Hey, it’s me again! And as the title says I’m trying to make your life a little easier, whether you are a tourist visiting or a resident of this very lovely fun park of a city, here are 5 apps and websites every New Yorker needs to make life easier. Most people, for good or bad are attached to their smartphone, it makes perfect sense to have it as a tool on a daily basis. All of the apps/websites that I mention are ones that I personally and benefit from.

Apps For Getting The Best Meals

First off is Foursquare/Swarm, it’s really two apps but were one until about sixteen months ago and users went batty when it split into two. I use the Foursquare app to save places I want to go and see reviews and ratings for them. Whether it is restaurants, museums or music venues, the Foursquare app allows you to make lists of the places and separate them according to your criteria. For instance, I have lists for each borough, or shops I want to get to, or classes I want to take. You can check other reviews from other users to magazines. The app also asks you likes from food to events to suggest new places to you through the app. Swarm allows you to send messages to your friends and places you’ve saved in Foursquare and invite them to a group message within the app to arrange a meeting. It also lets you check into places and let people know how good the experience was. Runner-up to this app is Yelp.

Apps For The Best Trip

Next up is Citymapper, I love this app because it shows you how to get anywhere in NYC and many other international cities. It tells you travel status, construction changes, delays and when the next train or bus is coming. Also when you tell the app to “take me somewhere” it does so from walking time, tells you which car to sit in on the train, choice of a cab, bicycle or Uber, and rain safe routes. And you can meet a friend from wherever they are and meet at decided on the spot and find out how long it will take for both of you to get there, spectacular!
My next choice, Time Out New York counts as a magazine, a website and as well as an app. TimeOut New York. This magazine is given out for free on Wednesday of each week in Manhattan outside various train stations. For the week it’s published it tells you about local politics, all the major and minor events happening, all restaurants opening or closing, concerts, whether free or exclusive. It’s information overload. Another option if you miss TimeOut New York is the Village Voice that is also free weekly and has an app. New Yorkers are so very lucky.

Apps For The Best In Entertainment

I Love Free Concerts is a New York-centric website that you should be following on their Twitter account because every day you will be alerted on what to do for free in New York, I mean what else do you need? What other reason do I need to give you to get a Twitter account if you don’t already have on? Just asking.
Nycgo.com is New York’s official website, if you don’t get to see another magazine or website this is where you need to go. This is where you are first alerted for Broadway Week, Restaurant Week, Off-Broadway Week and all the yearly parades. It’s changed very often and links you to the city’s main website NYC.gov which includes the government administration branch.

If you are a theatergoer and want to see a Broadway or off-Broadway show, it can be

very pricey.

But if you want to do it smart in New York, you need to have either TodayTix or the TKTS app on your phone. You may not have the luxury of waiting in line for the ticket lotteries in front of theaters. So this is the next best thing. Honorable mention goes to some other apps as well those would be.

Honorable Mentions

Honorable mention goes to some other apps as well those would be Instagram because everyone should have this app to take and share all the beauty of this way too picturesque city. And the new up and coming website, is The Skint, the website for free and cheap New York for the broke New Yorker i.e. me. And newly added, for emergency notifications Notify NYC

Do you know of any apps that you find indispensable in your city? You can leave your favorites in the comments below. Maybe I’ll find new favorites from your suggestions?

Until our next rendezvous…

XOXO
Trudy