Questions about a US Trip

[Eli]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
Is that the one on Amsterdam Avenue in NYC?

NYC is expensive.

Actually that's all of them, at least in NYC. 30$ a night is doable. It might mean a 4 or 5 weeks trip instead of a 6 weeks one, though. I'm more worried about the experience itself - staying with 3 or 5 strangers in a room can be a great, fascinating experience, but it can also suck really, really badly.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Eli


Actually that's all of them, at least in NYC. 30$ a night is doable. It might mean a 4 or 5 weeks trip instead of a 6 weeks one, though. I'm more worried about the experience itself - staying with 3 or 5 strangers in a room can be a great, fascinating experience, but it can also suck really, really badly.

I suspect $30 a night in NYC, in a private room, would mean a lot of strangers of the six legged variety.

[Eli]

Yeah.

Hosteling is the way to go, I just can't afford anything else. According to hostels.com, in DC I can get by with 20-25$ a night, although Boston becomes expensive again.

[OzzyKP]

I figure I'll respond here instead of by PM, if you want to do ultra cheap and don't mind roughing it a bit then I'm your man.

I did a 33 day road trip across the United States and spent most of it sleeping in my car, camping out, or crashing at a friend's house. I know there are camp grounds not too far outside of DC, they would be cheaper than the hostel, but you'd probably need to rent a car to get out there so that might not be cheaper afterall. Sleeping in a car is a possibility. DC/NYC/Boston is probably not the best place for sleeping in your car, but typically rest stops on highways are safe places. Truck stops have showers too. If you go that route you could also stop into a cheap motel and just toss them a few dollars to use the shower of a vacant room. I did that before too.

Otherwise try relying on the kindness of strangers for housing. Maybe us polytubbies could put you up. You could crash on my couch for a few days. But you'd need to split the time up with other folks in the city, a whole week would be too much. I could probably get you a few days up in Boston too, I have a favor to call on a friend up there who asked me to put up an Australian friend of theirs (a friend of a friend actually) who was traveling the country. If I really had to I could try asking my DC friends too, they are all Jewish and that might give you some extra sympathy. But try LS, DanS, LotM, etc first.

If you don't get a rental car my top suggestion for travel between cities is the Chinatown Bus. Definitely the cheapest option: https://www.apexbus.com/Default.aspx Though I would recommend getting a chance to explore the area outside of the big cities. Get a taste of the real America. You could even get a Zip Car (http://www.zipcar.com/) for a few hours and take a trip to West Virginia or something.

Eating can be done on the cheap too (and no, not dumpster diving). Just get a small camping stove and buy some cheap canned goods to make your own meals with. Or Ramen Noodles . Fast food is cheap too.

As for entertainment, all the museums in DC are free, so spend some time there. Baseball will be over, but you could go see some cheap hockey games. I think they have like $5 tickets to see DC's hockey team, the Capitols. New York won't be as cheap, but you could take another page from my book and try sneaking in to places. I am a pro at it and I could give you tips.

[lord of the mark]

NYC attractions arent all THAT expensive. Central Park is free of course. The ferry to Staten Island gives a great view of the harbor and the statue of Liberty. Some of the museums have a voluntary/"suggested" donation policy.


The Chinese bus between NYC and DC is cheap, and its comfortable - Ive done it - its not that fast, it makes several stops. Theres also a Hasidic run bus apparently which was recommened to me by a non-Jewish coworker.

New England is perhaps the most hosteling friendly part of the country, so while they may not be cheap around Boston, theyre likely to draw a better crowd, I suppose.

Boston also has good transit. In addition to getting around town, theres a ferry to Cape Cod. When I was in college I took the ferry with some friends and biked to a hostel in Wellfleet, I think it was. If the weather is nice, and you want to get to the countryside, you might consider renting a bike. More in Boston then in NYC though. DC has great bike trails, but the countryside isnt too close.

BTW, it could be pretty chilly in Boston in late November.

[OzzyKP]

The bus I take doesn't make many stops. Between DC and NYC it makes exactly two stops. One to pick up people in Baltimore, and one at a rest stop (which is a welcome opportunity to stretch your legs and grab a bite).

[Sirotnikov]

Originally posted by Eli
I'm still undecided. Tell me, does the pazam counts while I have 24, or is it like a dahash?

i've got no clue.

I had a small leak in the bone between the nose and the brain, which allowed viruses and bacteria and whatnot to pass and caused constant fatigue and weakness, in addition to random events of meningitis. The leak is closed now, but because the doctor cut off a tiny part of that thingie that wraps around the brain, the army treats it like a brain surgery.

wowsie

how was it discovered?

i'm constantly fatigued and weak and can't seem to get over it.

i don't know what to ask my doctors.

[Eli]

Originally posted by Sirotnikov
how was it discovered?

Well, after the fifth meningitis event someone noticed it on a CT scan (that was the sixth or seventh scan I did over a period of a few years, so I'm considering suing someone for not finding it earlier ).

i'm constantly fatigued and weak and can't seem to get over it.

Are you still commuting daily from Haifa? That might be a reason. I know that I was dead tired when I had to commute from Ashdod, and that's closer.

[Eli]

Ozzy:

Thanks, but I wont go to that extreme. Also, renting a car doesn't make sense for me since I'm mostly interested in the cities.

A question:
Is there a place on the net with a clear guide of what areas of NY and DC to avoid?

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Eli
Ozzy:

Thanks, but I wont go to that extreme. Also, renting a car doesn't make sense for me since I'm mostly interested in the cities.

A question:
Is there a place on the net with a clear guide of what areas of NY and DC to avoid?

1. I dunno

2. Its not really that simple. It depends on time of day, circumstances, etc. Youre probably safer on a main drag in the South Bronx, at mid-day on a crowded rush hour, being alert, than carelessly walking down a deserted block of Midtown on Sunday night. Right GE?

3. There are crime stats, but like I said, thats not always a perfect guide.

4. Ask here.


For DC, in general, the folks I know from the suburbs who are nervous about going downtown, are willing to at least go to downtown proper (south of L, west of 7th about F street, than south of F till Union Station)
and to the residential neighborhoods west of Rock Creek Park.

Folks who know DC better, will go to Dupont Circle, Logal Circle, Capitol Hill (but its good to know the edges of Capitol Hill) etc.

Georgetown is peculiar. It has some of the cities priciest real estate and preppiest bars, but it also draws muggers looking to prey on drunken preppies. Theres no metro there, and people tend to park at night near alleys, in dark spots, ripe for ambush.

Carless, you would probably stick to the main drags in Gtown at night (M and Wisconsin) so youd be unlikely to be mugged.


NYC is ever changing, so you probably want to talk with someone who lives there. In general avoid the Bronx (yes, there are some good places there, but none of tourist interest) Manhattan below 96th street is fine, but be careful around the Lower East Side, and just be careful in NYC in general. Manhattan above 96th side has some ok and tourist important areas, ask GEPap, or your Israeli contacts, or ask when you get there.

Brooklyn feel free to ask me.

[lord of the mark]

If you have time and inclination to read about NYC before getting there, and want some of the social geography of the city, you do worse than "The Bonfire of the Vanities" although its dated, and exagerrated.

"Shehman, where are all the WHITE people?"

[Eli]

Now let me get something straight here. On a scale that starts with scary looking characters once in a while and ends with randomly exploding buses, what do you mean when you say unsafe?

[lord of the mark]

unsafe is a neighborhood where a murder wont make the front page of the Washington Post Metro section, unless it involves a kid or someone obviously uninvolved in the drug trade, or unlikely to have been by accident. Unsafe means a neighborhood where someone who looks well dressed (But isnt a preacher) or who is white, or both, will get you stared at, and probably marked as the most obvious target in the neighborhood for a mugging. Where if you bike someone will steal your bike, and if you park your car you can count on it being broken into.


Marginal, would be an area where youre one among many targets for mugging, where a murder WILL make the front page of the Metro section, where you dont want to park your car if you can help it, and if you do, make sure theres nothing valuable visible, but your car will probably be alright, and where you should probably keep an eye out when passing alleys or blindspots, unless there are a bunch of other people around, but youll probably be okay if you dont.

Safe is where a murder will make the front page of the Washington Post front section, cause murders just dont happen there (unless its a wife killing her husband for the family fortune) where muggings are rare, and your car is probably alright as long as you lock it.

[OzzyKP]

Also, since people have a skewed view of murder in America, the vast majority of murders occur between people who know each other because of disputes or arguments. Many of the "unsafe areas" the violence is between gangs or is related to drug dealing and doesn't normally affect others. So I don't think there is really anywhere that you'd have to fear for your life. So I don't think murder factors into such an equation at all, you won't be at risk.

You won't have a car so you won't need to worry about LotM's caution about your car getting broken into. Mugging may be an issue, and he seems fairly on the mark (of the mark?) on that, but again, even in the bad areas there isn't a high chance that anything will happen to you. So odds are you'll be ok even there, but keep our wits about you and be wary of shady folks. Don't carry too much cash on you.

Generally I'm less worried about bad areas than many, and I'd recommend you not to just stick to the glitzy, plastic, tourist areas. There are risks, there are always risks, but just keep your head, don't do anything stupid, and you should be fine. It isn't as dangerous as everyone makes it out to be imho.

[lord of the mark]

as if to prove my point the metro section of the WaPo

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/metro/

teen killed in Ledroit Park. Made the front page of the metro section today. Its an all black area, near Howard University, has some nice houses and middle class blacks (IIUC Jesse Jackson lives there) but close proximity to much worse areas.

If you go there (and Im not sure why you would) youd be advised to do it day time and keep your wits about you.