Help from NYC people? (baseball talk, not card talk here)

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Posted By: Russ Bright

Hey Everyone -

As most of you know, my daughter was born 6 weeks ago and I found out that I am losing my Job at the end of this month. My wife has been on Maternity leave since the middle of February so we have no income from her until she goes back in the middle of May. Explains why I have been selling so many of my cards and a little why I have been on EDGE lately...

as some of you may know as well, My wife bought me a dream Christmas present. 2 Box seats to a Yankees Game in the House that Ruth built against my home team the Seattle Mariners. We finally got the tickets and my wife decided that she had paid too much (300 total for 2 $55 dollar tickets) but were both happy that we were one step closer to doing something it has been my lifelong dream to do...

with recent job/money developments (in the past 2 weeks) we're not sure if we'll be able to make the game - Between airfare from Seattle and places to stay and transportation once in the city etc etc etc, it looks like a nightmare that may be financially out of reach

I'm posting here because I know we have some nice guys here who live in NYC (sorry upstaters!) and hopefully I can get some recommendations on how we could possibly do this cheaply as possible. We plan on bringing our 2 year old son and 2 month old daughter as well on the trip and to the game, so it's a logistics nightmare, but something that i want to do and i know my wife wants to make happen for me as well -

Anyone able to help with the best place to stay in the city for cheap? any recommendations? I really don't know what to do, and I have wanted to see a game in Yankee Stadium my entire life, but am not willing to put my family further into debt

any help is greatly appreciated!

thanks for listening!
R

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Posted By: barrysloate

Russ- what is the date of the game? I don't have any ideas for you yet, but I'll think about it.

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Posted By: Shawn Chambers

Russ,

No great suggestions from me, but I really hope it works out for you. I have been a huge Yankee fan my whole life and will be making my first visit to the House That Ruth Built this summer as well. May 25 vs Seattle!

My buddy and I are flying into Albany. That way we can rent a car and hit the Hall of Fame the day before and just take the train into NYC. Can't wait to see the monuments! I really hope this trip works out for you and your family. I'm chomping at the bit!

Shawn

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Posted By: Russ Bright

Tickets are for Saturday May 3rd - and the Mariners play 2 weekends in NYC in May and that's it -

other options I talked to my wife about were selling these tickets and going later in the year to a less popular game (royals/devilrays, etc)

we would LIKE to have a car with the kids, but that would mean taking 2 car seats across the country (renting a carseat costs as much as buying a new carseat) and having a car IN the city would be impractical.

I've been looking forward to this, but with being unemployed and not having any other money coming in it looks like a pipedream that i might just have to miss...

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Posted By: Matt

Russ - very sorry to hear this - I'm sure everything will work out.

I wouldn't recomend selling these tickets to buy others as then you may end up paying scalpers premiums 2 times.

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Posted By: Jon Canfield

Russ - here are a couple of my suggestions. First and foremost, I'm not sure if you are open to the idea but would you absolutely want to bring your children? I'm not sure how airfares work with children but if you had a relative to "weekend babysit", it could certainly save you some money since only you and your wife would fly. Also, there would be no need for a car in the city. Whether you fly into JFK, Lauguardia or Newark, public transportation takes you into the city. Also, the subways run right up to the stadium - a car would not be needed at all. Lastly, you may want to consider flying on Friday and making a weekend out of it. Jetblue has airfare for $149 each way on that weekend. You can get a hotel in NYC for $100-$150.

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Posted By: Russ Bright

Jetblue has been mentioned, and I forgot all about them, they seem like the best airfare deal - as far as the kids... they're both under 2 so they fly for free. My daughter is still being breast-fed so that's not really an option leaving her, and my son (21 months old) is OK with babysitters, but we don't have anyone who can watch him for multiple days, just one nighters...

plus he's a HUGE baseball fan, we had the chance to go to mariners Opening Day this year and this is a picture of his first game ever, meeting J.J. Putz (april 15th last year)

While he's young, i really would like him to be able to say "I've been there" even if he doesn't remember it

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Posted By: Jon Canfield

Russ - understood. I would still reconsider the car. Not to mention weekend parking fees, it is just a ton of money. If you can go without the car, I think you can greatly cut costs. A subway ride would be $2 each way and as I said above, it runs to the doorstep of Yankee Stadium. I believe public transportation from any airport to Manhattan will run you abut $10 each way (I think it's $5 or $6 for the airtran from JFK/LGA to Jamaica, Queens, then $3-$5 from Queens to Penn Station. Newark has a train into Penn that costs $8 I believe). Also, another possible suggestion for hotels is to stay closer to the airports or outside of Manhattan. You can find some really good deals in Weehawken, NJ or elsewhere which are just across the river from NYC.

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Posted By: Jon Canfield

Also, check Craigslist for weekend sublets. For example, here is an NYC apartment available for $150 a night:

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/sub/630398137.html

CLEAN BEAUTIFUL 1 BEDROOM APT AVAILABLE TILL MAY10.
QUEEN SIZE BED. GREAT FOR 2 PEOPLE. KITCHEN, INTERNET.
GREAT LOCATION ON 51STR AND 2 AV, EVERYTHING WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE IN NEW YORK IS SUPER CLOSE. LOTS OF RESTOURANTS. SUBWAYS, BUSES.
$150 PER NIGHT
NON SMOKING

and another:

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/sub/630381956.html

W 36th st @ 9th ave
Very popular Hell's Kitchen area!
Charge $ 150 per night, good for two, reserve it securely by any credit card(pay-pal) or pay on arrival.
A spacious studio apt in very popular midtown west 36th st. Apartment is on the ground floor (no stairs!), clean & comfortably furnished, clean sheets & towels, cable, has a large bathroom with a shower, and a big eat-in kitchen with cozy table for two.

Conveniently located in hell's kitchen area, apartment is within walking distance to all the sites including: Times Square, Bryant Park, Jacob Javits, Fashion District, all Broadway Theaters, Rockefeller Center, MSG, Radio City, Central Park, TKTS, Restaurant Row, all the major clubs, hotels, shops, subways, and more.

Feel free to contact me at email address provided
or call 917-685-3767

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Posted By: Russ Bright

Yeah... we already ruled out the car - as much as I would LIKE one, it would just be a hassle with parking and everything else -

we'll look into the c/l thing - I've had some good experiences in seattle with craigslist (actually met my wife through craigslist... lol...)

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Posted By: barrysloate

Hi Russ- I'm afraid there is no way to make this trip without it being pretty expensive. You can find a modestly priced hotel but there are so many extras. Just transportation alone will be expensive.

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Posted By: Russ Bright

yeah it's looking to be that way...


just a longshot...

Anyone want to schedule the Next NYC dinner to coincide with my weekend in New York?



KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Posted By: Dave

Try staying at the Stamford CT Marriott. It's basically on the other side of the Bronx and you can take the Metro North Train into the city that's right next to it. The rates are a fraction of what you'd pay in the city.

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Posted By: Corey

I moved out to the west coast about two years ago and worked in Stamford, CT before that. I would say that hotel rooms in Manhatten are completely outrageous, and to stay anywhere decent your looking to spend at least 300/night. Especially on a Friday and Saturday night. If you definately making this trip, look into staying outside the city.

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Posted By: Al Simeone

Russ,
I live in Stamford Ct. Its about 35-40 minutes from yankee stadium. You would be better off here for rates on rooms. You can also try the Stamford Sheraton (decent rates) and very nice. 2701 Summer St. 203-359-1300. But I can tell you anyway you do this it still will get a bit expensive. But you should just think of it as a great experience! And the heck with the money!!!

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Posted By: Miguel

I recently visited NYC and went on an expedition to find the best hotel deals possible. I ended up discovering that Priceline can pretty much always be counted on to find you a good deal -- usually right around 50% off the "rack rate" (i.e., the rate you'd get if you called the hotel up or reserved on their website).

Hotline has one major disadvantage -- you don't really know what the right amount to bid is, or what you are likely to get for various amounts bid. Luckily, there are some sites that have solved this problem by allowing people to post what hotels they got for which amounts. To wit, see:

http://p198.ezboard.com/New-York-State--New-York-City/fpricelineandexpediabiddingnewyorkcitynonewjersey

I managed to stay at a 4-star Hilton in Manhattan for about $140/night. If you could live with a three star, you could do a lot better. Of course, the summer is a popular time for NYC travel, so you'll be up against that.

Anyway, that's my contribution to traveling cheap to NYC.

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Posted By: Andy

You could stay on Long Island at a nice hotel much cheaper than in Manhattan. If you stay at a hotel near the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) you could take the train into the game. A Hilton in Suffolk county would be about 80-95 per night with indoor pool....My family stays at the one in Islandia on occasion so the kids could swim in the winter. That hotel is near Islip's Macauthor airport...maybe fly into their...about 1 1/2 from the stadium.

Good Luck

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Posted By: Ray V

Russ,
I travelled from Calgary, Canada a couple years ago and stayed in Secaucus, New Jersey. The hotel was way cheaper than New York, it offered a great free breakfast, and there was a bus stop right across the street - the bus took us to Penn Station in Manhattan in about half an hour. Once there, you can take the subway to Yankee stadium.