Going to NYC

[indigo]

Lurking for a bit but will be diving into the NYC area soon.
I'm not interested in paying insane amounts of rent that I would rather save and invest so I've decided to finally do it. I'll be posting updates and questions.

I already got my gym membership out of the way at 24 hour fitness of which there are four of em in Manhattan island. I'm not interested in spending months and months setting up. I rather buy a conversion van, make a few mods in terms of a solar panel and a kitchenette.

The gym I chose actually has laundry service, soap and shampoo and lotion, and even a barber on certain days of the week. I workout four days a week anyways (I'm a personal trainer) so the gym will be a real anchor for me.

I will need to install a tiny refridge to keep a small amount of food handy but otherwise the idea is to keep things minimal... one suit, two jeans, three shirts, but lots of socks and undies most of which I will keep at the gym which offers a permanent locker for an extra twentyfive bucks a month.

In terms of needed to piss and do other things, I'm in NYC often and I'm always able to run into a bar or church when I need to use the bathroom so I'm not too sure if I need to keep anything more than a portapotty.

The wonderful thing about the city is that food is available for cheap and there are so many options, I'm not sure it's worth it to keep food in the van.

 

[AltTransBikes]

I'll be posting updates and questions.

Please do, rock on and welcome to the forum.

 

[signman]

Welcome from north Florida. I'm sure many here will follow your updates, as they are also stealth in the cities for jobs etc. Seams like you have put a lot of thought into this, good luck, and we love pictures. Duane

 

[PastTense]

Where do you plan to park?

 

[indigo]

Where do you plan to park?

I haven't paid attntion to parking signs when I'm in town but I know it's been done in the village. usually there is parking around central park after seven pm, during the day i work so i need a van that's reliable too.
also i need to keep in mind that i can usually find parking in brooklyn. they recently put meters up all over chinatown so it's very difficult to park. another option i thought of was simply paying a monthly fee for a self park garage. There is a link to a great parking list around the forums, i never book marked it!

 

[Kristineandthepups]

Be careful in NYC. I just left a few years ago after a ten year stint. If I remember correctly, vans and pickups are considered commercial and they can ticket you for parking in an area other than commercial zoned, even if you are registered as a passenger van. And tickets are crazy expensive there. I once got over $300 in parking tickets in 8 minutes. Never drove my conversion van into the city except for a Sunday. Last time I drove an SUV to Manhattan,I misunderstood the sign and managed to get a $265 ticket within my first five minutes ( even though i was still in the car.) Once I even got a ticket for parking in a no parking zone with a Meter in front of it. I paid the meter, went to doc and came back to find the ticket. Why have a meter if its a no parking zone?!? Parking in Brooklyn and Long Island would be less tragic/painful financially, in my opinion.

Watch your back. If you run into trouble, feel free to write. I come back every two months or so, and have friends who can lend a hand in an emergency if needed.

Kristine

 

[indigo]

Be careful in NYC. I just left a few years ago after a ten year stint. If I remember correctly, vans and pickups are considered commercial and they can ticket you for parking in an area other than commercial zoned, even if you are registered as a passenger van. And tickets are crazy expensive there.

Kristine

I've been on the forum for a long time today just reading and it seems like the consensus is that the cost to benefit ratio of van dwelling in NYC is not worth it. I believe "van tramp" suggested to simply rent a cheap room in someone's apartment. So we'll see.
I was thinking about the freedom aspect. I might be better off just doing it in Brooklyn and taking the train into Manhattan. I'm still researching and finding the smartest way to do this. The main idea is to spend as little money as possible.

---

I wonder what happened to Triumph? I was following his story then he just disappeared. oh well.

 

[blkjak]

welcome from s.w. florida .... blkjak

 

[Terry]

Good luck on you venture. The only way I consider going to NY would be if I got paid. And a lot of money too. Enough for a nice apartment, cab fare every where and a guarantee of enough money to retire in comfort after job was over, no mater why it got over.

 

[indigo]

Good luck on you venture. The only way I consider going to NY would be if I got paid. And a lot of money too. Enough for a nice apartment, cab fare every where and a guarantee of enough money to retire in comfort after job was over, no mater why it got over.

It's going to be Brooklyn. I can always train into Manhattan.

 

[Patrick46]

Indigo...have you considered buying a station wagon and living in that??

not quite as roomy as a van, but the commercial vehicle threat will be gone, and you can even park those in ramps if need be.