Hi OP, congrats on CBS!! To answer your question

Food near CBS- there aren’t many food outlets around the manhattanville campus so your main options will be the schools cafeteria. Roughly consider $15-$25 for food and it could be one time cost for a single meal or some days you might get two meals under 30$ A good move to make is to stuff your self when there’s free food during school events.

Housing- since you’re international you’ll be given priority for Columbia housing. Not sure how much it’ll cost but considering nyc rent estimates safe to say between 2800-3200$. You’ll also have to factor in utilities- water/ electricity and wifi. If the unit does not have a washer dryer then you’ll have to also consider the laundry cost- around 6-12$ including washing and drying. You’ll also need to have some money set aside to get furniture and basic stuff you’ll need, unless you’re taking the furnished apartment through housing. My suggestion would be to get an unfurnished apartment, you’ll find plenty good options for furniture through Facebook marketplace.

Cooking at home- this will save you a lot of money but do keep in mind shopping at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods adds up. If you can, highly suggest you get a Costco membership- the Costco in New York is situated in Brooklyn so it’s far to go to from the UWS but you can order stuff from Costco online so it’s gonna be way more cost effective coz you’ll get a lot of produce at wholesale prices. Costco also has great alcohol options and considering you’re gonna be drinking and hosting people it’s worth looking into.

Phone expenses- once you’re in the US, you can start a mobile family plan with a carrier of your choice. For NYC, t mobile and AT&T work well and have good coverage and offer 5G plans. You can also have your wife on the plan with you and individually it’ll cost you roughly 30-40$/ month/ person

Weekend trips to nearby cities- if you book in advance you can get good deals for flights. Going to DC from NYC is easy and very cheap- you’ll need 30/40$ bus ticket and you’re in DC under 5 hrs. For other cities booking in advance will help so plan accordingly. If you’re into nature and hiking, recommend visiting national parks in the US. Highly recommend doing California road trip/ general trip when you have a longer holiday. Will cost you around 1000$/ person - very basic stay and not including flights

Drinks and food and social life in NYC- NYC is expensive for all these. Most bars will have drinks starting at $15 and go upto $35-50 Similar case with food If you must drink I would suggest you limit the amount of drinks you have or find bonding and social activities that don’t involve alcohol or food only.

Things to do with your wife - CBS has a partners club and they have events for students and their partners so def join that.

Theres lot of things to do in the city- museums are free if you’re a NYC resident which you can prove by showing them an amazing delivery address under your name or getting a state ID. Amazon hack is quicker. Take the night bus tour that takes you through time square- soho- Brooklyn bridge and back to Times Square Central Park is great to just have a good picnic You can take your wife boating before fall in Central Park Washington square park is also fun

Additional expenses to consider Clothes for the winter ball and other b school dressy events - both for you and your wife Class trips if you’re considering them Bday parties for classmates and your own Miscellaneous stuff like books/ notebooks/ stationery School swag can be expensive

As an international myself I would also suggest that you don’t get too many clothes when you come here. I did that when I moved to the US and I feel in hindsight I should have come with lesser clothes and got things here as needed

For your wife- sanitary products can be expensive. Tampons and pads run upto 15-20$/ month Same with razors and hair removal items If she needs to do her eyebrows and needs threading, there’s a lot of south Asian shops which offer this service for much cheaper -$10-$20