the holidays are just around the corner some of you might already have started shopping some of
you might already have finished shopping if you have somebody on your gift list that lives in
a large urban city like new york city then you're in luck because in this video i have
10 gift ideas for any urbanite that's right ten because some people are just outright hard to shop
for but before anything else welcome my name is thea and you're watching urban caffeine where we
talk about anything and everything new york city to include urban transit culture history and what
to give someone living that urban lifestyle if you like seeing videos like this subscribe and hit
that notification bell and if you're a returning viewer thanks so much let's celebrate by hitting
that like button with the rise of minimalism and the traction that the konmari method has gained
if it was already hard to gift your new yorker during the holidays it's become exponentially
harder today so for my 10 gift suggestions i have five non-physical gifts and five physical
gifts non-physical gifts are things that you can put in an envelope or heck even in an email
because some people just don't like accumulating more stuff especially when someone's living in
an urban apartment chances are they're living in a very cramped small space and also we have this
supply chain problem that we're dealing with and physical gifts are the type of gifts that
you can actually put in a box and wrap because while some people don't like to get more stuff
there are people who love getting something that they can touch and tear open so let's get started
it might seem odd to give someone who lives in new york passes to the intrepid or the
spy museum or even broadway tickets but you'd be surprised how many people have lived in the city
and not have gone to every single attraction there is offered i for one have not seen the rockettes
gone to central park zoo or go up one vanderbilt and i'm someone with a youtube channel dedicated
to new york city so it's hard to believe that your new yorker has seen every single attraction
there is offered i find it a shame that tourists pay thousands of dollars to come visit new york
to see all the attractions when someone living here might not have even gone to liberty island
yet and why is that well one new york is just outright massive and two living in new york
city still requires living that means doing the everyday grind of going to work doing household
chores having friends and hobbies and of course getting some sleep and resting so it's very easy
to take for granted that the empire state building just sits in the backyard and even if someone has
the time to see an attraction every weekend this is not exactly the cheapest thing to do
going up any of the observatories is about 40 dollars yes museums do have free days for locals
and a local can always wait out a deal and places like groupon but these things are not usually high
on the priority list when you're just trying to get through everyday life so if there's a tourist
attraction that you know your new yorker still hasn't done consider that as a gift
if it hasn't been clear already from all the transportation videos that i've made on this
channel traveling from point a to point b in new york city is not a passive thing to do
public transportation is an integral part of life here having a car is a high-end
luxury and even if you did have a car finding parking is very frustrating depending on the
area that you're in and the time of day so if you want to give your new yorker a treat
giving them a lift or uber card is something they'll appreciate
having the option to not use public transportation when they don't feel like it is a real treat
i find it difficult to cook in new york city others might not share the struggle but i'm
sure there are plenty who do i feel this way because many apartments have tiny kitchens
and no dishwasher also it's so tempting to not cook and just eat out because there's
food options on almost every corner of the city but eating out is costly and so for us forced to
cook we begrudgingly do it so gifting a gift card from grubhub ubereats or any other food delivery
service is not just gifting them dinner but also the reprieve from having to cook and do dishes
not all museums are dedicated around traditional art there are a lot of niche museums in new york
city there's a museum for posters there's a museum for espionage a museum for film and
even a museum for finance there are about 80-100 museums in new york city depending on which source
you reference but the bottom line is there are a lot of museums but what is often not realized
is that these museums don't just display stuff they also provide programming memberships have
access to exclusive parties and events and other activities activities can range from film viewing
and wine tasting to crafting and even to dumpling making and a museum membership lasts all year long
there are plenty of museums to choose from to match the personality of your new yorker
maybe your new yorker is active you don't have to give a traditional gym membership although that is
a really pricey and nice gift but maybe you could go with a wall climbing membership archery lessons
or even ice skating passes new york has many options when it comes to being physically active
and now for the physical gifts because sometimes unwrapping
something is just as fun as the gift itself
i recommend this gift year after year because here in new york city umbrellas don't last forever they
either get devoured by strong winds or they get lost and here's the tricky thing with umbrellas
you don't want to get a super cheap one because on day one the elements will just demolish it but on
the other side of the spectrum you don't want an umbrella that's super expensive because you could
lose it or it could be taken on accident i suggest spending only about thirty to forty dollars on an
umbrella in this price range you'll find something pretty sturdy that will last a few seasons
and potentially have a warranty at the same time it's not so so expensive that it's heartbreaking
if you lose it yes there are umbrellas out there with built-in gps tracking but if you see your
umbrella on gps and it's 300 miles away from new york are you really gonna track it down or call
the authorities for an umbrella i have a link to my recommended umbrella in the description below
in new york an apartment full of natural lighting is hard to come by and quite expensive in fact a
south facing window can actually drive up the price of rent on top of that newer apartments
don't usually come standard with light fixtures so tenants have to figure out lighting on their own
lack of lighting in many new york city apartments is an issue that's why i recommend smart lights
not only do smart lights provide lighting but some of them can change color and when you can change
color in your small living space it provides variety think of it as a palette cleanser instead
of rearranging furniture as a form of therapy a person can orchestrate and design their lights in
their living area if your new yorker already has a smart home assistant like a google home or amazon
echo then they can voice activate smart lights but they don't need a smart home assistant to use
smart lights smart lights can be controlled with a phone app my personal favorite is the philips hue
light strip and led panels link to those are in the description below and yes they are affiliate
links so if you are going to buy them anyway consider using my links to help out the channel
in small living spaces vertical storage is the key to maximizing that space
basically the more you can keep stuff off the floor the more space you acquire for example
instead of getting a tv stand i mount my tv instead of getting a wrap to dry wet clothes
i installed a retractable clothesline instead of getting a shoe rack that sits on the floor
i installed shelves and instead of getting a floor lamp i have a wall lamp i also use my sports
equipment as decor so i don't have to find storage for them and they are great conversation starters
so when i say storage solution i don't mean those flimsy plastic boxes that you scoot
under the bed i'm talking about command tabs hooks instrument mounts bike mounts
any active gear mounts and maybe even shelving if you know your new yorker well enough to understand
their taste basically anything innovative that could provide that vertical storage maybe even
a guide or a book on how to create vertical storage also consider installation as part of your
gift whether you do it yourself because you're handy or you hire someone to install it for you
while new york has banned the use of styrofoam and put restrictions on single-use plastic bags
we're still a long ways away from becoming the ideal green city in particular in the
food industry because of the overwhelming amount of plastic containers and utensils being used
yes a lot of brands and establishments have been better about their packaging and to go containers
but in general the landscape could be much much better carrying around your reusable
drink containers and grocery bags have become common practice nowadays in fact a lot of
companies just give these things out i probably have like five drink containers and i've bought
none of them the same goes with my grocery bag what's not commonly practiced but it's becoming
more and more popular to do is to bring your own food container when you go out and eat and
to stretch that a little further i also keep my own utensils in my bag in case the establishment
that i'm at uses plastic forks and spoons you're probably thinking this is so cumbersome
but that was the train of thought when the concept of reusable grocery bags was introduced i've been
doing this for quite a while now bringing my own food container and utensils and i get
a lot of compliments after a while i promise it becomes habit and ever since i started doing this
other friends have followed suit i prefer a collapsible container so that it doesn't take a
lot of space in my bag it lessens the friction of actually bringing it and it goes for the utensils
i carry around a slim set of utensils link to these are in the description below
if your new yorker doesn't want to have more stuff and they've commodified their existence
but you still want to give them something physical that comes in a box or container
consider something consumable i consider consumables as things that are meant to
be consumed whether they are eaten or experienced the idea is that they don't last forever taking up
precious precious new york city rent examples of these are maybe cheese and fruit baskets
a nice bottle of wine or scotch soaps and lotions or maybe even candles and incense things that are
nice but meant to be consumed i hope this video got some juices flowing on ideas on what to
give your new yorker if you found this video useful please share it with someone you know
until next time thank you so much for watching and happy new yorking