Welcome to the most populated city in the USA! Hopefully, you used the best moving services in NYC when you were planning your relocation and everything went without a hitch! NYC is one of the most expensive cities in the world to visit and to live in. That’s why we decided to compile this fun list of free things to do after moving to NYC and take the edge of your stressful life change. You have just arrived in one of the greatest places in the world and you are here to stay! You are eager to enjoy it and get the full NYC experience, whatever that means to you.
Our list of free things to do after moving to NYC
You don’t have to live in the heart of the Big Apple to get the full NYC experience. The staggering prices, cost of living and cab fairs might take the fun out of that experience pretty fast. It is expensive to live in the greatest place in the world, no one said it would be easy, nonetheless, 8.5 million people chose NYC to be their home and for a good reason! It would take a lifetime for you to do all the things you can do after moving to NYC. For example, there are lots of fun things to do in Manhattan in just one day, but let’s focus our attention on those “free” activities NYC has to offer.
Free Friday evenings at MoMA
Like most of the U.S. museums, the Metropolitan Museum of Arts offers free admission on Friday evenings. The event starts at 4 pm and goes until 8 pm. Kids under 12 years of age get in for free any time, plus you can enjoy the sculpture garden for free every morning from 9:30-10:00 am. This is such a generous offer from a legendary museum that MoMA is and it enables you to experience its fine contents without committing to the $25 standard fee.
Tour the gold vault of the NY’s Federal Bank
Before you start looking into top things to do in NYC at night, get to know Big Apple history by day. Federal Bank of New York in the Financial District, offers free tours of the vault on weekday afternoons.
This is a lesser known NYC attraction, yet very exciting and great for our list of free things to do after moving to NYC! Visitors get to see more than 6,500 tons of gold that were brought here after the WWII. It’s a safe bet you haven’t seen this much gold in one place, and it’s probably going to be your first and last time as well.
Explore the Brooklyn Brewery
Beer plus any sort of tour equals fun for everyone! The famous Brooklyn Brewery offers free tours on weekends. They start on the half-hour from 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. If you are planning to visit the Brewery this summer, please note that the tasting room will be closed due to renovation. Visitors will get to experience gorgeous views of Manhattan while tasting some of NYC’s best beer. And probably the best thing that goes with beer-food, from an array of food trucks parked at the Brewery!
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
While in Brooklyn check out its Botanic Garden, a great way to escape city’s hustle and bustle. The garden is on the northeastern edge of Prospect Park and it’s free on Tuesdays. Things to see while you are there: the zoo, the Lefferts Historic House, and the LeFrak Center by the lake. You’re thinking: “why didn’t they include Central Park in their list of free things to do after moving to NYC?” There is no need to mention such a famous tourist location, we are certain you will visit Central Park as well as Times Square, another free and amazingly famous tourist location.
Battery Park
On our list of great free things to do after moving to NYC is the beautiful Battery Park. If you happen to be strolling around lower Manhattan then you have to visit. Battery Park is a beautiful 25-acre area of green located at the bottom tip of Manhattan.
It has wonderful monuments, memorials, gardens, sculptures and delicious farm-to-table cafes to visit while there. The best part though is the killer views, from Battery Park, it feels like you can see forever. You can see Staten Island, Long Island, and New Jersey, but the best part is the view of Statue of Liberty. The view is free, but you might need to use the pay for use viewfinders to get the best view. Regardless, the park is beautiful and the perfect break from the hustle and bustle of Wall St.
Brooklyn Bridge Park
We have all heard of the famous Brooklyn Bridge, but did you know there is a newly renovated 85-acre park not too far away from the bridge. Not your typical park, just over ten years old, it has become one of New York City’s most popular attractions. Along with fantastic views of Manhattan, there are unique attractions such as Jane’s Carousel, a restored 1920’s Merry-Go-Round. The addition of Pier 2, designed specifically for “active recreation” features sporting leagues, picnics, and roller skating-further cement – further cements the parks as the NYC’s premier urban playground.
Chrysler Building
Got the Empire State building at the top of your list for places to visit in NYC? I’m sure it is, and with good reason. But, did you even know that you can visit the Chrysler building too? You have probably seen it in photos or walking down Lexington Ave, in awe of its architecture. The Chrysler building is the pinnacle of the art deco era. With 77 stories, standing at more than 1000 feet tall, it is one of the most recognizable skyscrapers in the world. Exploring Chrysler Building is also one of the things to do in winter in NYC.
Though there no public tours of the building during business hours visitors can roam the magnificent lobby. There you can admire its Moroccan marble walls and Sienna marble floors. It also boasts the worlds first digital clock. One of the biggest attractions to the Chrysler building is its two giant, steel eagles. Instead of gargoyles, designer William Van Alen wanted to pay homage to Chrysler. The eagles located on the 61st and 31st floors are replicas of those found on the hoods of the Chrysler Plymouth.
With such a huge list of free things to do after moving to NYC, you’ll never get bored here. Sure, NYC is expensive and can suck your pockets dry in a second, but there is no reason to bankrupt yourself. We have only touched the tip of the iceberg with some of the free places you can visit. Now that you have just moved here make a plan for your weekends for places to see and cross them off your list. Don’t forget to plan to just walk around NYC’s neighborhoods, it’s free too and you never know what hidden gems you’re going to find. Leave local moving services to us and we will leave you the design of your perfect NYC experience.