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Cameron Haffner Featured Posts Part of NYC The Freshman Experience

Time To Subscribe (Manhattan)

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New York City is a pretty darn big place, am I right? (This is a rhetorical question so you don't need to answer). And in that massive metropolis, there are millions of different people working at millions of different places surrounded by millions of different smoothie stores.

So if there's millions of people and places to go, you'd expect that they would all be taking advantage of the expanding universe around them. Yet many limit themselves to just working their day jobs and feeding their cat at the end of the day. Of course, this isn't to say everyone follows this routine but even when talking to my roommate whom lived in Brooklyn his whole life, I learned that he's never been to a film festival, seen many of NYC's great museums, used an Express subway train, or been to Juice Generation.

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I don't think this guy has been to Juice Generation either

Although these are small things that I don't expect everyone to have done, I'm still surprised by how many people who aren't even aware that some of these things exist. Well kids, they exist. And they're out there waiting for you to discover it.

"But gee, Cameron, there's just so much to do out in that giant city, where do I go and how do I find out about it all?" Well hey, thanks for asking fellow reader because I have just the solution. Newsletters.

We use our emails all the time to check for Wagner updates and the Daily Bulletin, right? (This is not a rhetorical question, I seriously think I'm the only one who checks the Daily Bulletin). So why not subscribe to many of NYC's wonderful email newsletters? Practically any business, area, or group has some type of newsletter that you can subscribe to that allows you to stay up to date with what's going on.

If you haven't thought of some great places already, I have a few ideas of where you can start*.

  • Practically Every Museum in NYC 

momaWell maybe not every museum. But there are some pretty neat ones! The ones you've most likely heard of may have been the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and the Guggenheim Museum. Being the popular museums they are, there's always exciting special events or new exhibits being introduced that you'd most likely only find out about through their newsletters.

Aside from these, there's also the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, New Museum of Contemporary Art, and American Museum of Natural History. You never know what interesting things these museums might have to offer you. The American Museum of Natural History even offers free Astronomy Nights at their grand Hayden Planetarium. Is that cool or is that cool?

  • Practically Every Public Park in NYC

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Alright, yeah I know there's lots of parks. But if you've been to a few already, you know that there's always some type of festive event going on. Don't feel like you have to be excluded cause parks aren't just for reading a good book and a picnic.

The infamous Central Park hosts rollerblading events, Sunday morning readings, and even midnight bike rides. But this shouldn't diminish some of the weekly wonders of Battery Park, Union Square Park, or Washington Square Park where you'll discover just about anything from musical performances to dog dress up days. Sounds fairly productive to me.

  • Lincoln Center

6206smOh Lincoln Center? That place where there's sometimes people dressed in drag hanging out and doing interpretive dance? Well uh, yeah, but there's more than that of course.

Lincoln Center, just like other event establishments such as Madison Square Gardens or Columbus Circle, is known for its super luxurious musical performances.

Although this is true, there's also tons of free band performances, house parties, theatrical productions or film screenings as well.

Yep, that's right, they're free. Get with the subscription.

  • Public Theatre, Bushwick Starr, Upright Citizens Brigade

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Theatrical performances may be one of the first things you think of when you think of New York City. However, there's more to plays and musicals than the $700,853 per ticket Broadway shows you're seeing in Times Square. Theatre has expanded into independent productions, underground group projects, and art-house collaborations.

Care to see some Shakespeare set in a park?  Sign up for some Public Theatre updates. In the mood for some avant-garde multimedia art showcase along with some major upcoming stage talent? Let the Bushwick Starr fulfill all your hopes, dreams, and emails. Or maybe you're got a fever for some improv comedy. Then perhaps the Upright Citizens Brigade and their ASSSSCAT 3000 show may be your only prescription subscription.

And if you want you can even ask our own Megan Irving about some of the stuff happening at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Actually... maybe not, Megan is quite busy these days. Save her the trouble and subscribe.

So there we go. All these are little tastes of what's out there and how you can find out about it. Newsletter subscriptions keep you in the know about all the exciting things that make up the New York City lifestyle. And it's time for you as well, fellow reader, to get out of your dorm and start subscribing to the endless wonders of New York City.

*By the way, I apologize for not including anything about sports. They have futbol, bass-ball, and all those other good sports somewhere, I'm sure. Also, everything listed is exclusively apart of Manhattan. I may extend this post to include places in the other boroughs in the future.

** Editors note: Megan Irving is extremely busy, but if you're seriously interested in comedy she'll get back to you.