<p>Manhattan is expensive. I grew up in new york city, and coming to college here will be unlike any other college experience. With this experience it entails many costs. Most of the people here are well off, many of them are extremely well off. The costs of a night out in manhatten can easily run you 80$, significantly less if you're a girl (Guys will buy you drinks, free tickets to clubs). Those deterred by the cost here is some information that NYU probably wont give you, around campus there are hundreds of commercial establishments, many people that I know work in a cafe/restaurant/pizza place, and make enough money to cover weekend expenses. I know someone who waited on celebrities tables in restaurants in the village. Also, there is something called America reads, where you tutor kids in NYC public schools (not bad ones, but you can get unlucky), you will pay negligible tax and earn 10$ an hour.</p>
<p>Yes, NYC is very, very expensive. But you just have to balance yourself. A lot of people pre-game before they go out so they don't have to buy drinks. You just have to be careful. I went out a lot during the first month and realized that there was no way that was going to work. So I don't go out every weekend and if I do, I don't drink a lot. You just have to be smart about your money and it will be fine.
The one thing that really killed me was the shopping...I just love clothes! :)</p>
<p>Or you can even get a boring desk job at NYU and make $8-10/hr, if not more! An entire group of people I know staff the computer lab, which is possibly the easiest job in existence. Or you can babysit for families in the area, or work as an office assistant for some of the many companies around... there are lots of jobs, even for those of you who don't want to wait tables :P</p>
<p>If you have a job, you'll have more than enough to have a good time here.</p>
<p>My parents were at Whole Foods Market the other day and overheard a girl who works there mention that she is an NYU student and has residences in three places around the country...lucky girl, I wonder why she even needed to get a job.</p>