Tackling the NYC Subway
New York City is a great walking city so be prepared to march through those streets! But if you’re not keen on walking too much, fear not, the city has an intricate subway system that can get you pretty much anywhere. The subway runs on a 24 hour basis and trains are always just a few minutes away. Ask any New Yorker and they’ll most likely tell you that the subway is the easiest and cheapest form of transportation. You won’t have to deal with the traffic and parking pains that come with driving, and it’s a great deal cheaper than taking a cab everywhere. Riding the subway will put you back $3 no matter which stop you get off at.
You’ll need a Metro Card in order to go through the turnstile and enter the boarding platforms. The Metro Cards can be purchased at station booths or the vending machines near the station entrance. If you’re staying in the city for at least a week, I highly recommend purchasing the unlimited 7-day pass. You can ride the subway as many times as you want in 7 consecutive days for $31.
I didn’t purchase the unlimited pass the first time I was in New York because I didn’t think I would use it too much. Big mistake. I probably ended up spending around $50 for all my rides and I started getting cautious about taking the subway and forced myself to walk more. With the unlimited pass you can be worry-free about how many times you take the subway.
Other than keeping track of how many times and how much I spent on the Metro Card, I had a pretty great experience with the convenience and ease of the subway. Coming from someone who has a terrible sense of direction, NYC is actually one of the easiest places for me to travel to without getting lost. Aside from a few exceptions, the city of New York follows a strict grid plan that divides the land into orderly streets and avenues that are perfectly measured blocks. The number one rule you need to remember is that avenues run north and south and streets run east and west. Streets are almost always numbered and the lower numbers are toward lower Manhattan and as you get higher north, the numbers are higher. So if you’re taking a subway and need to figure out if you’re going downtown or uptown, look at the number of the street of where you are and where you need to go. If you’re on 42nd street and need to get to 59th street, take the uptown. Easy peasy.
My only negative experience was during those hot summer days when I had to enter the dreaded humid stations that lacked air conditioning. I actually had trouble breathing down there but luckily the trains are always just a few minutes away and the moment I boarded a train I was flushed with cool air.
Good luck with the New York city subway systems, it’s not as intimidating as it looks!