Words by Megan Martin

Photograph by Matt Winch

New York is one of those places where “making it” is more like figuring out how to get all the hook-ups without any of the bills. Some of the most successful New Yorkers I know are always at the party where you never have to take out your wallet; maybe that’s why they’re so rich?

After five years of residing in this city, I feel like I finally have enough of a network to get by on the cheap for as long as I need to, and sometimes that’s awhile. I won’t pretend to be a “struggling artist” since I have a pretty cush life, but I’m not balling by any means. Spending so much time focused on creative projects doesn’t always (at least initially) fill up your bank account. So I suppose I’ve had to lend these creative hands to finding ways to have fun, get drunk, eat good food and go on dates with limited resources. Here is one broke ass New Yorker’s guide to loving and living in the big city.

FOOD

Dumplings from Vanessa’s on Eldridge Street

Of all the things we spend money on, food is a big one. I love eating out, personally, and if you’re like a lot of people in New York – cooking at home is cool at times but not always practical. I’m only home a few nights a week anyway (I’m a wandering gypsy) so I’m bound to eat out once in awhile. Guess what… it doesn’t always cost a lot!

Pizza: an obvious choice for a low-budget meal. Artichoke will feed you and a family of three with a couple of their monstrous slices of goodness. Heart attack, maybe, but delicious none the less. There are about 8 million pizza places in this city, if you only have two bucks, you can dine at one.

Dumplings: Vanessa’s is great as is Joe’s Shanghai (soup dumplings, so good), but really any dumpling place below Delancey will not break your bank; and you can sit in the cafeteria lighting with your date or mate and enjoy the clattering sounds of angry New Yorkers, frustrated workers and drunk patrons. Good times!

Free food parties: They do exist. Appetizers, snacks, catering, even full on meals. If you are savvy on the party front, you’ll most likely come across some that are going to feed you and get you liquored up all for the low, low price of rsvp’ing to blablabla@blabla.com.  Check out websites like GuestofaGuest.com for more scoop.

Dinner Parties: Dinner parties are the new eating out. Ask anyone! Get a group of friends together for some experimental cooking, everyone brings a bottle of wine or six pack and the whole night will cost you around $15. Just find someone with an accommodating house.

DRINKING

The Sixth Ward on Orchard and Houston

Hello Happy Hours: While there are infinite amount of pizza joints in New York, there are even more pubs looking for patrons. Nearly every bar (except maybe the swank ones) has some kind of happy hour special going on. The one I work at (The Sixth Ward on Orchard and Houston) offers $3 beers and $4 well drinks from 12pm to 7pm. Around the corner at Piano’s is one of the hippest Happy Hours around, a couple of $4 margaritas and you’ll be on the floor in no time!

MyOpenBar.com: While this is obviously a loosely written guide for us lazy/broke types, some websites have taken it to a whole new level and they are successful for doing it. I’m not trying to mess with a good thing. A good friend of mine, Becca, is super in on the open bar specials so if I’m ever in need of a few good cocktails, I know who to ask.

Befriend the Bartenders: This seems like an obvious one to me, and most of my friends; but maybe because we are or have at one point in our lives, been bartenders. Tip well, be plentiful, don’t be a douschbag and ask for high maintenance requests like crushing the ice with a muddler. Seriously. If you are a cool patron and spend a significant amount of time at a bar you love and go to frequently, you are bound to get hooked up. Being a regular is the best way to shave money off the bill. And after months of good tipping, if you happen to hit a low point, you can always go to the place where everybody knows your name…

PLAY DATES

Williamsburg Bridge

Sidenote: Is play date something that New Yorkers invented? When I was a kid we just went out to play…

It’s easy to get creative with dates or fun friend days in New York, there are a million things to see and do that don’t cost a damn thing. While it is nice to have a fancy dinner and bourgeois cocktails somewhere, it’s not always an option.

Bridges: When the weather is warmer, walk over one. I know it sounds ridiculous, but you’ll never see the city from a more beautiful view than while walking over one of the bridges: Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg – and those are just on the south side of the island. It’s cool for taking photos and getting some air and exercise.

The Met

Museums: Every museum has a free day, and most of them are just suggested donation. Brooklyn Botanical Gardens are free every Tuesday and on Saturdays from 10am to noon. Thursdays the New Museum of Contemporary Art is free from 6pm to 8pm. The MOMA is free after 4:30pm on Fridays (though it’s kind of a zoo).

Free Every Day:

• American Numismatic Society
• Artists Space
• Carnegie Hall/Rose Museum
• Dahesh Museum
• The Drawing Center
• Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology
• Franklin Furnace
• Goethe House German Cultural Center
• Guggenheim Museum Soho
• The Hispanic Society of America
• The Municipal Art Society
• Museum of American Folk Art
• National Museum of the American Indian
• New York City Police Museum
• Snug Harbor Cultural Center
• Taipei Gallery
• Whitney Museum at Philip Morris

Suggested Donation:

• American Museum of Natural History
• The Brooklyn Children’s Museum
• The Brooklyn Museum of Art
• The Cloisters
• Dia Center for the Arts
• Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum
• El Museo del Barrio
• Metropolitan Museum of Art
• The Museum of the City of New York
• New York City Fire Museum
• New-York Historical Society
• P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center
• Pierpont Morgan Library
• Queens Museum of Art
• Seaman’s Church Institute
• Staten Island Institute of Arts & Sciences

The Parks: They are bountiful no matter what borough you’re in, and while it may not currently be the season to lie in the park, you can certainly have a snowball fight in one after a heavy storm.

CLOTHES

Super Sexy Secretary section

If you live in New York City, there is some, if not a lot, attention placed on your outerwear. This is one of the most fashionable places on the planet, and whether you like it or not, you don’t want to be the only schmuck traipsing around town in sweat pants and running shoes because it’s “comfortable.” But clothes are expensive, hence the reason I find them at a major discount, and hence the reason I would cringe to pay full price for most things now. Here are some of my favorite thrifting spots.

Domsey’s: 431 Broadway @ Hewes, right of the JMZ Hewes Stop. New shipments everyday. This place isn’t for the faint of heart. It takes hunting, digging, a little bit of blood, sweat and tears (they may even be on the clothes already so I’d recommend giving them a wash before you put them on your body).

Village Style: 111 East 7^th Street (between 1^st and 2^nd Aves.). I love, love, love this spot. I’m almost skeptical to post it on here because it’s such a gem I don’t want to share it. They get loads of new vintage shipments in weekly and have the coolest threads for all seasons. And it’s relatively inexpensive, $20 to $30 for dresses and jackets, $10 – $15 for sweaters and tees, etc…

Salvation Army: 22 Quincy Street (between Classon and Downing in Fort Greene, BK). Super sketchy looking building, the sign outside literally reads in spray paint: STORE. But once your inside, the pearly gates open to a thrift heaven.

Buffalo Exchange: 504 Driggs Avenue (between 9^th and 10^th Streets, Williamsburg, BK). Usually I find something I want here, even though it can be a little picked over. I like to raid the guys’ t-shirt racks for wearable old BF tees and they have good dresses, too.