<p>Evidently, there are some differences of opinion, or different experiences, on this point. Here’s a couple different reports from above, from people who left Morningside Heights recently.</p>
<p>First, the following posted to CC by a recent Columbia SEAS grad:</p>
<p>“Let me explain: I transfer to Columbia on my junior year from a very small liberal arts school in FL and I have hated about 80% of my time here. I hate the snobbishness, the intensity, the weather, I even hate the city (it is soo expensive to do anything).”</p>
<p>Second, a blog post elsewhere by a transfer out of Barnard (across the street, same neighborhood/city):</p>
<p>"Although I love NYC and hope to live there someday, in my experience it makes for a crappy college town. Perhaps your first reaction to this is, “what are you talking about? There’s ALWAYS something to do in the City!” And yes, this is certainly true- if you’re a millionaire and not a poor college student. Movies cost $12.00; Broadway shows, even those purchased at the discount ticket counters, are often more than $70.00; museums are free with your id, but most of my fellow students went to museums around once or twice a semester.</p>
<p>Sure there are plenty of places to go shopping, like the Village or 5th Avenue- that is, if you don’t mind spending $200.00 on each article of clothing. "</p>
<ul>
<li>I just report the news, I don’t make it…</li>
</ul>
<p>honestly just because someone couldn’t find fun and interesting things to do does not mean they don’t exist. I did a ton in my four years, from cheap broadway shows, to art museum visits, to happy hours at hipster bars to biking around the city, to getting lamb over rice from the famous cart at midnight to plays in central park, to shopping for cheap, to comedy club nights to poetry slams and pretty much never felt like I was spending a significant amount of money. There are tons and tons of places to have a good time for cheap as a college student. There are also tons of ways to blow up a lot of money very very quickly and easily. </p>
<p>Just because expensive opportunities exist and because some barnard transfer was too myopic to see beyond does not mean students can’t have a great time and thoroughly enjoy the city on a limited budget. I never had a hefty budget and am evidence that you can spend less than $10+subway in a night and still have a great time. Sometimes you don’t even need to spend money to enjoy aspects of the city.</p>
<p>Kind of random, but has anyone been to a yankees or knicks game while in Columbia? And have you been able to watch knicks game in the campus dorms or whatever? (i live in john jay)</p>
<p>Going to madison square garden has been a dream and I’ve become a complete knicks fan!</p>
<p>I’ve lived in the city all my life and really must tell you that while there are a lot of things to do that are expensive, there are an equal amount of things you can do on a tight budget - you just have to look.
If you like bowling, sure you can go to an alley/bar at leisure lanes and spend nearly ten bucks a game or you can go to whitestone and play on monday and tuesday nights for five hours (10 pm - 3 am) for 19 bucks (also saturday and sunday mornings 8-1).
Just look around you. If you don’t make the attempt, then no, you won’t find anything.
lolknicks. A few years ago I bought tickets at the start of the season and that particular game they broke out of their 27 loss streak. by 3 points.
Also, the people at MSG are d-bags. Whenever I wanted to watch hockey games, I always bought tickets for Islanders v Rangers games at Nassau Coliseum because the people there at the very least let you watch the pregame warmup from right up front.
Just get the tickets right on top for like 17-19 bucks (hockey and b-ball) and move down right when the game starts. As long as it isn’t playoffs or a huge game (like rangers v islanders), the seats up top are like maybe 1/4 full.</p>
<p>I went to a Knicks-Celtics game and a Yankees game last year. Both times, I got tickets for free from Columbia programs (there’s a lottery involved but lots of people don’t show up so if you’re really persistent you can probably finagle a spot regardless of your luck).</p>
<p>Going all the way to the end of the line in Queens from Morningside Heights is fairly time consuming I would imagine. How much time do you expect the average columbia student spends in Queens altogether?</p>
<p>I meant whitestone lanes, which actually isn’t in whitestone :3 It’s closer to flushing.
It took me about 40 minutes to get there from w 4th street, it’s really not that far. Going anywhere in nyc is time consuming and you have to plan for that.</p>
<p>“if you like to walk, chinatown is walkable from campus, though it’d be quite a ways.”</p>
<p>Quite a ways = over two hours. It’s not like walking to say, Columbus Circle (a little over an hour). But if you want authentic, cheap Chinese food, you can’t beat Chinatown.</p>
<p>@monydad
I don’t want to shoot the messenger, here, but isn’t it a little unfair to report three-line rants from people who hated the experience so much that they transferred out? To answer the OP’s question, livable expenses don’t have to be that much; it all depends on what kind of lifestyle. If you do expensive, touristy things (shopping on Fifth Avenue, going to Times Square, seeing the latest Broadway shows every week, etc.) or ridiculously expensive things (clubbing downtown), then yeah, it’s really expensive. But if you just explore the city and find cheap places, go to discount plays (off-off-Broadway theatres will give you very cheap, even free, tickets) and free museums, then you’ll be fine. It all depends on how you approach your life as a student in New York: do you look for cool, cheap things to do all around the city, or are you just a glorified tourist looking for the (more or less manufactured) glitz and glamour of the city that you see in the media?</p>
<p>There are a few things that add redemptive dimension to the otherwise lackluster Dodge Fitness Center. First, our club sports and fitness classes are the coolest. They accommodate just about every level of experience - with a few notable exceptions like rugby, which is more like a varsity sport - and cover every interest. Whether you’re interested in taking a beginner’s fencing class, a boxing class, or are already an experienced triathlete, you’ll find your home here. The facility isn’t great, but, it’s rich in available activities.</p>
<p>Next, Dodge is a pick-up basketball player’s paradise. With multiple courts going at any time, including Levien Gym, there’s always a game to jump into. </p>
<p>Lastly, the hours are great. You can play squash or sit in the sauna until midnight. You can come back at 6am. Just bring a towel. Towel service is not included and there’s no telling whose sat naked in that sauna before you.</p>
<p>" isn’t it a little unfair "
No more or less unfair than the some of the above posts. Your opinions are not better than these opinions to me. They were there, and that’s how they experienced it, evidently. </p>
<p>“…people who hated the experience so much that they transferred out?”
If that’s partly why they transferred out, such “rant” is completely on point.
Moreover, to restate what I thought I posted previously, one of the two graduated from Columbia. The other transferred out, but she cited this as one of the contributing factors, and her departure likely did not reduce Manhattan prices IMO.</p>
<p>^Life at Columbia is completely affordable. Period. The deal I struck with my Columbia son (and his brother at an elite LAC) is that I will cover tuition, room and board, travel and books. Everything else is his responsibility. He got his first job last summer (after graduating from high school), and worked part-time at Columbia. He has covered all of his expenses on his own. He may eat a lot of Koronet slices and spicy specials from the crackdel, and drink a lot of Natty Lite, but he’s having the time of his life.</p>
<p>amen. There’s definitely a ton to do on the cheap, you just need to learn how to. Here are a handful of money saving tips for having fun/going out/eating in NY.</p>
<p>Get your free show tickets from CU.
Grab last minute bleacher seats for yanks games on stubhub.
Pregame before going out so you only need 1 heights frozen margarita before you have to cut yourself off.
Hit up costco or the beer distributor and buy beer/soda/snacks in bulk.
Buy movie tickets at costco (they’re only $9 i think).
Similarly, go to 106th or 125th for liquor… International is pricey.
Hit up the fancy restaurants during restaurant week for their prix fixe menus.
Learn to cook so as an upperclassman you can take yourself off the meal plan
$5 chicken and rice or taqueria quesadillas are good cheap fixes
Avoid community / Carleton lounge / starbucks / orens at all costs.
Have friends in the greek system so you can take advantage of free booze there. Better yet, go greek and (for guys) join one of the houses that hand out scholarships (sigep and kdr come to mind, i think fiji also does) and have a scholarship funded social life.
Buy a used fridge at the give and go green sale instead of getting a new one
If you drink coffee, make it yourself. No RA will care that you have a coffee machine
Find a free trial of amazon prime/amazon student and order all of your toiletries in bulk and with the 15% subscribe and save discount (just set it to deliver every 6 months or cancel the sub right after you order).
Food on Amsterdam is generally cheaper than that on Broadway
Don’t pay $5 to go to a Delta Sig Campo Party. The “drink specials” arent any cheaper despite the cover. You’re better off going to 1020.
Koronets is a very cheap meal for $3.25. Eat it sparingly though, you dont want to get sick of it.
Buy groceries in bulk at Costco. If you dont have the space to buy enough to make the busride worth it, buy at Westside. Only exception to this is the Morton Williams weekly specials on meat.
If you’re on the meal plan, don’t pay for mixers. Bring a couple of empty juice bottles/nalgenes and get your coke/crystal light/OJ at JJ dinner before you go out.
Similarly, tupperware is acceptable in dining halls, provided that you’re discrete
Not as acceptable but just as common is pilfering plates/utensils from JJ/Hewitt. No need to buy dishware for your room.
Paper towels are always free if you can figure out how to open the dispenser in the bathroom.
Always buy a metrocard loaded with enough $ to get the bonus
4 people to a cab will sometimes be cheaper than riding the train for shorter trips
a generous tip will sometimes allow you to go 5 to a cab
Rooftop bars tend to be expensive–if you go, pregame.
Outdoor sports are cheap/free and provide great entertainment… Club sports also give you a lot of bang for your buck
CU athletics events can be entertaining
Don’t be an idiot hipster smoking parliaments all day. Smoking is expensive.
Similarly, weed is expensive in new york and generally not as good as it is elsewhere. Don’t waste your money on a local dealer.
A lot of comedy clubs give away tickets to fill shows. They might not be the best places (a la Comedy Cellar or Gotham) but it’s still cheap entertainment
Student dance performances are cheap/free and generally pretty good.
In general, the arts scene on campus is top notch and a ton of the events are free.
An event with free food at 6:00pm means that you should line up at 5:30p if you want to actually get food.
There’s free food every day somewhere on campus. I know of a girl who ate nothing but free food for a month straight… you just cant be picky.
Clubbing is generally a waste of money, unless you know a LEGITIMATE promoter who actually gets girls in for free.
Shopping for high end stuff is best done on labor day at the last day of the barneys warehouse sale and on black friday.
If you’re trekking downtown to a bar/lounge, check yelp beforehand to make sure its not too pricey. The village is filled with good cheap places
One of the most entertaining things to do is to take the train to a random stop, get off and walk around. Trust me. </p>
<p>That’s all I can think of now… I do almost all of the things listed above and with some careful budgeting, I have a good deal of money left over at the end of a semester. (for reference, my parents pay tuition/housing/give me 90% of the cost of a meal plan in cash) Some of the things seem really little (like paper towels) but it all adds up.</p>