Moving to New York City can be extremely overwhelming.

It’s a face-paced city, definitely not the place for you to stop and smell the roses.  If you are moving from the suburbs or even some slower-paced cities, you might not be ready for the rush that is NYC.  That being said, have some tips to help you better navigate the city.

While Manhattan might seem impossible to manage, you’ll find yourself giving directions to tourists in a couple of months.  What can I say?  The city has a great way of sucking you in and making a New Yorker out of anyone.

1.  Do you know what’s important?  The bathroom.  If you are planning to spend the day in the city, use the bathroom whenever you can.  It’s not so much of an issue if you’re hanging around in popular tourist spots like Time Square because there are McDonald’s and places like it where you can buy small fries and use the restroom.  However, if you’re new, you never know when you’re going to get lost in Central Park.
2. The layout of New York City is actually incredibly simple.  True, certain streets and avenues have names, but they actually are all in numerical order.  Avenues run vertically and streets run horizontally.  The numbers increase from east to west and from south to north.  How can you tell which way is which?  Well, remember that the Freedom Tower is downtown and that the Empire State Building is on 34^th Street.  As there are the two tallest buildings in NYC, you can use them as essential points in figuring out which direction you need to head.
3. New York City is a city of public transit.  You can attempt to drive, but you’ll probably find it more frustrating than it’s worth.  Get a little pocket subway map just in case of emergencies.  There is always some type of construction going on so you want to know how to get home after being rerouted to a totally different stop.  One thing you should know is that you get a single free transfer when you board a bus or subway.  You also have the option of getting a monthly metro card to help you save money.
4. Walking is also really big in New York City.  It takes about a minute to walk a city block depending on the pedestrian traffic and about three minutes to cross an avenue block.  The island of Manhattan isn’t really that big.  It takes about four hours to walk from the top to bottom and even less to walk across the island.  During rush hour, it is sometimes faster to get off a stop or two early and walk the rest of the way to work.
5. The shoes you wear matter.  Exploring the city means a lot of walking and even if you don’t go into the city for the sole purpose of exploring, you’ll more than likely find yourself wandering around anyway.  So while those heels may look nice, they sure as hell aren’t comfortable.

If you are interested in moving to New York City, click here for more information about New York Movers.