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'''New York City''' is the largest city in [[New York State]]. Generally, when travelers travellers say they are from or going toward "New York", they are referring to this city, which is made up of five boroughs: Manhattan (an island), Brooklyn, Queens (both located on the western end of Long Island), Staten Island, and The Bronx (on the North American mainland).

Advice: Don't get stuck in [[Albany (New York)|Albany]]. There is a fairly large service area (New Baltimore Travel Plaza) on the Thruway just before Albany, so getting off there is preferable(technically illegal to hitch on a rest area connected to the Thruway, but [[user:uncle_sam01|uncle_sam01]] asked around for about an hour and no one cared, even got offered a lunch once).

* [[User:Amylin|amylin]] recommends taking the #2 subway train out to the last stop, Wakefield-241st St and walking about a mile from there to the [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=1145104329767828159,40.903428,-73.850375%3B17266531610081419525,40.912360,-73.832180&time=&date=&ttype=&saddr=241st+St+-+Wakefield+Station+%4040.903428,-73.850375&daddr=40.912118,-73.832245&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=15&sll=40.909977,-73.837309&sspn=0.014724,0.033431&ie=UTF8&z=15&om=1 Mount Vernon East Metro-North station], where you can take a local train a bit farther afield. To hitchhike to Providence, [[Rhode Island]] on a cold winter's day, she took the $5.50 train to [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=325+Heights+Rd,+Darien,+CT+06820&sll=41.224118,-72.559204&sspn=1.875734,4.279175&ie=UTF8&ll=41.069322,-73.492999&spn=0.007344,0.016716&z=16&om=1 Noroton Heights] in Darien, CT, usually with changing trains in Stamford, and officially started from there. She recommends this route for hitchhiking North, especially if you don't want to spend a lot of money getting out of the city or time waiting outside. In Noroton Heights [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=325+Heights+Rd,+Darien,+CT+06820&sll=41.224118,-72.559204&sspn=1.875734,4.279175&ie=UTF8&ll=41.069322,-73.492999&spn=0.007344,0.016716&z=16&om=1 there is an on-ramp about 1km from the train station]. There is a steady flow of cars who mostly have to stop before entering the on-ramp, and the area is suitable for low-key camping out. A local police patrol car passed her while she stood with her thumb out but did not harass her. (Whereas, if you take the Metro-North train from Grand Central Station in Midtown Manhattan, you'll pay more than double for the ticket, plus the $2.75 subway fare to get to the station. So, if you're already on the subway, you might as well get the most of your $2.75 (or free swipe, see below) and take it as far out as possible.) [[User:Zenit|Zenit]] followed these instructions in July 2010 and highly recommends them as well. Also on the train his ticket was never checked. Got a ride within 5-10 minutes at night using this around May 2018.

* Poster "Fruupp" <!-- on [http://www.digihitch.com/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=7934 this digihitch thread] --> suggests hitching along Bruckner Blvd near Brook Ave in the Bronx, reachable via the 6 subway train. (This section of Bruckner Blvd is used heavily by cars trying to get from Manhattan to the northeast-bound Bruckner Expressway without paying a toll.) Drivers may be less likely to stop in such urban surroundings, and you should exercise caution as the levels of both crime and police presence in this neighborhood are relatively high, but this is at least one option that does not require a commuter train.

The Interstate I-78 is a road that more or less comes from NYC, passes through New Jersey and leads towards Harrisburg.Since New Jersey might be a little bit tricky and hitchhiking is kind of outlawed there, it can might be best to take a bus ride. For $25.80 you can get to [[Allentown]] in [[Pennsylvania]], hence bypassing New Jersey.The bus leaves New York at the Port Authority bus terminal. In Allentown you can walk or hitchhike (within the city) to the entrance of the I-78. (Of course, if you can book in advance then for that price you can get a Megabus all the way to Pittsburgh or beyond.)You can also take the Bieber Bus for about $27 to one of several towns (Hellertown, Wescosville) along the highway and thus avoid the long walk from the Allentown bus terminal to the highway. You may need to buy your ticket online in advance. If you do take the Bieber bus to Wescosville, don't bother with the Wescosville travel plaza if you're headed west - i know it looks promising but all traffic out of there is headed south to philadelphia. Ask at gas stations or thumb it on the ramps. Another option is to take a NJ Transit train to [[Annandale]] ($15 from Penn Station, $11 from Newark) and hitch the on-ramp. [[user:Dr.Keith|Keith]] was lucky enough to get a ride from there in just a half hour.

== Riding trains for free Subway ==New York City is You're likely to need a major hub for trains: freight trains, Amtrak, Metro-North, MTA, LIRR, NJ Transit, and PATH trains all pass in and subway ride at the start of any attempt to hitchhike out of this city. === Subway ===The subway is of course by far the most common NYC (and for many purposes bestprobably to get around while there as well) way of getting around within the city. Many commuters subway riders have unlimited-ride Metrocards, and since a card is only required to enter the subway system (not to exit), it's possible to get people with unlimited-ride cards who are leaving the system to swipe you in for free (as there is no additional cost to them). At busier stations, just stand outside the turnstiles and politely ask exiting riders if they'll swipe you in. It's also possible to swipe in for free by waiting in the emergency door and ask someone from the other side to open it. Many people use the emergency door to jump in for free, specially families with kids, only the parents have card and once they are inside they open the emergency door for their children. See [http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/01/free_swipe.php this article] for a discussion of the "free swipes" phenomenon.=== Commuter Rail ===Although riding passenger trains for free is illegal, it may be a viable way to get out of the city for free. In most passenger trains (NJ Transit, Amtrak, etc.), the only way to ride for free is to hide in a bathroom or display a "Seat Check" ticket found on the ground or from a previous ride. Generally speaking, if you are discovered to be riding without paying the proper fare, you will be asked to pay it (the "buy onboard" fare is usually around twice the normal fare, not a huge fine like in some other parts of the world). If you cannot pay it, then you will be asked to exit the train at the next station. As long as you remain friendly and cooperative, there should not be a problem with legal issues, arrest, or fines. The Staten Island Railway is legally free as long as you don't use the St George or Tompkinsville stations (so from the ferry you can walk a mile south to Stapleton station and get on/off there). The Staten Island Ferry is also free.=== Freight Rail ===[[Train hopping|Hopping freight trains]] is another way to ride long distances for free. It may be practical to do if you have phone or internet access, because there are numbers and/or websites that will give you the direction that each freight is headed and its estimated time of arrival, based on that freight's identification number. == JFK airport ==You don't ''have'' to take the $5 AirTrain to get there or to get from JFK to the city. Take a [http://www.jfk-airport.net/bus.html local bus] from Terminal 5 (probably the Q10 to Lefferts Blvd, where you can transfer to the A subway train) for $2.75. If you have a Metrocard (more likely on your way from the city to the airport, though you can sometimes buy one in the airport terminal) then the transfer to/from the subway is free. [[User:Sirrdc|Sirrdc]] managed to hitch a ride from JFK Airport to Manhattan. However, this was only after being threatened by local law enforcement.