When I moved into my new apartment in June and I made a decision people are still questioning – I did not get cable. Not only did I not get cable, I did not get even get basic channels. What does that mean? When I turn on the TV and click through channels 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, ect. the screen is blue and says “no signal” and I am completely okay with that. How do I still get my TV fix in? Three ways:
(1) High Speed Internet. Really high speed – I need to be able to stream The Voice Blinds and upload photos to my blog without a lag in either (aka, what I am doing right now). You’ve got to love the monopoly the cable company has on my New York CIty apartment building – really good internet is much, much more reasonable than basic channels. Go figure.
(2) Hulu Plus. Sure, there are half a dozen shows I would tell you that I “need” to watch. The thing is? I watch them on Hulu Plus and live stream them through my BlueRay player onto my big screen TV and it is great. Plus with the ability to pause, rewind, stop, and start again it is practically DVR! This Fall, there are five shows that are “musts”, two I watch when nothing else is recorded, and two new ones I am giving a try:
(3) Netflix. When I have there is nothing on Hulu I turn to Netflix and between reruns of my favorite shows and series I never got into when they were on the air, I have yet to run out of options. And, don’t get me started on the movies and documentaries. I love Netflix – the best $7.99 ever. Here are few of my current favorites:
That is why I don’t have cable and why three months in, I am not missing it!
Although, Mary or Lindsay, if you are reading this I may need to watch The Award shows at your place! And by that I mean the red carpet of most of the shows and then definitely the full Oscars. I’ll bring the wine, I promise!
Style Icon: Scandal’s Olivia Pope
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Never Have I Ever
Michael says
If it wasn’t for my moving at the end of the month I was getting ready to cut the cord as well. With the ability to stream everything now, there really is no need for cable. Besides, you pay out the wazoo for 200+ channels when everyone knows you MAYBE watch only 7 on a regular basis.
Caroline L. says
My roommate and I got an Apple TV and it’s amazing – we have Hulu Plus and Netflix accounts, and then we use her parents’ cable subscription to get live ABC, HBO, Showtime, etc. Needless to say, we spend way too much time watching TV and not enough time getting work done now 😉
Head to Toe Chic says
We’ve been really thinking about getting rid of cable. Between Hulu and Netflix we don’t really need it anymore!
xo,
Angela
Alyssa // Runway Chef says
We haven’t had cable in 2 years either. Hulu+ all the way!!!
Dresses & Denim says
I have done the same thing for the past 3 years and people think I am crazy. But seriously, all you need is hulu and netflicks………TV is no longer essential. Now I can’t stand to watch tv because I have gotten so accustomed to no commercials!
Dresses & Denim
Sarah C says
I know a lot of people that do that, I wish I could say I could do the same. I think my husband would be upset if he couldn’t watch his sporting events live, haha.
Ali @ Thirty and a Half says
OMG can we please be best friends?? I just moved into my apartment in April and I originally got cable and DVR but after a few months of me not using it near enough I got rid of cable and upgraded to a higher speed internet. Now i just use Hulu Plus and Netflix for many of the same shows as you! And occasionally, I will go over to a friend’s house on Thursday nights to get my Scandal/Greys fix 🙂
Rena says
I have to admit that I don’t watch TV therefore it doesn’t matter if I have cable or not 🙂
Thank you for your pleasant comment on my blog. Now I checked your blog with the result: I like it!
I would like to follow you on gfc and/or bloglovin. It would be great if you come back to my blog to follow me – then I will follow you immediately back.
xx from Germany/Bavaria, Rena
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http://www.dressedwithsoul.com
Cece @pink sunshine says
Good for you!! My husband actually wants to try going without but I’m the one that’s not ready to pull the plug.
Tracy says
I haven’t had cable for years and I don’t miss it at all! I get by just fine with the three you mentioned! Plus it saves me a ton of money each year.
Misty says
We cancelled it for almost a whole year. I was fine with it. I either watched Netflix, Hulu Plus or network websites. My husband can’t manage without college football though, so he added it all back.
I love Scandal and The Blacklist. I have too many shows to record on Thursday, so I haven’t been able to watch Bad Judge yet. I need to catch up this week.
Ashley says
When we move we will be cancelling our cable as well and just sticking with the internet too! I will miss the HBO though…
Julia says
We don’t have cable either, haven’t for a couple of years now! We do have the digital receiver to get basic channels, but that’s it. The ONLY time I miss it a little is during football season because some of the games we want to watch are only on the ESPN’s. We have Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime, plus a TON of DVD’s, so we get our shows that way!
Kelly says
We also ditched the cable and got Hulu and Netflix! Best decision ever and my hubby and I have never run out of things to watch!
XO Kelly
http://www.dettecakes.com
Lisette says
This, all of this! We still have local channels (you’ll love the local news when you’re older) but we watch all our shows on Netflix and Hulu. I never thought I’d give up cable, but once I showed my husband how much money we could save per month (and year!!!) we downsized in a heartbeat. Our wallet couldn’t be happier! I even wrote a blog post about it!
Claire @ Refining Bliss says
I did the same thing when I moved! I picked up a $20 digital antenna from Target so I could still watch basic things like college football and other shows if I didn’t want to wait for them on Hulu! It’s been great – I don’t miss cable at all!