I spend a lot of time in my workshop. It's not free but upcycling materials into something new is infinitely satisfying and often saves money.
this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2025
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The ducks in my local park are free
I'm an Uber nerd andI learn to pirate content. Yes you still need an internet connection and a computer or phone but I can spend days trying to figure out how to install Graphene on my old phone or do something fun or crazy for my home assistant.
Btw, I'm not poor. I just enjoy doing these things.
if you already own an apartment in a city, the chances are that you'd grow used to the space and you'd feel at home, and anything lacking is made up for with closer proximity and easier access to stores and public facilities.
i live in hong kong, one of the densest cities in the world, and i'm able to live comfortably. there's very little noise where i live because it's in a less urban area, i get a fantastic view of and immediate access to a riverside park, a mall full of great food and boba just a 15-minute walk away, a library and a big transit hub just a short bus ride away, and from that transit hub, very cheap access to all of hong kong for museum visits, sightseeing, hella hiking and biking trails, exhibitions, etc.
i've also lived in berlin for a bit. it was also in a less urban area, in a very tiny apartment, and i was still fine because i had very similar access to amenities. short walk for groceries and transit, access to museums and parks, loads of architecture to admire, and hella döner.
if you've only experienced cities in north america... i'm sorry.
Thrifting can cost money if you buy things, but walking around is free. Bigger city = more thrift stores.
Similarly, I love walking having access to ethnic grocery stores. Spices are cheaper, you have access to organ meats, etc… that are also cheaper. It’s fun to walk into a Filipino or Korean grocery store, do a little research and try to cook something with ingredients I’ve never tried before.
My tiny apartment is on a busy street so it’s also fun to do a little people watching. If I walk to the gas station to get a soda ( <10 minutes) I get to see a ton of activity any time of day.
Festivals are pretty frequent and fun to walk around even if I don’t spend anything. I live near a university as well so there’s always stuff going on.
I’ve lived in a rural area before and couldn’t stand it. Absolutely nothing to do other than go walk around Walmart.
I watch tv with my friends once a week 😎
Walk. Just like I would hike when I lived rurally, walk. There are trails along the River and through the woods, even in the middle of town. But there’s also sidewalks. A town common. Parks. Several playgrounds have pickup basketball if your knees are better than mine, or there’s a track within an easy walk for some more regimented exercise. Our favorite activity starting during Covid is to walk around our city, seeing the sights. It was a great chance to talk with my kids for hours, before they went off to college. And yes we played Pokémon go as something to do while walking (and a game like that is much better in cities), and met several groups of people that way. If that game is too nerdy or childish, there are apps that gamify walking in various ways. If you’re willing to spend a little, sometimes we would stop at a convenience store for a soda or something, but not always.
When I lived in the major city, it was the same only much more. Every weekend had a festival (free). Every weekend had a band playing somewhere outside free. Every weekend had some big free event at multiple parks. Every Wednesday was free museums. Walking the waterfront is really cool and entirely free. Tourist areas sometimes have street entertainers, free. My city is very walkable and has many colleges: every weekend had some event at some college. My city has a lot of history and tourism, organized as a free “trail” and with most historic things free. There are things like a sailing ship that is free to see: you would have to pay for the museum and gift shop but why would you? Read the historic plaques. If a building or something looks historic, look it up.
For a relatively small amount of money, one of my favorite activities was the farmers market: it was huge and cheap (although I haven’t been in many years). Sometimes I just wanted to walk around and see everything (that shopping is selling whole goats?), or I could buy a week’s worth of veggies fresh from the farm for pennies on the dollar. And connect that back to food prep: when I didn’t have much money or time, I’d take all Saturday, goto the farmers market, come back and put together a giant salad for the week, a pasta salad for the week, maybe marinate some meat in some ingredients I bought- basically get half my cooking and shopping out of the way, dirt cheap
For a relatively small amount of money, much cheaper than operating a car, I usually had a subway pass. The core of that major city is very walkable, but the pass opened the entire city by just hopping on a convenient train without having to think about spending in the moment.
As far as staying in the small apartment goes, being in an urban area means gigabit fiber, which I guess a lot of people still don’t have. Being a first class citizen online is priceless and opens a lot of free (after your internet bill) activities involving sitting at your desk
What is this magical city? I’m not being snarky, I promise
If they use the term "Town Common", probably somewhere in New England. Guessing Boston.
Edit: Saw OP already replied and confirmed Boston.
I was gonna guess Portland/Seattle but Boston also makes sense lol.
Boston. I admit not all cities are created equal and I’ve been to a few where I couldn’t find anything of interest but there are also many cities, even in the us, that are quite walkable, have excellent amenities, and convenient transit. I’d put nyc, San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia and dc in the same category and each is surrounded by excellent small cities; Buffalo, Camden and Detroit not. Austin and Miami have potential but the weather is horrible (I’ll take snow over heat and humidity any day). I really need to visit more cities
Boston has “the emerald necklace”, a chain of award-winning urban parks: one end is the Common and public garden, while the other end is a huge park that includes an arboretum and do they still have a zoo? Boston has tons of history, and the “freedom trail” is a self-guided walk through the city connecting them all. The tall ship uss constitution, the worlds. oldest commissioned warship, yes, officially this is still a us warship and could conceptually sail to Venezuela and protect us from fishermen. It’s absolutely free to tour as are many of the historic buildings.
Cool! I liked Boston when I visited, but I’m the opposite of you weather-wise. I really need to find a progressive place with warm weather. SoCal comes to mind, but $$$
I don’t live in a big city. But, disc golf generally isn’t expensive to get into. Really fun. If you can get around a bit to courses.
I would like to kick this back to you, what do you do outside of a big city that is free?
Depends on the season. I hunt, fish, garden, and forage in the forest. Sometimes, like this morning, I sit outside and watch the leaves turn pretty colors and fall on the ground. Or I stay up late and watch the Northern Lights if it's clear enough. Or I can watch a thunderstorm or blizzard roll across the lake. Right now I'm smoking bacon for the winter. I have the last pork belly curing to smoke Sunday and then it's on to the pork loins for Canadian style bacon.
I don't need to go to movies, plays, fancy restaurants, or crowds of people. Give me a good pocket knife and a stick to whittle and I can be content with life. But this isn't for everyone. Not everyone can be comfortable enough with themselves to choose the solitude of a remote rural life. And youth almost always craves excitement over peacefulness.
In rural protected areas : outdoor activities like hiking biking climbing picking edible stuffs in the forests.
In small cities : not much.
In rural crops area : dying from pesticides at 50.
Many cities have excellent hiking and biking opportunities. The trails are usually easier, the scenery different, but you probably don’t want to eat stuff you find
The area i live has all this within a few mile walk and there are nearly a million people here. I'm confused. What cities are you visiting that don't have parks and bike paths. I've got a national forest close enough i could walk if i really wanted to. It's a good 10 miles from me.
When I was a student with a small budget in an expensive city:
- Basketball, softball, flag football, soccer, kickball, bocce, volleyball (free for pickup games, very cheap for organized leagues)
- Picnics/cookouts at the park with friends (same price as eating and drinking at home)
- Lifting weights and other fitness-oriented exercise at an indoor gym (relatively affordable monthly fees)
- Museums (cheap/free access for students, some memberships can be a good deal if you're going regularly)
- Volunteering (free, easy way to meet and socialize with people)
- Live events. Sure, an NFL game or a Taylor Swift concert isn't going to be cheap, but the thing with big cities is that there are literally dozens of small music venues, semi-pro sports leagues, comedy venues, theaters, etc., putting on small shows for less than $10/person (or maybe $20-30 after buying a few drinks at the venue). Some things are free, like plays or movies or concerts in the park.
- Festivals. There are always street or art festivals going down in big cities.
I'm not a musician or artist but I know plenty of people who get together to play music with friends, or do creative things together.
And even now that I have money I still do plenty of the cheap/free things in my city, and I donate a lot to the libraries and museums and park cleanup/beautification nonprofits around me in large part because those are great public spaces worth supporting.
Yeah, it’s hard if the budget is literally zero, but if not, students get affordable monthly tickets to public transports at least around here, so that already makes it very possible to get around on the cheap. It’s not expensive to start with, at least anywhere where I’ve ever been to, as a local or as a tourist, so only in very extreme cases would that be a problem. Even then, asking around one can get lucky and get a used bike on the cheap, or for free from a relative or a friend. Depending on the city, the bike can be faster and more convenient, even, than public transport.
Once you can get around, a city turns into a treasure trove of possibilities and activities. Sure, there are expensive options, but also a huge variety of free or cheap options too! The toughest part is daring to go. It takes some bravery, especially if doing something or going somewhere for the first time, but it always gets easier and easier once you get through those first hurdles.
Edit: To add, there are almost always interesting places to spend a day in just outside the city proper. Or even a bit farther away, but still along the public transport routes or bike’s reach. Where I live, we have some public apple orchards for example, one can make a day out of going to pick a basketful of apples and having a picnic. In the winter there are fun slopes on some smaller hills that have publicly maintained slopes to go sledging in, make it a day with some hot chocolate and friends! Some smaller museums outside the city center are very affordable and can have quirky subjects and presentations. Even just biking or walking to some lake or park can be great, take some acoustic instruments or a boombox or something, sit around and chill, alone or with friends!
For things to do alone, at least in my city, we have public outdoor gyms spread around. Some of the farther ones don’t get much use, so I can usually be alone there when I go, it’s very zen especially in autumn when it’s a bit chilly. Local coffee shops and some bars have free exhibitions of local artists usually, same for libraries. Sometimes you can get lucky and have impromptu live music too, with no additional costs! Smaller local bands have very affordable tickets too, usually less than a pint. And if you’re a student, at least most places I’ve ever been to, you can get drinks on the cheap, if you’re not too picky about your vices.
This is all not even mentioning things like tabletop game groups that gather just for the fun of it, no cost. People bring games and you play, no need to own any yourself. Usually it’s coffee shops or bars, so there might be costs from the aux things like drinks, but you can participate with just water, who cares? Often these are advertised in said coffee shops with some printed paper on a wall, or maybe the various boards across the city and markets and whatnot that have adverts/notices etc.
The toughest thing, all in all, is daring to go. It really is the hardest part to be brave enough to go and do stuff. It’s not easy for anyone, but once you dare the one time, it gets easier from there, and gets fun very fast!
use the library. I don't mean go to the library, I mean use it for free things. for example I can go to like 20 different museums for free through my library. disc golf is free at almost every disc golf course on the planet. parks are free, walks are free. bouldering is free. There's a ton. it's all about your imagination.
And in some part, the bravery it takes to go somewhere for the first time. It’s always going to be easier the second time, but the first time is always the hardest and easiest to skip/avoid/excuse by staying in one’s comfort zone.
The issues is that you are GOING to the city. One you live there, you have all your stuff and do your normal thing. You cook at home and play videos games, then read books before walking your dog to the park by your friend's house. Basically: don't extrapolate from the perspective of a tourist.
Yep you nailed it! This has given me good insight.
I still couldn't handle living in one, but for extroverts or college kids I see the appeal. I need wide-open spaces and lots of trees myself.
Don't worry about being an introvert in a big city; I've lived here for three years and have never seen my next door neighbor, let alone spoken to them. You don't get this kind of privacy in a village.
I still couldn't handle living in one, but for extroverts
What ? I am an introvert. Cities are the best place for that. I lived in a mud brick cabin off grid in the forest and had more people visiting then I ever did when i lived for 3 years in the city. I put that down to rural exrtroverts would get bored and need other people.
In the city, I used to cycle to the beach, swin in the ocean, have a couple boiled eggs and a banana on a chair near the beach, catch up on some doom scrolling and cycle home etc i lived car free and saved a fortune, got exercise and was able to see the ciry instead of just sitting in trafdic. I used to cycke over to a set of mountain bike tracks and ride in the bush, then ride home.
Now live in a small rural village with my parter and fuck me, people always coming over.
Shitty air, no nature and constant noise are the downsides of city living.
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Minecraft was like $20 and I've probably put 10,000 hours into it
Mc is great. I don't think I have close to 10k hours combined of all my games in 20 years of gaming. Thats nuts man
Your impression of a city is probably skewed by how you interact with it. If you drive in, pay for parking, go to events or attractions, eat out, etc. it all adds up. But that’s not necessarily the experience of someone who lives in a city. They’re living their life, not sightseeing.
I lived in the big city for a number of years. I figured it would cost me $10 one way or another every time I stepped out of the house at some point.
This has little if anything to do with being in a city, and more to do with how expensive a person's tastes are.
Making fun for oneself is easy if need are simple. I enjoy a walk with another human because I'd rather do that than go to a shitty steakhouse. I'll make art on a Saturday afternoon, or cook. There's always free events of all kinds just check the local promotion groups. Lots of local socializing and board game groups. Bird watching. Bike rides are effectively free, so is going for a picnic in an area you haven't been to.
Grab a ball and go to the park. Get some unsalted sunflower seeds at the dollar store and feed the chickadees. Hit the local Ultimate pick-up game. Go to a bar and *gasp* don't drink and just enjoy the live music. Hell if $20 is in the inventory, go to the pinball arcade for 2 hours.
You can have fun for $10K and you can have fun for $0, it's up to you.
Someone else already said "library and park". That's essentially right, but there's more.
My city does movies in the park all summer. There's a similar music in the park set of events. Both free.
We have pretty good biking trails (just don't try to commute by bike!).
Most of my friends are homeowners. We don't all host the same amount, but we regularly get together at each others' houses.
There's a free zoo and a free art museum here. Other museums charge for admission, but the tickets are decently cheap.
We have some sports in the area, but our teams aren't very trendy. I'm not sure what the pricing is like tbh.
There's a lot of live music at some of the bars in the area. I don't do a lot of this myself, but I think the cover was pretty minimal last time I went to one.
(OK, yes some of these things do cost money, but they're not super spendy if you have any sort of budget)
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When I was younger I spent everything I earned on having fun, drinking heavily, sex and drugs and techno and all that good stuff. Now I'm older, I put it in a savings account and spend my free time reading, playing computer games, and gardening.
Walks (less nature, more architecture), go-out in parks. Free museums and cultural event (you have to know the city a bit to know place and times), librairies, charity work, outside sport in the park or the street...
I think you cannot do activities that requires a large natural space or absolue quiet or isolation but unlike small town or country side, you can do all the think that requires grouping lots of people much more easily.
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