The main reason for going to the USA was to visit family. With Caitlin’s aunty and uncle living in Brooklyn and Ali and John Hackett being in Boston at the time, it worked out perfectly! After staying in a number of different rooms and having eaten out for every meal, New York and Boston was a great chance to get back to a little bit of normal living. We were very fortunate in this sense, as we were spoilt with free accommodation. In both places we really enjoyed treating our hosts by cooking and dining out. When doing research on our trip to the States we found that there were some affordable options, but the generosity of family really did make our trip. We were also given great local knowledge, which was a lot better than google!
Top Tips
- Get lunch (and dinner) from Whole Foods to save money on eating out
- Public transport is great! Get a metro card and get on your way – $2.75 a trip
- Some tourist spots are cheaper and sometimes free on certain days – e.g ground zero museum is free after a 5pm on Tuesday
- We didn’t do it but apparently the $100 NYC tourist pass is well worth it
- There are so many free/cheap things to do so make the most! NYC – Central Park, walk the bridges, $3 ferry to Governors Island, High Line. Boston – walk the freedom trail
- Use citymapper for getting around
1 NZD = 0.67 USD
NYC and Boston
*Below is based on if we needed accommodation
| Cost in USD | Cost in NZD | |
| Accommodation | $170 | $250 (one bedroom airbnb) |
| Food (per meal) | $17 | $25 |
| Bottled water | $2 | $3 |
| Uber from aiport | $50 | $75 |
| Glass of wine/beer | $6 | $9 |
| Metro per trip | $2.75 | $4 |
| Sightseeing (avg daily) | $15 | $23 |
| Averge per day | $150 | $230 |
100 Days of Travel 