The running joke in New York is that an apartment in Manhattan will cost you your soul, which roughly translates into $2000 per month per shoebox – Murphy bed not included. The Greenwich Village artists have relocated to Williamsburg in the last 40 years, while Manhattan has been sacrificed to the likes of Donald Trump, Jay Z, Wall Street finance guys and whoever’s still hanging onto rent control. What does it mean for travelers? Well, a helluva lot for a semi-decent hotel. With its constant stream of tourists filling the lobby of the Empire State Building and flooding into Momofuku, a four-star hotel averages out to $325 a night. Visitors to New York should bank on spending an outside amount of about $550 per couple a night – that’s with dinner, cocktails and cab ride.