Lost in the park? Can’t find a bathroom? No clean underwear? There’s an app for that! We put together a list of 10 apps that will definitely come in handy for New Yorkers, all free to download:
1. Cups
This app is for coffee drinkers on a budget. It charges you for a subscription, say 15 cups of coffee for $30, and when you run out you can buy 15 more. You can use it at participating indie coffee shops around the city.
2. Happy
The concept is similar to Cups, but with booze rather than coffee. If you have this app, you can get discount drinks for one hour at participating bars, even if their official happy hour is over.
3. Central Park App
Even if you’ve lived here all your life, you’ll never be able to navigate every square inch of Central Park without consulting a map. The Central Park app shows you exactly where you are in the park, and how to get where you want to go.
4. Sit or Squat
We included this app in our Best Life Hacks article, but we’re featuring it again here because it’s just so handy. NYC has staggeringly few public restrooms for a city with so many people. Sit or Squat helps you find a usable bathroom in your area.
5. Fever
We’re feverish for Fever here at Secret NYC. Fever is your go-to app to discover all the coolest events in the city—parties, restaurant deals, discount drinks, sample sales, outdoor adventures, and more. And there are always event listings for free or for cheap, so it’s a great app for anyone on a budget.
6. Goodbudget
Speaking of budgets, everyone in NYC needs one, and our favorite personal budgeting app is Goodbudget. It lets you allocate a certain amount of money for each category of your life, and record your purchases in each category to keep track of spending
7. Fly Cleaners
If you’re too lazy to do your laundry because the laundromat is 3 blocks away, you can use Fly Cleaners to call someone to pick it up, and then schedule a delivery time to have it returned to you, clean.
8. Class Pass
This fitness app allows you to pay a monthly fee to sample different fitness classes at gyms all over the city. You can do CrossFit, yoga, pilates, dancing, boxing, and many other things, and you never have to commit to being a member of one gym.
9. Watch Over Me
This safety app is useful if you’re going to an unfamiliar place alone. It will monitor your location for whatever amount of time you want to be watched over. If you don’t hit the “I’m Safe” button before the time runs out, the app sends a text message with your last location to everyone in your safety network.
10. Avoid Humans
It’s not actually an app—you need to use it on your web browser on your smartphone. But it’s useful because it will tell you which places in the city are currently the least crowded. Alternatively, you could read our article on secret quiet places.
Cover photo credit: Ed Yourdon/Flickr