New York Question

how long is your stay?

It'll be around a week.

What do you want to do while you're there? I mean, it wouldn't make much sense to stay in Riverdale if you wanted to hang out in Tribeca the whole time.

if you don't mind a semi-lengthy commute, washington heights is one of the prettiest parts of manhattan.

i wouldn't bother with 3-9 because you're not going to get a good deal there unless you live with three roommates. then again, parts of the outer boroughs are just as expensive as manhattan now.

but if you're planning a short stay, that might not matter so much.

you should stay where you want to drink at night, save on cabs, yeah

you can drink anywhere

i'm not sure how we're supposed to know what environment you want or what the applicable constraints are, if any, but Gramercy Park/East Village/Lower East Side, with emphasis on the first two, is a pretty obvious choice for proximity to places of ILXor-type entertainment and ease of access to other parts of the city

You can drink anywhere and subways exist so that seems less important to me than finding a nice place, yeah, though obviously it'd be a consideration. You should probably figure out a couple of things you DEFINITELY want to be able to do and pick a neighborhood based more on that.

I would actually argue against #2--it's probably one of the cheaper options but even after almost 2 years, I STILL have nights where I cannot sleep due to the noise problem (more of a problem in Inwood/Wash Heights/Columbia). The PD in Wash Heights has the highest number of noise complaints and car alarm complaints of any precinct in the city. This may or may not be something that would bother you, personally, but it's a fair warning--I had less of a noise problem living directly off Broadway near midtown.

Mainly it's a warning cos while hotels are pretty well soundproofed as best as they can be, apartment buildings generally are not so you'll get the full noize block experience staying in someone's place.

But yes, there are a lot of beautiful things uptown and a lot of interesting things to see that often get overlooked by people who come to visit NYC.

If you plan on spending late nights out, being along or above the park (1, 2, 3, and 4) may leave you with annoying commutes home; not a problem if you live there, but it might get irritating if you're in town for a week and wnat to go out, downtown, every night. That said, those neighborhoods will likely be cheaper, and they're pleasant and uncrowded.

5 and 6 will make for an unpleasant experience in the busy-busy thick of Midtown Manhattan; unless you have plans that require you to be there often, I'd avoid it. It may well be expensive, too: I'd assume most of their spaces there get taken by traveling corporate workers and such, people who genuinely need to be close to everything.

7, 8, and kinda 9 are great, assuming they're affordable: right downtown where yr young-people stuff is (bars, clubs, shows, restaurants), walkable all across, mostly pleasant, and central, with easy train access east to Brooklyn and north through Manhattan. All the desirability means it's mostly just a matter of cost on that one; you'll wind up paying more for a smaller space.

"Brooklyn" and "Queens" really really depend on where precisely the space is. There are spots in both that'd be perfect places to stay -- really pretty, plenty of stuff happening, and easy access to everywhere else. There are also spots that would be a week-long pain in your ass. Brooklyn could be your best option, but only if you double-check on whatever they tell you is available -- even just post to this thread, and someone will give you the pros and cons.

brooklyn and queens are usually ok, but see if you can find out if there are going to be any weird train reroutings (esp. on weekends -- that shit can add AN HOUR to a 20-minute commute). as long as everything's running smoothly, it's a fairly quick trip wherever you are. express trains are your friend.

It's only our second time (my other half and I that is) and we only spent about 5 days on our first visit whilst commuting back to NJ every evening.

So, I guess our agenda includes a lot of the general gallery/tourist/shopping stuff, it would be great to see a few bands too, last visit we saw Low & Mark Eitzel at the Bowery Ballroom and it was great.

We're not mega rave party demons (too old) but would like to be able to soak in NY after dark seeing as we generally missed that last visit.

For some reason I've been wanting to check out the Turtle Bay area, can't remember why, it's something that stuck from a book (Auster?) or a film but it's always been at the back of my mind.

A lot of the apartments are above the 5th floor, my partner is a light sleeper, this would be preferable I guess?

Ahh, personally -- and ignoring cost issues -- I'd shoot for something maybe just below Houston, anywhere from Soho over toward the Lower East Side. It's pretty, you're close to venues and shopping and bars, and a bunch of train lines converge around there, for easy access to the museums and such uptown.

3 and 4 are great residential neighborhoods that are also full of cultural institutions and commercial amenities, simultaneously well-populated and relatively quiet, especially if you are higher up. pockets therein are very wealthy, but they don't often feel exclusive (from my perspective) in the way that even grittier-seeming parts of the city (hi dere, Soho) might. while restaurants abound, you would want to go downtown for music/dancing/drinking. also, they are not the place to stay if you're going to want to spend a lot of time in Brooklyn, but they're closer to the Bronx than downtown is.

but you probably want to stay near where you want to spend your evenings, and that's more likely to be in neighborhoods downtown.

(And I dunno about the 6, but the late-night 1 has been kind of a bitch lately! I can leave the LES at 3am and not get home to 113th til 5.)

This is all great, thanks.

If I'm staying on my own (ie, not at a friend's), I've almost always stay in #8.

I don't ordinarily think of "just below Houston" as "pretty," except for maybe between Sixth Ave and Sullivan, but then I'm an Uptown Boy

From 6th over through past West Broadway, really, I find reasonably pretty -- not in the shady tree-lined kind of way, but just nice-looking buildings, street cafes on the nice days, flowers at the markets and laid-back and all. Same goes for the other side of Broadway, to an extent, and during the right times of year/day. It sucks ass when it's all shopping mega-crowded, and it's not like nature-pretty, but walking up and down Prince or Spring on decent days strikes me as reasonably pleasant (and more aesthetically appealing than, say, walking up Columbus).

inwood was a VERY pleasant surprise -- though it is inconvenient.

oh yeah, you may want to consider new jersey -- either jersey city or hoboken. much more convenient to manhattan than a LOT of NYC itself!

re bitching about the subway -- why the FUCK has the B/D sucked so MASSIVELY lately (as in, the past 4-5 months)?!?

Since the invention of the W it hasn't been the same.

I'm considering spending a week or two in New York over the Christmas period this year.

#8 seems to be favourable from this thread, what is it like around xmas? Anymore information for a guy travelling on his own would be cool, wanting just to visit NYC and it's culture and hang about in friendly bars at night probly.

Is this a good idea? Or am I being a crazy fule?

WAKE UP NYC!

it's a good time to go, very festive and all that. it can be bitterly cold, but generally the nastiest weather is jan-feb. #8 on the list of areas above actually comprises some very heterogenous areas, so for more specific tips it would be helpful to know which of the 3 areas you're most interested in. gramercy/murray hill is a lovely area, a bit more quiet and classically genteel than the east village and especially the lower east side. there are loads of small hotels, though not necessarily bargain-priced, in that area so search online. you'll be in a very handy location for both downtown and uptown wandering, it's not as trendy of an area, though, unlike the village, alphabet city, and the lower east side. the problem with those neighborhoods is accommodation, as hotels are scarce. there have been some extremely expensive boutique-type hotels moving into the general area, but the prices are astronomical. i've heard that there's a really nice guesthouse/b&b in my old neighborhood on avenue c around 9th street, which could be a great base depending on what kind of environment you're looking for.

cool, thanks for that. I was reading Frommers on the web and they said that the Lower East side wasn't recommended for people unsure of the areas (I think they meant mostly at night time), they didn't say why though.

the b&b option sounds interesting, though am willing to spend some extra cash here as I'm going to spoil myself.
I don't mind being in the busier areas for accomodation

I don't really have a preference for what I'm looking for, there's lots about New York I want to see. Would like to be near a good 'pubby' area mind.

basically, the lower east side/alphabet city is still rougher while at the same time being completely gentrified by the young and trendy/would-be young and trendy. there are very large complexes of public housing running through the area and a large minority population, so someone unused to big cities and diversity might be uncomfortable though i've never had serious problems in the area. many of the streets in the les and avenues a and b in alphabet city are basically a playground of bars and restaurants at this point, anyway, so there's always loads of people about.
there are several great pubs in gramercy - molly's on 3rd ave around 20th street (best burgers) and the bar at rolf's (old time german restaurant) right down the road, also some great old man bars tucked away on 15th and 16th streets off union square.

haha old man bars. I'M THERE!

thanks for all this lauren, this is of great help.

no problem. once you've picked an area i can offer specific recs (as can many other ilxors i'm sure).

ok how about Chelsea? using expedia i've come across a cheapish offer in the Chelsea Star hotel.

pretty easy to get anywhere from chelsea, lots of fancy restaurants around there, plus gay bars!!! well other bars too, but chelsea's kinda known for it, but anyway, yeah, it's a good option.

chelsea's pretty and charming, and pretty central for travel. lots of restaurants and bars on 8th avenue. it's the main manhattan gay neighborhood, so lots of buff dudes as a bonus.

xpost

i forget where the chelsea star is, exactly. is it on 23rd?

oh just looked it up! it's up by msg, that ain't chelsea, really.

area around msg/herald square/garment district is pretty meh, though there a ton of korean restaurants around 32nd-36th and some good tiny indian and kosher middle eastern cafeteria places in the upper 20s that cater to the wholesaler business.

and there's a methadone clinic on 37th street! don't ask me how i know.

it specializes in glbt drug users, right? don't ask me either.

rolf's has a bar!? need to check that out...

cheers guys. okay i'm booked. will be there from 18-28 Dec. Gone for the Chelsea Star option.

the front of rolf's is a large-ish bar area. it's open a bit later than the restaurant, but not by much.

That is a weird area (you probably won't want to hang out much there -- Blarney Stone anyone?) but centrally located, lots of transportation options to pretty much anywhere. Also, if you walk down 8th Ave 10 or 15 blocks there's a lot of stuff, and if you walk even further down to Hudson there are some great paces like Corner Bistro (spitting distance from teh Corner of Jane St and 8th ave --best burger in the city) and WXOU Radio Bar (558 Hudson Ave at Perry St I think), standard friendly neighborhood place.

i always walked by rolf's and saw the lights and decorations through the window and thought, i should eat here sometime. never did. drinking at the bar would be cool but if it's not open late (so i can stop in on the way home), i don't know if it will happen

definitely check on the times. i have the impression that it's shut by 11 during the week, but i could be totally wrong.