beverly. The whole Boston area is packed with surrounding cities like Cambridge (Harvard and fun places for students), Medford, Malden, Waltham, Burlington, lots more. To a lot of us it's just too crowded down around there and too much stress with the traffic jams and bad drivers.

Most of us here still go to TJ and Marshall's despite the shenanigans -- that's in the past and what's done is done. The expensive stores are TOO MUCH. Maybe you can get up to Freeport Maine or the Kittery Outlets -- I don't know if you're the shopping type but if you are and you want to avoid TJs and Marshalls....then it's just up the coast a ways.

Bob

Freeport is the way to go, 20 mins past Portland, and Portland is worth a visit.

And quiet, could do without that, I'm living in the burbs already, suburban hell I say Hell, the tiny coastal town in Maine we lived in was more busy than where we are now, and that's saying something, even if the population there was tiny in comparison

And I thought NH does have tax, it's property tax that makes up for it...and moving one state to another is enough of a tax headache, I couldn't imagine having to do two taxes every year

newenglander

Yeh, Freeport is fun. The only time I was in Portland it was about 100 degrees so I don't have fond memories of it -- people say it's great though. All I remember is the ice cream.

I didn't know about the property tax in NH -- I know people from my area go up there all the time, especially for cheap booze right over the border. It must be really cheap to register or insure a car up there -- some few people are lucky enough to get away with it. After all, they don't call us TAXachusetts for nothing.

JohnStang

ok thanks for the tips everyone. im very excited about going shopping in NY. i want to go to the big name shops - i have money to spend so i wanna buy some fancy clothes because who knows when i will come to new york again, maybe never. i read in the other post that brick row india house is a good place to live. when in NY, do i really only need to spend time in the manhatten area to experience the best of the city? i will probably just go and buy a guide book today and work out an itinerary.

penguinsix

Most of what you have seen on the television, and the shops and the lights and the skyscrapers are all in Manhattan. But the city has a whole other world off the island. Do you need to see it? Maybe. Does a tourist to London need to see Camden or Richmond? Maybe.

There is stuff in the bouroughs, and some nice areas as well. They are not as touristy as Manhattan, but you might see something in the guide book that you find interesting so I wouldn't rule out traveling a bit.

Rete

LOL, Bob. I truly think you must squeeze the penny until it cries "Abuse" I've yet to hear you say anything is inexpensive !!

Rete

Manhattan is an island and quite a large one at that

Plenty here to see and do and keep you awestruck and interested for at least 6 months, never mind a week or weekend.

Much depends on your interests, cultural, local, club hopping, sightseeing, shopping, eating, people watching, etc.

There is:

Chinatown
Yorkville
Little Italy
Soho
Greenwich Village - good jazz
The Bowery (ahh maybe not)
The Battery
South Street Seaport
Central Park and Midtown Manhattan
Shopping on Fifth Avenue - Saks, Lord and Taylor, Gucci, Etc.
Bloomies over on Third and 56th I think
Times Square

Bus Tours - jump on, jump off, jump on again all for one price. See Mahattan from the Battery to Harlem and from the Hudson to the East River.

Water Tous - Around the Isle from minutes to hours

World Yacht Dinner Cruise-expensive and best done with a loved one

Jerseygirl

Don't forget the museums. When my daughter comes home...the next morning she's up early and heads straight for the Met.

Rete

I prefer the Museum of Natural History, myself. Also love the Bronx Zoo.

Bob

They've been cracking down on people who register cars and insure up there when they don't live up their...it's stung a few people...but yeah, cheap booze is good if your heading through

Bob

hehe...true

was looking at tickets, most have all sold out for the season, some home games in around september have seats, $98 for an obstructed view, lovely...but would love to go for a game sometime for the atmosphere....miss the Expo's, because it was so cheap up there, and the whole place was filled with Sox fans from ME and MA.