One Month In New York – Cost Of Living In NYC For A Month

Last Updated on 2nd November 2023

This post about spending one month in New York contains affiliate links.

Living in New York at some point in my life for a short period of time is something I’ve wanted to do ever since I was incredibly young. I used to read about New York in my favourite romance novels and watch endless movies set in the magical city and the first time I ever visited NYC in 2014 firmly cemented my lifelong adoration of the city I’d never actually been to.

Since then, I’ve been to New York five times at the time of writing this post in March 2022 and my most recent trip to NYC was actually the one month I spent living there over Christmas and New Year.

To say it was a dream come true would be the biggest understatement of the year; that trip truly meant everything and more to me and I’m so incredibly excited to properly share my experience of living in New York for one month in this extensive post.

If you want to know how much it costs to live in NYC for a month, I’ve got you covered in this huge guide about how much money we spent living in New York for 1 month between December 2021 and January 2022.

I’m so excited to share this post with you as I think it’ll be really beneficial and helpful if you’re thinking of moving to NYC for one month at some point. One thing I do want to note is that the following costs of living in New York for 1 month are based purely on my own personal experience and you will of course have different living costs in NYC, depending on how much you want to budget.

Matt and I also knew that this was going to be an experience that we’d never forget so we didn’t try to do it on an insanely strict budget and we were very fortunate that we were in the position of being able to spend however much we wanted to while living in New York for one month.

Please note that all the below costs are written in GBP, not USD. Prices are also accurate as of January 2022 according to the GBP/USD exchange rate. This post about the cost of living in New York for one month is also based entirely on our own personal experiences in January 2022.

How much money do you need for a month in New York?

We spent £6,223.34 (£3,111.67 each – £100.37 a day) for two people living in New York for one month in 2022.

Flights to New York City

On the 21st of November 2021, just two days before the one-year anniversary of my grandad passing away, I was feeling very sad about the state of the world and I said to Matt that I didn’t want to be “stuck” in the UK anymore and I wanted to be able to travel again.

Just a few weeks before that, the US had announced that it was welcoming vaccinated travellers back to America and after an hour or so of discussing our possibilities for travel and where we wanted to go, we settled on New York. For one month…

We booked our flights through Kiwi.com and we had to transfer in Milan which made the flights much cheaper and it cost us £240 each for the flights plus £34 each for baggage.

We also booked a ticket with Onward Ticket from LA to London for mid-March as you can’t fly into the US from the UK without showing proof that you plan to leave before the end of your 90-day visa. However, we didn’t know exactly when we would be leaving the US, so we booked a ticket reservation with Onward Ticket.

Book your flights to New York here!

Flights to New York for two people: £567.90.

Read more: 7 Best Ways To Get From JFK Airport To Manhattan

Travel insurance for New York

Travel insurance isn’t a legal requirement, but it is something that I’d highly recommend before going to New York for one month, or indeed, before you travel anywhere in the world, including in your home country.

It’s one of those purchases that seem unnecessary and such a huge upfront cost if you never use it, but it’s also something that you hope you never have to use!

As we intended on staying in America for a further two months after our time in New York, we booked a policy that lasted for 90 days. We booked through the Post Office which cost us almost £500 for both of us for 3 months and it included travel for America (most policies will cost you significantly more if you’re travelling to the US as the healthcare costs there are astronomical, so the insurance companies need to know that they’re covered).

I’d also highly recommend checking out policies from Safety Wing or World Nomads if you’re going to New York for one month as they offer shorter-term policies that could be cheaper.

Travel insurance for 90 days in America for two people: £494.93.

Read more: 4 Days In New York Itinerary – How To See NYC In 4 Days

Covid travel tests and medication

As I said at the start of this post, I really want to reiterate that the cost of living in New York for one month is based entirely on my own personal experience of travelling and living there between December 2021 and January 2022.

Therefore, one of the costs that we incurred when going to New York in December was the cost of Covid travel tests which were a requirement by the US government at the time. Of course, this cost might not be relevant to you if you’re moving to New York from somewhere else in America or if you’re travelling to America when Covid tests are no longer a requirement.

Another thing I had to purchase before we travelled to New York was my prescription medication for my kidney condition. I’ve written a full post about travelling full-time when you’re on medication for life, so if that’s relevant to you before you go and stay in New York for a month, be sure to check out that post.

Covid travel tests for America for two people: £58.

Prescription medication needed before travelling: £18.70.

Read more: 7 Days In New York Itinerary – Ultimate NYC 7-Day Itinerary

How much does an apartment cost in NYC for one month?

OK, now onto the fun stuff about actually living in NYC for a month! If you’re wondering what the average cost of living in New York is, you can expect a vast majority of your monthly budget in NYC to go towards the cost of an apartment.

It’s no secret that housing costs in NYC are extortionately expensive, so when we were booking our trip to New York for one month, we were prepared (albeit not particularly excited!) to pay a decent chunk of money for an apartment in the city.

Our apartment in the East Village from the 16th of December 2021 to the 15th of January 2022 cost us £2,750 which works out at about £88 a day for 30 nights. While this may sound very expensive when you say the total cost, you won’t likely find a hotel in New York City for less than £80 a night, especially over the Christmas holidays, so we weren’t too overwhelmingly shocked by the amount.

In order to choose our apartment in New York, we put several filters on Airbnb including an entire place to ourselves, good Wi-Fi and a kitchen. We also wanted to be in a relatively good location to all the top sights and attractions in NYC, but we also wanted to feel like we were staying in a more local part of the city, so we landed on the East Village.

While there were a few teething problems here and there with the apartment throughout our stay, our host/landlord was super helpful and responded to any issues or queries we had.

The apartment was definitely tiny as it was very much just a studio, but after living in a studio apartment for a year before we went travelling in our hometown of York, both Matt and I are more than comfortable with smaller living spaces and we really loved our tiny home in NYC.

It was equipped with a kitchen, including an oven, a 4-ring hob, microwave, large fridge and freezer and all the cooking utensils we needed. There was also a small bathroom with everything we needed, a very comfortable bed (once the bed frame was replaced after breaking on the first night we were there!), a large wall-mounted TV with Netflix, Amazon and many other subscriptions built-in, plus a sofa and dining table.

It wasn’t exactly much, but it meant the world to us to have our own place while we lived in New York and I’ll remember that little apartment forever!

There were a few places listed that were slightly cheaper (only by a couple of hundred pounds or so), but they weren’t rated as highly and they didn’t fit our criteria quite enough, so we settled on the one in the East Village and it was perfect for us.

Cost of an Airbnb apartment in the East Village for one month over Christmas and New Year for two people: £2,750.93.

Read more: 4 Days In New York Itinerary – How To See NYC In 4 Days

Cost of living in New York – groceries

One of the living costs in New York that you’ll have to account for is groceries, especially if you stay somewhere with its own kitchen.

Matt and I decided to get an apartment with a kitchen and plenty of cooking supplies and utilities as we wanted to be able to cook our own food, as well as go out into the city and experience all the wonderful restaurants and cafes that New York City has to offer!

We spent just over £300 on groceries in 1 month, which I know many people in the UK can spend almost in 1 week! It’s certainly not the £13 each a week we were spending on food when we lived in the UK, but it’s still a relatively reasonable amount for many of our meals.

We could have definitely switched up our spending and spent more on groceries and less on meals and drinks in bars and restaurants, but I think we managed to achieve a nice mixture of cooking at home and eating out.

Food costs from one month living in New York – groceries: £314.95.

Read more: What Is New York Known For – 40 Things That New York City Is Famous For

Living in New York for one month – food and drink out

One of the things that I really wanted to prioritise while we were living in New York was trying as many bars, restaurants and cafes while we were there and I certainly think we managed to do that!

Of course, this meant that a huge chunk of our monthly expenses in New York went on food and drinks out, but this was something I’d wanted to do in NYC ever since my first trip there and I’d never prioritised the food scene in New York before, so I was more than happy to be a bit spendy on food while we were there!

Food costs from one month living in New York – meals and drinks out at cafes, bars and restaurants: £1,195.

Check out my full guide to the 50 best places to eat in New York City.

How much does it cost to live in NYC? – transport costs

Despite walking over 615,000 steps (approximately 408km!) during our 1 month in New York, we still used the subway system almost daily which added to our monthly costs of living in NYC.

We bought a Metrocard ($1 each) at the start of our trip and then just topped it up every time we needed to ride the subway (it costs $2.90 for each journey). We could have purchased a monthly unlimited card ($132 – worth it if you use the subway more than 46 times in a month) or a weekly Metrocard ($34 – worth it if you use the subway more than 12 times in 7 days), but we didn’t intend on using the subway quite as much, so it worked out better for us to top the card up every few days whenever we used it.

Transport costs in New York City for one month for two people: £98.61.

Read more: The Best Observation Decks In NYC For Amazing Views [Ranked]

Cost of living in New York – activities

Of course, as much as we wanted to pretend that we were “locals” while living in New York, we also had so many activities and attractions that we wanted to see during our time there.

We were also in NYC over Christmas and New Year, so there were plenty of seasonal activities we enjoyed too, which made our trip even more memorable.

Here are a few examples of the activities we paid for while in NYC:

• Basketball tickets at the Barclays Center for two people: £28.95
• Comedy show at The Grisly Pear for two people: £17.64
• Broadway tickets for The Lion King for two people: £177.80
• Sunset tickets for SUMMIT One Vanderbilt for two people: £91.60
• Entrance ticket for The MET for one person (I had a free ticket with my friend): £18.49

Activity costs for one month in NYC for two people: £371.07.

Read more: NYC In A Day – One Day In New York Itinerary For First-Time Visitors

Cost of living in New York in 2022 – miscellaneous

There are a few miscellaneous costs from our time in New York that I either can’t find out exactly what they were or they just didn’t fit into any other category.

For example, we withdrew cash from an ATM to get dollars out while we were in NYC which equalled approximately £190.

We also spent money on laundry every week (approximately £7.50) but most of that was in cash and then there are a few other purchases, but I can’t quite remember what they were.

Miscellaneous costs for two people for 1 month in NY: £353.25.

Read more: 30 Most Romantic Things To Do In NYC For Couples – Best New York Date Ideas

Top tips for moving to New York for one month from the UK:

• Unfortunately, you can’t just up and move to NYC from the UK as you need to get the appropriate American visa to be able to live and work in the USA.
• However, you can get an ESTA form (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) which grants you permission to stay in the US for up to 90 days without a visa.
• Therefore, if you only want to move to New York from the UK for a short time (up to 3 months, for example), you can do so without applying for a visa, as long as you have an ESTA.

Read more: New York Tips For First-Time Visitors – Best NYC Travel Tips

Total cost for one month in New York for 2 people: £6,223.34 (£3,111.67 each – £100.37 a day).

I really hope you found this post about the cost of living in NYC for 1 month useful and if you’re planning to go to New York for a month any time soon, please let me know if you have any more questions about our experience!

Related posts:

• 111 Best Things To Do In New York City – Ultimate NYC Travel Guide
• 50+ Best Places To Eat In New York City – Ultimate NYC Food And Drink Guide
• SUMMIT One Vanderbilt New York – Everything You Need To Know
• 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar – The Best Places For Bottomless Brunch In New York
• 25 Of The Best Totally Free Things To Do In New York City
• Ultimate 3 Month USA Road Trip Itinerary – New York To California
• 3 Months In The USA Budget – How Much To Travel America
• NYC Pass Comparison – Which New York City Pass Is Best?
• How To Make Passive Income While Travelling – 7 Best Ideas

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*Prices are accurate as of the USD to GBP currency exchange rate between December 2021 and January 2022.

Would you like to live in New York for one month? Is the cost of living in New York more or less than you expected? Let me know in the comments or on Instagram at @imjustagirl_16.