Livin' on the Cheap: Free Museums

As students in the city, we enjoy certain advantages that I like to pretend lend us the status of enviable New Yorkers. We have our very own neighborhood, enclosed street, and subway stop—plus the added advantage of our home being the largest privately owned space in the city. Yet there is one perk in particular which I feel even the most seasoned New Yorker would be truly jealous—free museum admission.

It may not sound like much at first, but with both the Met and MoMA charging $20 fees for admittance, free entrance to some of the world’s most prestigious galleries is not a privilege to be brushed aside. It may have been the lighting, but somehow Van Gogh’s famous irises seemed just a little bit brighter as I contemplated their splendor knowing I was the only one in the room whose wallet had remained untouched. The satisfaction of getting something for free in this city is indeed a rare occurrence.

Or is it? In an entire city of endless opportunities, surely there have to be several experiences that can be appreciated free of charge. Spurred on by my lingering free-museum high and curious to investigate further, I took to the Web.

First up was freenyc.net, the self-proclaimed “online guide to free and cheap events in New York City.” Each morning the site’s homepage is updated with daily free events across the city—everything from disco parties to live flamenco. The selection does vary greatly and some of the events are certainly less than enticing, but for spur-of-the-moment evening plans, the site, along with the opportunity to sign up for daily event e-mails, could definitely come in handy.

Perhaps more useful is clubfreetime.com, which not only lists daily events but also allows you to search a variety of categories including movies, theater, dance, galleries, and even hikes. To obtain the venue addresses the site requires a monthly $3 membership fee. Payment is easily circumvented, however, by simply googling the event you find interesting. There’s certainly a fair amount of scrolling through lists in order to find something compelling—though I’d be curious to see who’d show up for “an erotic reading of In the Flesh.” If nothing else, the site proves that contrary to general opinion, chances to avoid spending money abound.

So yes, there are in fact multiple ways to indulge in what the city has to offer without spending a dime. Few come close to rivaling our deal with the city’s museums. But with a little research, you’ll always be able to find something to get you excited—even if it’s just Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day, coming up this year on April 29.

sara.barbour@columbiaspectator.com