5 ms·

The majority of my experience comes from staying in NYC for 3-4 days. I stayed in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and each time I compared prices of AirBnB and hotels.

The majority of my experience comes from staying in NYC for 3-4 days. I stayed in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and each time I compared prices of AirBnB and hotels. AirBnB always won. Getting a room (with access to kitchen) instead of a whole apartment makes the difference even bigger. Apart from the price, having access to a kitchen is a huge plus to me because I do not want to spend on eating out all the time. Eating out is much more expensive than cooking at home (not only in NYC). This should be taken into account too while doing the price comparison.

mlrtime 11y ago
I would argue that for one person it is cheaper to eat out in NYC if you know where to look. The numbers change once you start cooking in advance (meal planning) or cooking for more than one person.
- jstanley 11y ago
  > I would argue that for one person it is cheaper to eat out in NYC if you know where to look I find this hard to believe. Is there seriously a place you can eat out (and eat reasonaly well) for $1 a time? Or, how expensive is your home-cooked food?
  - jacalata 11y ago
    Home cooked food is a lot more expensive than normal if you are only in the home for a couple days and don't want to spend the first one preparing food.
  - philrapo 11y ago
    What do you eat at home for $1 a meal?
- ffumarola 11y ago
  Having also lived in NYC, that is true if you're OK with the health effects of eating $1 slices every day. Otherwise, I'm not sure how that math could work out.
- nadezhda18 11y ago
  can you share the info about these places where it is so cheap to eat?
- goldbrick 11y ago
  You are absolutely correct. Not only are groceries disproportionately expensive in NY, economies of scale kick in, as well as intense competition in an already low-margin industry drive the price down for restaurants. A high-quality and tasty meal that I might enjoy at a neighborhood pub for ~$11 would definitely cost me over $20 if I was to recreate it at home, plus I would have the opportunity cost of the time spent making it and cleaning up. You may not notice this effect if you are only in town for a few days and eat mostly at tourist-friendly spots in midtown. Not to mention several math-impaired people seem to believe they only spend $1 a meal. Where do they live, India?
  - paulddraper 11y ago
    Ramen and a can of tuna can be less than a dollar. Rice and beans is too. Not very nice meals, but possible.
  - nadezhda18 11y ago
    >> intense competition in an already low-margin industry drive the price down for restaurants. Isn't the same thing true for the grocery stores? They are located in the same areas as restaurants and have to pay pretty much the same expensive rent, no? meanwhile, their expenses may be lower than the ones of a restaurant. anyway, could you tell more info about what your neighborhood pub - for example, what neighborhood is it? what meal did you eat? I can share my numbers - and sorry I did not tell in advance I went with my BF, so there were two of us eating cooked food. So, I ate at Cafe Aroma in Manhatten and I paid about $17 for a plate with rice + fish + some salad. the same day I went to a grocery store on Myrtle Ave in Brooklyn to buy supper for 2. I paid about $27 for tortellini, some chicken ham, a small watermelon, and some beer. It was enough for us for supper + some leftovers for breakfast (beer haha ;). The day after I found an even cheaper store where I bought supper for the other two days at once. $17 for a cafe meal seemed too expensive for me, so the next days I tried to eat cheaper cafe lunches. So I ate sandwiches for ~ $10-12; however, they contained a much smaller amount of proteins so I felt hungry much faster after.
    - goldbrick 11y ago
stephaniepier 11y ago
I agree with you. My SO's family chose to stay at an airbnb for our wedding this fall so they could have kitchen access. On one hand it comes down to convenience - it's easier to buy a couple boxes of cereal and a gallon of milk and some sandwich supplies rather than find a place to eat 3 times a day. I suppose a hotel could have a mini-fridge, but that wouldn't be able to hold enough for them. I've stayed in a suite with a full-size fridge, but that was considerably more expensive. There are 5 of them, so that's a factor too. It's easier to plan/use up groceries for multiple people over multiple days than if you're just alone.
- nadezhda18 11y ago
  great example! I did not mention I was not alone, I went with my boyfriend, so it makes 2 of us. But I am still pretty confident if I were alone, it would still be cheaper for me to cook rather than eat out.

mlrtime 11y ago

I would argue that for one person it is cheaper to eat out in NYC if you know where to look. The numbers change once you start cooking in advance (meal planning) or cooking for more than one person.

jstanley 11y ago
> I would argue that for one person it is cheaper to eat out in NYC if you know where to look I find this hard to believe. Is there seriously a place you can eat out (and eat reasonaly well) for $1 a time? Or, how expensive is your home-cooked food?
- jacalata 11y ago
  Home cooked food is a lot more expensive than normal if you are only in the home for a couple days and don't want to spend the first one preparing food.
- philrapo 11y ago
  What do you eat at home for $1 a meal?
ffumarola 11y ago
Having also lived in NYC, that is true if you're OK with the health effects of eating $1 slices every day. Otherwise, I'm not sure how that math could work out.
nadezhda18 11y ago
can you share the info about these places where it is so cheap to eat?
goldbrick 11y ago
You are absolutely correct. Not only are groceries disproportionately expensive in NY, economies of scale kick in, as well as intense competition in an already low-margin industry drive the price down for restaurants. A high-quality and tasty meal that I might enjoy at a neighborhood pub for ~$11 would definitely cost me over $20 if I was to recreate it at home, plus I would have the opportunity cost of the time spent making it and cleaning up. You may not notice this effect if you are only in town for a few days and eat mostly at tourist-friendly spots in midtown. Not to mention several math-impaired people seem to believe they only spend $1 a meal. Where do they live, India?
- paulddraper 11y ago
  Ramen and a can of tuna can be less than a dollar. Rice and beans is too. Not very nice meals, but possible.
- nadezhda18 11y ago
  >> intense competition in an already low-margin industry drive the price down for restaurants. Isn't the same thing true for the grocery stores? They are located in the same areas as restaurants and have to pay pretty much the same expensive rent, no? meanwhile, their expenses may be lower than the ones of a restaurant. anyway, could you tell more info about what your neighborhood pub - for example, what neighborhood is it? what meal did you eat? I can share my numbers - and sorry I did not tell in advance I went with my BF, so there were two of us eating cooked food. So, I ate at Cafe Aroma in Manhatten and I paid about $17 for a plate with rice + fish + some salad. the same day I went to a grocery store on Myrtle Ave in Brooklyn to buy supper for 2. I paid about $27 for tortellini, some chicken ham, a small watermelon, and some beer. It was enough for us for supper + some leftovers for breakfast (beer haha ;). The day after I found an even cheaper store where I bought supper for the other two days at once. $17 for a cafe meal seemed too expensive for me, so the next days I tried to eat cheaper cafe lunches. So I ate sandwiches for ~ $10-12; however, they contained a much smaller amount of proteins so I felt hungry much faster after.
  - goldbrick 11y ago

stephaniepier 11y ago

I agree with you. My SO's family chose to stay at an airbnb for our wedding this fall so they could have kitchen access. On one hand it comes down to convenience - it's easier to buy a couple boxes of cereal and a gallon of milk and some sandwich supplies rather than find a place to eat 3 times a day. I suppose a hotel could have a mini-fridge, but that wouldn't be able to hold enough for them. I've stayed in a suite with a full-size fridge, but that was considerably more expensive. There are 5 of them, so that's a factor too. It's easier to plan/use up groceries for multiple people over multiple days than if you're just alone.

nadezhda18 11y ago
great example! I did not mention I was not alone, I went with my boyfriend, so it makes 2 of us. But I am still pretty confident if I were alone, it would still be cheaper for me to cook rather than eat out.