If you want to rent an apartment near Central Park for the short or long term, you need to be prepared to pay a premium. Rent was high long before the pandemic and other factors caused rent to skyrocket. Today, if you get a studio apartment for less than $3,000 a month, you’re lucky. The average AirBnb rate per night in the area is above $300.
There’s simply no way of renting for cheap in the area, and that is unlikely to change anytime soon. However, there are ways of lowering your other costs when renting around the Central Park area. Here are some tips.
Save on insurance
As a renter, you don’t need to get expensive homeowners insurance. After all, the property itself is covered by your landlord. Rather, you need renters insurance. The cost of renters insurance in NYC is above average. But that does not make it expensive. You’ll be paying around $25 a month.
It is possible to cut down the cost by installing protective devices like smoke detectors in your apartment. You can also lower the cost by choosing a higher deductible. This will mean you pay more if you ever have to claim from insurance, but your monthly fees will be lower.
If you own a car, there are ways to cut down on car insurance as well. Many insurance providers offer discounts if you do not drive your car most days of the week. Furthermore, you may be able to get discounts for good driving by allowing your insurer to install a tracking device.
Renting near Central Park is possible. Photo by on Andrea BelussiUnsplash.comGet meal kits rather than eating out
Regularly eating at restaurants has never been the most cost-effective way of life, especially in the Central Park area. However, in 2022 it is more expensive than ever. Record levels of inflation have driven prices up on everything, including all kinds of food. This not only means that the price of restaurant food has risen, but that restaurant owners need to charge higher margins to make a living for themselves as well.
In other words, if you’ve been noticing that eating out is extremely expensive, it’s only going to get worse. Unfortunately, not everyone has the luxury of being able to cook for themselves after a long day of work.
This is why you should consider getting meal kits. These meal boxes come with all the ingredients you need to make a healthy dinner, chopped and prepped, along with easy instructions. You pay more for the convenience, but you will still spend less than you would at a restaurant. You save time while getting nutritious food, ultimately saving money as well.
Lower electricity usage
One of the effects of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine is that energy prices are higher than ever. This is felt most in terms of gas prices, but other kinds of energy are also affected. For this reason, the electricity cost could soon increase to deal with the limited supply. As a renter in NYC who pays for electricity, now is a good time to learn some new habits.
Make it a habit to always turn off the lights when you leave a room, and especially when leaving the apartment. Consider putting a timer on your boiler as well, considering you don’t use hot water most of the day and it uses a lot of electricity to keep it heated. Unplug devices from wall sockets when you’re not using them, as they continue to draw electricity otherwise.
If it’s not absolutely necessary, keep the AC off. Of course, in the midst of summer when the weather is at its hottest, this is not an area where you can go without cooling. That said, as the months pass and the weather cools, try and limit your usage of AC or fans.
Walk or use public transport
If you drive a car, it is difficult to go back to a life of walking or public transport. However, it may be necessary in the short term. Gas prices are extremely high and are likely to rise. Living near Central Park, you’re probably spending a lot of time in traffic as well, which is a huge drain on the gas reserves in your tank.
Hopefully, prices will go back to normal soon, but for now, it might be necessary to take the steps you can in order to minimize costs.
Alex is a computer geek, programmer, who loves traveling. Not the usual mix, but Alex is always with his laptop – no matter how high the mountain he’s hiking on. On every peak he reaches, he writes a story that captures it all.
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram