So, you have paid the deposit, moved into the NYC apartment you have had your eye on, and set everything up – now what? Do you know how to navigate the most complex city in the world easily, or are you overwhelmed like the rest of us when we moved in? It was not easy at first– it took a lot of Google Maps, figuring out which train went where, and which parts of town to avoid during the different seasons. And that’s where our most helpful apps for New Yorkers comes into play.
Most seasoned New Yorkers are extremely comfortable with the city, but it takes a while to get there – here are some of our suggestions for our favorite apps, whether you’re a green Manhattanite or you’ve been in your Bushwick home since the 80’s.
MAPS
The first recommendation is always the aforementioned Google Maps – that walking feature when figuring out directions is dynamite. Using it helps you get places on time – which means you never have to admit to having difficulty navigating neighborhoods that aren’t on the grid pattern. The next one is HopStop, which takes all the real time delays and changes in traffic and gives you a new route to get to your destination, something that Google Maps falls short in, allowing you to save your frequent routes. Transit is a popular app for navigating the MTA subway system, and the CitiBike app allows you to rent bikes to explore NYC more.
PARKING
If you have a car, some apps that are enormously useful are the ParkWiz and the ParkMe apps, which give you information on garages, lots, and curbside, allowing you to book space to park weeks in advance, and avoid the hell that is NYC parking. If you do not have a car, consider Curb, Waave, Arro and Zipcar, useful to flag taxis or pick up a car conveniently for a short period of time.
FOR FOODIES
If you are a foodie, obviously Grubhub, Seamless, Uber Eats, Postmates will come in handy when you are either too lazy or too tired to cook in your apartment, or in our case, lack the ability to listen to our ancestors about seasoning when cooking. When you want to go out – UrbanSpoon is a useful resource for researching restaurants and menus, and OpenTable can help you make reservations at some of New York’s hottest spots.
SHOPPING AND EVENTS
Speaking of hottest spots, you should check out the TKTS and TodayTix apps, where you can purchase tickets to well-loved Broadway shows and go. Additionally, if you want to take advantage of the famous New York shopping, you should download ShopDrop to get access to the latest sample sales at discounted prices. TimeOut NYC is also immensely popular with locals to check out upcoming events – however, please take note that a lot of NYC attractions and events often come with their own apps, so feel free to do some research and download the ones you need.
CHORES
Other important apps we think you should know about are TaskRabbit and Thumbtack, both of which help you find people to help you with everything from dropping off packages, to fixing your apartment plumbing, or even doing your laundry – which is questionable when you live on the penthouse floor of a five-story walkup.
So we’ve covered parking, navigating, noshing, shopping, showtime, and chore-time. We think these are some of the most helpful apps for New Yorkers, old and new. We have more apps we’ll share with you to help you navigate NYC later, but for now – what app do you suggest we download that has been your lifesaver? Tell us!
Looking for more helpful posts? Take a look at our “What is a Rent-Controlled Apartment in NYC?” and “Best Ways to Find a Rent-Stabilized Apartment in NYC“.
