im moving to spanish harlem...would you suggest having a car?do i really need it?

Answer 1

Avoid a car like the plauge !!!
Get an unlimited metro card and the buses and subways will be all yours !

Answer 2

Do not EVER have a car in NYC, especially Manhattan unless you're looking for ways to waste your money. In one summer, I got over $750 worth of tickets plus had it towed ($250) in Brooklyn for a ridiculous reason. If you don't pay the tickets, they WILL find you and your car will be towed to an unknown destination.

Insurance is through the roof which 'forces' many people to illegally register their car out of state. You save a little money but out of state plates draw more attention and can sometimes lead to more tickets/theft/vandalism, even more so if the car is from out of the tri-state area. Parking garages are expensive and you may find you need to take the subway to get to your car.

The only time you might wish you had one is if you're trying to move a heavy piece of furniture around town. Other than that, it is never ending stress. I wasn't sleeping well some nights because I was worried about the car. Every morning that I walked outside I half expected it not to be there or to have some new damage.

Do not attempt it unless you have a lot of money or don't care what happens to your car. Public transportation is excellent in Manhattan and most parts of other boroughs. A transfer to a bus can get you anywhere that the subway doesn't go.

Answer 3

Living in Manhattan?! No my dear, my opinion is that you don't need a car in NY. The transportation (MTA) is very good organized, so you can get anywhere in the city and the boroughs (by train, subway or bus), much faster and what is more important, much, much cheaper, than with the car. To have a car, especially in Manhattan is a big headache and a hustle. If you really wont to have one, be sure that you have a lots of money (for public parking lots), garage where you live (it can take you an hour to find a parking space with out limit), and a strong nerves for the traffic jam around. So..... good luck if you get one.

Answer 4

Hi Janika,

Definately don't think about getting a car. The hassle would be incredible. Where would you park it? On the streets you have to worry about parking regs, like alternate side of the street parking days, fire hydrants, double and triple(!) parked cars that block you in. Also, you ready to follow/stalk someone walking with (hopefully car) keys in their hands in the prayer that they're going to move their car? If not parked on the street, have you got several hundred dollars to lease a parking space in a private garage that may be several blocks away from where you live? What about car insurance? A fortune in the city. Not to mention the worry about theft, homeless people looking for a place to sleep (my friend had a guy who always managed to get into his car to sleep somehow but after they chased him out, they had to fumigate the car for 20 minutes!), NYC taxi drivers and gypsy cab drivers, etc., etc. What about snow emergencies, that will throw a monkey wrench into the whole thing as well.

When I visited my husband who lived in Harlem (off St. Nicholas Avenue), it was a major production just for me to find parking the few times I brought my car into the city (since I lived in NJ). Even visiting a friend up in Washington Heights meant driving around for half an hour looking for parking.

The city's MTA does an admirable job. You've got plenty of choices as to whether to take the subway or a bus or a combo of both, and they run all day every day.

My advice, forget the car. Relax, enjoy the ride to and from work with someone else driving.

Good luck on your move,

Barb