(spoiler: they’re not actually paying for it).

now let’s remember a wonderful quote i like to live by (and highly recommend you do too) - work smarter, not harder, ladies!

before we dive in, let me be clear - this is not a cheat code to living in the city for free (that would be impossible), BUT it’s a guide to allocating your hard earned money to the more important things (rent, groceries, transportation), and finding ways to still treat yourself without breaking the bank - whether it’s to a pilates class, your favorite latte in the city, a spa day, or even a night out with the girls.

most of what i’m about to recommend you are easy-to-download apps, and let me tell you - i’m a FREQUENT user of all of these, and have put several of my girlfriends on. i couldn’t even begin to tell you how much i’ve saved just from these glorious platforms, and you deserve to have the same luxury.

and if i’m not mistaken, most of these also do work in other major cities (LA, Miami, Chicago, etc) !!!

with that being said, here are 6 ways the nyc girls are paying for nothing, and living their best life for free.

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i left the city earlier this week to return to my childhood home, and the dramatic switch between my never-ending busy, buzzing life in NYC to doing absolutely nothing all day has given me the time to revisit the things that bring me solace and ultimate peace. i've quickly gone down a rabbit hole of what show to rewatch next — the O.C., SATC, Vampire Diaries, Gilmore Girls, or to start one of the classics i have yet to touch. this morning, while getting ready to go walk on the treadmill and then bask under the sun in hopes of picking up some color on my blatantly pale complexion (i hate tanning and find it incredibly boring) — i started to watch the first episode of H20. the first few lines of that theme song will always revive something in me i will never be able to describe. it’s like getting whiplashed to a time so far long ago, it almost feels like it never happened. in contrast of rewatching one of my childhood favorites, i've started watching Desperate Housewives, after the raving reviews from girlfriends of mine as well as strangers on the internet. i'm only four episodes in, and i feel like i’ve watched an entire season already. obsessed is an understatement. was not a fan of Bree at first, but strangely enough i now see a lot of myself in her (maybe it’s the virgo placements in me?) and she’s definitely grown on me.

almost every stay-at-home night back in nyc consists of me lighting candles around my apartment, sitting on my couch with a home cooked dinner, and throwing on a classic early 2000s rom-com or disney movie. safe to say i've watched enough from this genre, that i'm now forced to do nothing but rewatch. perhaps it’s the vibrant colors, the way the cameras captured life back then, the familiar actresses (Lindsay Lohan, Cameron Diaz, Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, Kate Hudson), or maybe it’s the upbeat soundtracks that practically make you want to renovate your entire apartment, bake banana bread, or dance down the street just like the characters in the movies often do.

i can never quite put my finger on what it is about this specific type of media that makes me so happy and comforted. part of it is because i'm revisiting movies and shows my younger self enjoyed, but then what about the ones that i watched for the first time in just recent years?

just a little brain dump of mine — so i'll now leave you with some shows & films i've racked up as either all time favorites, or that are on my “to be watched” list :)))

shows:

• sex and the city (my absolute favorite one, i've rewatched 6+ times)

• desperate housewives

• the O.C.

• gilmore girls

• 90210

• the carrie diaries

• pretty little liars

• teen wolf

• one tree hill

• vampire diaries

• veronica mars

• H20 just add water

• gossip girl

movies:

some from mid 2000s but still sooo comforting

• valentine’s day

• acquamarine

• little italy

• what a girl wants

• the sisterhood of the traveling pants

• what’s your number

• notting hill

• the hannah montana movie

• pretty woman

• confessions of a shopaholic

• uptown girls

• pitch perfect

• just my luck

• father of the bride

• the lizzie mcguire movie

• two weeks notice

• enchanted

• mamma mia

• letters to juliet

• the house bunny

• something’s gotta give

• runaway bride

• the holiday

• bridget jone’s diary

• a cinderella story (the Hilary Duff or Selena Gomez version)

• marley & me

• dolphin tale

• camp rock

• serendipity

• four weddings and a funeral

• made of honor

• eat pray love

• clueless

• chasing liberty

• 13 going on 30

• made of honor

• white chicks

• so undercover

• julie and julia

• the wedding planner

• bride wars

• maid in manhattan

• sharpay’s fabulous adventure

• the princess diaries

• monte carlo

• the notebook

• first daughter

• practical magic

• the devil wears prada

• love actually

• life size

• the game plan

• princess protection program

• life as we know it

• freaky friday

• failure to lunch

• the ramen girl

• 16 wishes

• ice princess

• you’ve got mail

• my best friend’s wedding

• sleepless in seattle

• the ugly truth

• wild child

• the sweetest thing

• charlie’s angels

• never been kissed

• 50 first dates

• LOL

• she’s the man

• john tucker must die

• watching the detectives

• bend it like beckham

• the DUFF

• mean girls

• how to lose a guy in 10 days

• 10 things i hate about you

• the parent trap

• failure to launch

• high school musical 1-3

• twilight

• 27 dresses

• when harry met sally

• the proposal

here’s what i wish i knew before becoming a serious and successful YouTuber.

it’s a lot of work. shocker?

content creation in general is usually dismissed as “not a real job,” and i could not disagree more. everyone thinks being a youtuber is just shopping and drinking $8 lattes all day long (at least often in my videos LOL), but when the camera is off, it’s mostly just me sitting in a cafe until my brain turns into mush from working on my computer all day.

youtube is different than instagram and tiktok. you’re typically creating 15 to 45 minute long videos. you see a 20-minute vlog. i see 2+ hours of raw footage where most of it is just me staring blankly at the camera, crooked clips i thought looked “so good” in the moment, or just a loooooot of b-roll footage.

when i first started my journey, i was writing scripts for my videos, along with a detailed list of the exact shots and angles i wanted to get as i filmed. as time has gone on, and i found my personal style, the moments in which i feel should be captured just comes naturally to me.

nonetheless, to create a beautiful vlog that flows well, you do still need to have some sort of outline in your head to follow as you move through filming, whether it’s over the course of 2 days or 10.

here’s a VERY frequent scenario i know my fellow creators will relate to: you’re about to hit record. you’re setting up your camera, but it’s a horrible angle. so you move the tripod and set up again, then the camera falls over. setting up again….

oh. okay. hold on, i think we’re good.

just kidding! the framing is crooked. not to mention the times your battery starts flashing in the middle of filming, or your SD card is suddenly full at the exact moment you needed it most. now, this sounds like a whole lot of complaining — but i’m just here to relay the reality of it!

one of the most common questions i get asked is “how long does it take you to edit?” and the answer i always give is… PAYWALL!

just kidding lol. u don’t have to pay for this one ;)

okay, i’ll tell you.

on average… 5 hours a day, monday-thursday. i typically start my workflow around 11:30 am, once i’m out of the house and setup at one of my favorite laptop friendly cafes (will make a NYC guide to my fave WFH cafes on here soon!). there’s something about being in a cafe that makes the work feel a little less lonely. i take my lunch break around sayyyy 2:30 pm, and then get back to it half an hour later.

by around 5:30 pm, my butt is sore from sitting and my eyes feel like they might fall out of my sockets. i’m being a little dramatic, but i truly don’t have it in me to continue past 5:30. my brain turns into mush.

it’s not the typical 9-5, and i’m very lucky i get to work on my own hours (and honestly how i’m feeling that day lol), but i will give myself a pat on the back for being disciplined to show up everyday and get something done. because that’s the part people don’t see — the discipline.

i think that’s the other thing. you don’t have someone telling you what to do, how much to do, whether you’re doing it well, or when you’re clocked in vs not… again, not complaining! i love the freedom. but you have to have quite a bit of willpower and love for the game to actually be consistent on youtube.

if you’re waiting for a boss to tell you to “get back to work” on your vlog, you’re never going to post. you have to be your own boss, your own editor, and sometimes your own therapist when final cut pro decides to crash and lose the entire video you just poured your soul into creating (yes, it’s happened to me before. yes, it’s the worst feeling… like, ever).

what i wish i knew before starting is that the aesthetics of it all is such a small part of the job. the real majority of it is sitting in a chair, fighting with my somehow always full storage space, and making myself show up even when i would rather be doing literally anything else.

but the dopamine hit i get, the pride and pure love (not to mention relief) i feel from finishing a video and hitting post? it’s a feeling i look forward to every single week.

so, for any of my readers and friends that have thought for yearsss about starting, that was me too at some point. i was TERRIFIED to start. the only difference between you and me is that i went ahead and did it anyways, because otherwise the guilt would’ve eaten away at me for the rest of my entire life. i hate the ‘what if?’ feeling, the ‘what could’ve been’ question, and i bet you do too. so do it scared. everyone starts from zero, but you’ll remain there if you never start, my love. you got this, i believe in you, and trust me — you won’t regret it <3

p.s. i’m going to be doing deep dives into my full YouTube workflow, how i grew my channel from 0 to 150K subscribers, sharing my own secrets & tips, as well as answering your questions, for my paid subscribers starting next month. drop in the comments any youtube related questions you want answered, subscribe to Le Chic Muse, restack this post, and stay tuned ;)

yours truly,

le chic muse

x