Cash Money

New York City is all about the cash money. And by cash money I mean to put an emphasize on the cash part. I still haven’t completely wrapped my head around the fact that there are more places in this city that accept cash only than any place I’ve ever been. 

A lot of places don’t even have signs that say they are cash only so not carrying cash on hand can end up being a serious issue. When I moved to the city I banked only with Key Bank, which on the west coast is all over the place. In New York, there is one, one in the middle of Midtown that has awful hours. Not exactly convenient to trek downtown to get out cash to avoid the fees that other atms have. At first I didn’t think it would be such an issue and coughed up the occasional atm fee but after living here for 5 months or so I was really forced to open a bank account with another bank in the city. The inaccessibility to no-fee atms and lack of options of getting cash back (most have a $20 limit) became more of an inconvenience than just opening a new account. So I did! My good old Chase account is my designated cash account so that I can actually go to pizzarias and out to local bars without the worry of cash only places or places with a $50 min tab (crazy huh!). 

So note to self and travelers to the city. New York loves your cash. So it is worth checking if your bank is in the city and if not having a little bit of cash on hand for any run ins with the more than occasional cash only location!