NyMoveTips

Here are a few tips you might find helpful if you are planning on moving to New York City. I base this on what I've found since my wife and I moved here in July of 2003.

These tips are most applicable if you're moving from the west coast or some other non-urban area.

Buy a sturdy backpack. You are going to be doing a lot of walking. I recommend a large Jansport or Columbia daypack.

One of the first things you should put in your backpack is a quality collapsible umbrella. Remember all that walking? You have to do a lot of it in the rain.

Bring a sturdy pair of walking shoes. I love Saucony tennis shoes.

Throw a light jacket and a camera in that backpack too.

Don't bring a car to NYC if you can help it. If you absolutely have to bring a car, sell it as soon as possible and/or find a friend who lives outside of Manhattan and has a parking space you can use.

Start using the subway immediately on the first day you move here. This will be your lifeline. Remember that the Bronx is uptown and Brooklyn is downtown. Purchase an unlimited month metro card. They cost $70 and are a great value if you take at least two rides a day.

Bring a bare minimum of stuff to New York - your apartment will be very small. Don't bring a bicycle unless you actually plan on riding it - storage will be a hassle.

I brought my long skateboard with me and have found that to be a fun transportation alternative.

It's convenient to have a small, lightweight vacuum like an Oreck XL as your apartment will probably have wood floors. Vacuuming is much easier, especially if you have pets.

You can find an apartment that takes dogs and cats relatively easily in New York. It's easiest if you leave the pets back home for a few months and then fly back to get them. You can ship a large dog in a crate on most major airlines for around $80 one way. Most airlines won't take crated dogs during the summer.

Find a bank as soon as possible. I recommend Commerce Bank. Alternately, make sure your current bank is also in New York (example: Washington Mutual). You will be paying a lot of atm fees until you get your banking straightened out.

Cabs are a fast and relatively inexpensive way to get around Manhattan, particularly if you can split the price with several people. Particularly late at night a cab can get you home much faster than the subway. However, during the daytime cabs can be very slow if you get caught in traffic.

How cab signs work: official NYC cabs all work the same way. You can tell it's an official cab because the car is yellow and has a platic "medallion" fixed on the hood". There's an illuminated sign on the front roof of the cab. If the "off duty" part is lit, the cab won't pick you up. That takes precedence over all other combinations. If the cab number between the "off duty" signs is lit, the cab is available and should pick you up. If thecab number is off the cab has a passenger and won't pick you up.

It's the law that an official NYC cab must transport you to any address anywhere in the entire city limits of New York, no matter what.

Cabs without medallions are "gypsy cabs" and are not regulated in any way by the city. Use at your own risk (although my experiences have been fine). Typically gypsy cabs are more expensive than official cabs. Make sure you get a price from the driver before you get in the car.

You can't phone for an official cab - instead you have to call a car service. Pricing will be flat rate - there's a lot of crossover between gypsy cabs and car services.

If a parking meter is broken, it's a legal parking space for one hour.

There only legally has to be one parking sign per block. Some blocks are really, really long - so look sharp.

You can't make a right turn on red in New York City. Get used to it.

A homeless man gave Aaron some valuable advice when he was here: watch the traffic, not the light. No one ever got run over by a traffic light.

Put your wallet in your front pocket and get used to carrying it there.

Two extremely useful books:

• NY Atlas - pocket atlas
• Not For Tourists - maps and tips for someone new to NY

Don't forget to bring your social security card and birth certificate when you move (I almost did). You'll need them for your new job and to register your car or get a driver's license.

Walking in crowds: this is a skill that needs to be learned. For the love of god, don't stop in the middle of the sidewalk to look in your bag. That might work fine on the barren sidewalks of southern California, but it will cause a massive traffic jam in NYC. Alwas move off to the side if you need to stop. Similarly, strive to walk in as straight a line as possible.