General

• The first website I usually check is the Time Out New York. Both this website and the weekly magazine offer a huge list of events, both free and not, that are going on around the city. While the website it convenient, I have found that subscribing to the magazine is worth it. After buying a few issues off the rack for almost $5 apiece, the $19.95 for 51 issues seemed to make a lot of sense.
• Both nyc.com and nycvisit.com offer extenisve listings of activities and events. Both offer the capability to search by event, date, and location.

Concerts

There are numerous places to go for free concerts in NYC.

• The Central Park Summer Stage is a great outdoor venue for free music, comedy, and other shows. Admission in free (donations are accepted) and there are vendors inside the venue with reasonably priced food and beverages. Really what better place to spend and evening than in central park enjoying some entertainment.
• If you are lucky enough to not have to work and energetic enough to face crowds of tourists in the morning, both Good Morning America and the Today Show have free live concerts on Friday mornings.
• River to River Festival is a summer long event, which takes place at multiple venues throughout the Manhattan. The majority of the events are free and include concerts, art shows, and more.
• McCarren Park Pool in Brooklyn offers free concerts on Sundays. In addition to the sun and music they have a large slip and slid, feed and beverages for purchase. (Also check out their calendar for concerts with admission prices).

Theater

• Shakespeare in the park takes place at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. There are free tickets available to most performance, based on a first come first serve basis. If you are outside of Manhattan check out the Shakespeare in the Boroughs page for information on how to get tickets if your borough, rather than having to trek into Manhattan to stand in line.

Movies

• Hudson Park features “Movies under the Stars“. On Wednesday night movies for adults are shown, while Friday mights are mostly kids movies. Pack a picnic and bring a blanket.
• In addition to concerts and Yoga classes there are also free movies in Bryant Park.
• The Brooklyn Bridge Conservancy hold “Movies with a View“. Go watch movies at Brooklyn Bridge Park and enjoy the view of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline.

Street Fairs and Festivals

Street fairs and festivals seems to be going on everywhere and all of the time in the city. On any given weekend you can find one. There are a great excuse to go and explore a your neighborhood, a new neighborhood, or venture into another borough. While it is probably impossible to find a complete schedule and listing of ALL of the street fairs and festivals going on in the city, here is a partial schedule for those put on by Mardi Gras productions.

Parks

• Bryant Park, located behind the main branch of the New York Public Library (on 5th ave and 42nd street) has events running though out the year. In late fall, winter, and early spring there is ice skating. During summer there are movies, concerts, and even yoga classes. Check out their site for a recent schedule of events.
• Check out the website for the park nearest your home or work. Many parks in NYC offer a variety of events and activities all summer long (some even offer event throughout the year).

Hopefully this list will help you get started in your search for what to do in NYC this summer. There are many other sites out there (way too many to list here). If you see a good one let us know and we can add it to the list.

Maz and I have both found jobs. He, lucky for him, found his right away. In November and December I worked for a coat checking company checking coats at fancy hotels for a bunch of holiday parties. Not exactly the most thrilling job (and I had to wear a vest and bow tie) but at least the pay decent. Finally in February I got a job with a non-profit doing research and program evaluation. This has taken up most of my time, especially since I get to travel about one a month. So far I have gotten to go to Providence, RI, Washington DC, and Boston. In the upcoming months I think I am going to Dallas, Denver, and somewhere in North Carolina. The traveling is one of the upsides of the job. The downside is that most of the time I have to work from home. A lot of people have said that I am lucky to be able to work from home, but I personally would prefer to actually go to work… not just roll out of bed and be at work. Especially since our apartment is the size of a closet. Either way I am glad that I found a job.

Besides working, Maz and I have been spending most of our time exploring the city. Often we just pick a neighborhood and walk. It is incredible to live in a city where you can do this! There is always something different to see and something going on. So far we have wandered many Manhattan neighborhoods, some in Brooklyn, and some in Queens. Anybody know of any good places in Brooklyn and Queens to just wander for a day or evening?

With that said, hopefully now that we’ve had a few months to settle in and get into a groove, we will have more time to post. I still expect us to write some articles about the process of moving to NYC, but now that summer is upon us, we may find ourselves writing about actually LIVING in NYC. There is so much to see and do in this city that it can be a bit overwhelming at times, but always worth it. Finding the balance between living life and working life has been a bit of a challenge. Time seems to move very fast in this city. Days turn into weeks which turn into months and sometimes it feels like its only been days since we moved. We’ve been here almost 9 months now, but it doesn’t feel like it, hopefully this is a good sign.

Stay tuned for the future.