November 2017

How to Celebrate Friendsgiving

After moving to New York, you may not have time to visit family for Thanksgiving, especially if you want to make the trip home for other holidays. Instead of eating alone, you can celebrate Friendsgiving in your apartment.

Follow these five tips to make your first Friendsgiving a success!

Make an Appropriately Sized Guest List

Take a close look at your apartment so you can decide how many people you can fit comfortably into the space. If you have a fairly large home, then you may want to invite a few coworkers, fellow students and people who live in your building. If you have a small apartment, keep your list as short as possible.

When you invite guests, ask them to RSVP for the event. Some of them probably won’t have a chance to attend, so you can select replacements from names lower on your list.

Related: Thanksgiving in NYC

Shop for Ingredients a Few Days in Advance

Grocery stores can run out of popular ingredients during the week leading up to Thanksgiving. Getting an early start will help ensure that you can find the ingredients that you need for your dinner.

A traditional Thanksgiving meal requires a turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes. If you want to serve these dishes, then you should go shopping several days before your event.

Of course, you don’t need to take the traditional route for Friendsgiving. Feel free to get creative with trendy foods you and your friends enjoy. Remember to offer vegetarian and vegan options for people with restricted diets.

Cook and Store Food Before Your Celebration

As the Friendsgiving host, you will probably prepare the turkey or other protein that serves as the meal’s centerpiece. Turkey takes a long time to cook, so you should get started early. Even an eight-pound bird will need at least two hours and 45 minutes in the oven.

If you have a frozen turkey, let it thaw in the refrigerator the day before Friendsgiving. Thawing will save you at least two hours of cooking time.

You can also prepare several dishes ahead of time and store them in your fridge. Some good options include cranberry sauce, pecan pie and most casseroles. Just put them in the oven to warm them up before serving. If you have limited space in your refridgerator, ask a neighbor if he or she might be able to lend a shelf for a day or two.

Host a Potluck to Save Time and Money

Your guests probably won’t expect you to cook everything for the Friendsgiving meal. Everyone understands that you have limited space, time and money. A potluck gives you an easier way to have the dinner out your apartment.

As the host, you will have to manage the potluck, though. Make a master list of your guests and what they will bring to the event. You don’t have to assign people specific dishes. Instead, you can ask one person to bring dessert, one person to bring a vegetable side and another person to bring drinks.

Stay in communication with everyone to make sure they bring their assigned dishes.

Maximize Your Kitchen and Dining Spaces

If you have a small apartment, then you will have to get creative to maximize the space in your kitchen and dining area.

Start by rethinking your furniture placement. You can move couches, small tables, and televisions into your bedroom to create more space. Of course, you can also consider your couch a part of your dining area. It just depends on how casual you want to keep your Friendsgiving.

In the kitchen, make sure you clean as you cook. It will prevent frustration and clutter. You can also create more space in the kitchen by setting the table before you begin cooking. Suddenly, you’ll have a couple of cabinet shelves where you can store ingredients and let items cool before serving.

You don’t have to travel home to have a memorable Thanksgiving. This year, you can start a new tradition by hosting your first Friendsgiving.

What Is Renter’s Insurance?

Renter’s insurance is insurance specifically designed for those who rent property, which usually means apartment dwellers. This type of policy is offered by most major insurance companies in New York City and typically includes property coverage and liability protection, which provides protection to those who may become injured while in your home.

Property Coverage

According to a 2015 American Community Survey, 51 percent of American apartment renters are under the age of 30, many of whom not be familiar with renter’s insurance. If you’re part of this group, understanding the broad range of protections provided by renter’s insurance is sure to help you see its value.

Renter’s insurance, which is sometimes referred to as tenant’s insurance, provides four main types of coverage: personal property, personal liability, loss of use and medical payments (for others). Damage to personal property caused by fire, smoke, explosions, heavy snow, ice or sleet and plumbing issues, in addition to many others, are all covered. Most policies also cover theft and vandalism.

Additional Coverage

However, coverage isn’t limited to personal items that are located in your home at the time of the incident. For example, if you park your bike at a rack and it gets stolen, the value of the bike may be covered by your insurance policy. Likewise, if you leave your laptop in your car and someone breaks in and steals it, you likely can recover the value of replacing it if you have renter’s insurance.

You can also get additional coverage for high-end items like jewelry, artwork or collectibles. Insurance experts also recommend getting replacement value coverage so that you get the full cost of your items should a claim need to be filed and not just the depreciated cash value. Some policies will also cover pets.

Liability Coverage

No matter how careful you are, accidents can, and often do, happen. If a friend or family member is injured in your home, depending on how serious the injury is, you could find yourself responsible for thousands of dollars of medical care. With the right renter’s insurance policy, both you and your guests will be physically and financially protected, potentially even from costly litigation fees, should it come to that. You can even be covered for damage that you cause to someone else’s property or qualify for financial assistance if your home becomes uninhabitable due to a disaster or damage.

Cost

A study by the Insurance Information Institute found that 95 percent of homeowners have home insurance, but only 40 percent of apartment renters have renter’s insurance. Some people may be reluctant to get renter’s insurance because they assume that it is expensive. However, according to Insurance.com, the average apartment renter in New York state only pays $204 a year for about $40,000 of coverage. While rates do vary based on the policy, your credit history and the city or neighborhood in which you live, the cost is still only about $15 – $30 a month.

In a city where anything can and does happen, protecting your property just makes sense. Renter’s insurance can give you the peace of mind you want at an affordable price and in New York City. That’s a win-win situation.

Of course, finding the perfect apartment comes before the need for renter’s insurance. If you’re looking, NoFee Rentals has the size apartment to meet your needs and budget in the neighborhood you’re looking for. Start your search .

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