Five NYC Date Ideas | $10 - $20

Times are hard and unless you are from an affluent family or just got lucky, a lot of us don’t have the ability to drop a week’s worth of a paycheck on a date… especially when you pay rent in New York City or are disproportionately paid less than your white, cisgender, straight, able-bodied, neurotypical, etc. (or all of the above!) counterparts.

The following date ideas cost between $10 and $20.

1. Your Favorite Bar

Some of our favorites include Turtles All The Way Down, Do or Dive and Ginger’s Bar. We have others that we like, but those are our three favorites. Please note, that while Turtles All the Way Down and Do or Dive are queer friendly, they are not explicity a gay bar. Ginger’s is a gay bar with more of a lesbian, trans and non-binary crowd - it’s awesome.

2. Coney Island’s Nathan’s Famous (Hot Dogs)

This spot is not vegan friendly but there are vegetarian and pescatarian options on the menu. For $20, you and yours can load up on hot dogs and french fries. We love their cheese fries and clam strips the best. At the time of writing this, it's very, very cold in New York City, so please dress accordingly as there is no indoor dining. Luckily, the trains are right there, so if either of you get too cold, you can always take it to go!

3. A Movie (in a theater)

Movies as a date can be tough because you’re risking roughly two hours of time to maybe find out that the person you’re on a date with isn’t for you! But, there’s still hope. Once the movie is out, you can discuss the movie with your date and go from there. Who knows, maybe they’ll have a point of view on the movie that you never even considered.

4. Museums

This city is chock-full of museums of all kinds. There’s art museums (Modern Museum of Art, the Metropolitan, etc.), the Natural History Museum, the Museum of Sex, Caribbean Cultural Center of African Diaspora Institute, Louis Armstrong House Museum and so on. Each museum has their own set ticket prices so be sure to check the museum’s website beforehand.