NeverSleeps

As a twenty-something resident of New York City (more specifically, of Brooklyn), I would never want to live this far from civilization. There is surprisingly little for a young person to do in this neighborhood, and it's a far journey to get to a neighborhood where there are things to do. That said, rent is pretty affordable out here - so if you don't mind being so far from anything remotely trendy and you don't want to pay crazy NYC rents, this is your spot.

There seem to be lots of people with cars in this area - as well as a number of driveways to park these cars, but street parking seems to be hard to come by all the same.

Besides a few Caribbean restaurants, your typical corner store fare, and the usual American fast food outposts, there isn't much going on down here that isn't residential. But properties here are somewhat affordable, and many have backyards - the holy grail of New York City (but not so uncommon in Brooklyn).

Wellllll - there are businesses springing up in this area believe it or not. They're of the sort that can't afford to open up in a less industrial, more expensive area. Gowanus right now is like Williamsburg before any musicians decided to move in to the warehouse spaces on the waterfront. Of course, the Gowanus Canal is way more poisonous than the East River - so move in at your own risk, poor artist types!

I was wandering down this Ave on my way home from Lowes and I think I passed that new music venue that is opening up here - in spite of warnings to all not to walk around such a deserted industrial area at night. Anyway, it's supposed to open in two months on 2nd Ave and 14th Street, and it'll probably be awesome and remind everyone of Williamsburg before there were condos and shops that sold $300 t-shirts.

At the moment it's difficult to rate many of the above Additional Ratings because there just isn't much here besides warehouses and service stations. It's quiet, but ugly. If anyone can find a place to live on 2nd Ave, I can't imagine they'd pay much for it. At least, I hope they'd be wise enough not to.

This is around the area where boundaries start to blur: 16th Street isn't Park Slope - at least not by any account I know of - but it isn't Sunset Park either - that's a ways further south. But even though you're not too close to the glamorous Park Slope brownstones and the row houses on 16th just aren't as pretty as those on, say, 3rd St, you're still in good hands with this area.

You're close to the action on 5th and 7th Aves (though admittedly the action is better if you travel north on these streets), but far from the bar noise and the shopping traffic. Sure, it's a long walk to the Park Slope Food Coop from here, but they'll still let you join!

Degraw Street is a sample of why I would love to live in Carroll Gardens (at least if I were on the verge of getting married and settling down): it's calm, quiet and stunning (at least as far as Brooklyn neighborhoods go). The street is lined with beautiful brownstones, and it cuts through an interesting neighborhood and the shop-lined Court and Smith Streets.

The Street gets somewhat too close for comfort to the poisonous Gowanus Canal, and the western end takes you to the not-so-pretty Waterfront District. As long as you stay in Carroll Gardens, you will likely be envious of Degraw Street residents.

There are some downsides to living down here. For instance, the F/G trains aren't the most reliable (and in fact are often referred to as some of the city's worst examples of public transport).

Near the southern border of the Park Slope neighborhood, 14th Street is not as nice as some of the lower-numbered streets closer to the main brownstoner action. That said, it also must be noted that 14th Street is in around where the area stops being full of dollar stores and starts getting real.

Harbor Fitness - a classy joint of a gym - is in the area, and trendy coffee joints keep on popping up on nearby Avenue intersections (the latest being a outpost of Crop to Cup on 4th and 14th). Residents of this street will stay fit and caffeinated, and a number of bars and restaurants are just a short walk from most doorsteps.

Aside from places where one can spend money, the main properties of 14th Street are of the residential variety. Row houses - lots of 'em. As with the rest of the neighborhood, properties closest to Prospect Park tend to be lovelier (at least from the outside) than those near the Gowanus Canal (which is famously brimming with poison).

The scene down around 23rd Street isn't trendy-cool - it's not Meatpacking, it's not even Williamsburg, not even close - but there are some awesomely friendly bars in the area. You know, of the everybody-knows-your-name variety. (718 comes to mind, but there is no shortage of beer houses on 5th Ave.)

I lived in the area for a while, and bartenders weren't the only ones who remembered my name - the guys at my corner store and local coffee shop really knew how to run a friendly business as well. The neighborhood was really welcoming, and there are few neighborhoods left in Brooklyn like it.

If you live on 23rd Street, you're only really close to the action if you live near 5th or 7th Aves - otherwise the street is pretty quiet and very residential. It's not all that cute, to be honest. Lower numbered streets in the neighboring Park Slope area are lined with beautiful brownstones, but down here what you get is a lot of aluminum-sided row houses with the occasional brick one thrown in the mix. But the streets tend to be clean, and it's an affordable area and just a short walk from some decent restaurants and shops in Park Slope.

I considered moving to Prospect Heights, but the problem I found was that the apartments available in the area were not only overpriced, but seriously cramped. I know you're probably thinking that this is merely an NYC phenomenon which can't be avoided, but it's worse here than in other areas! Prospect Heights is on the up-and-coming side of things, but it's not quite there yet - unbeknowst to realtors. I'm sorry, but I don't want to pay $2200 for a crappy two bedroom on a cruddy street just because someone opened a cool bar a few blocks away. To make matters worse, people are actually paying these ridiculous rents to live in Prospect Heights, which I predict will put a damper on the neighborhood's development. (Obviously, if the rents are too high, then the cool but poor start-up businesses will start in other areas - like Gowanus. Or Bushwick. Or even Crown Heights.)

The bright side: Prospect Heights is home to cool things, like the greenmarket in Grand Army Plaza, the main branch of the Brooklyn Library, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and the Brooklyn Museum. The area in and around Prospect Park is where most of the trendy new cafes and bars are located, as well as some of the better real estate.

I've become familiar with 12th Street mostly around where it ends after Hamilton Place - and that's because I've been frequenting the plant nursery at Lowes (and of course the Pathmark next door, a horrible store for produce but great for buying TP and paper towels in bulk).

The blocks west of 3rd Avenue are no place anyone would want to live - there is a city vehicle maintenance garage in the vicinity and the street is lined with snow plow trucks - but you couldn't move in if you wanted to, as all of these buildings are of the industrial warehouse sort.

Go east of 3rd Ave and you get to the good stuff - the row houses go up in value and beauty as you approach Prospect Park. These six blocks are almost completely lined with brownstones (especially west of 5th Ave), with the occasional corner store of Blockbuster video taking up space where the street intersects with an avenue.

Those that live close to 5th and 7th Aves will be able to enjoy the great deal of amenities that populate these particular streets, but being set away from them will also protect 12 St residents from the bar traffic noise that never seems to die down on any given day.

There are only two blocks on 15th Street that rate less-than-average - those between Hamilton Place and 3rd Ave. Those blocks are super industrial and crammed with city vehicles (ie, ambulances and street sweeping trucks), as this is where their maintenance garages are located. The rest of 15th Street perks up the closer you get to Prospect Park. Little markets and delis pop up where the street intersects with the neighborhood avenues, but for the most part 15th Street is lined with row houses and shiny new condos (which are either still under construction or standing mostly empty, having just been completed).

Harbor Fitness is here, and at 6th Ave the street hits a beautiful community garden, complete with tomatoes residents can freely pick, a weeping willow and tiny fish pond.

During a recent apartment search, I was allowing myself to check out places in Prospect Heights - which is one of those "up-and-coming" neighborhoods that is seeing a lot of trendy bars, restaurants and organic groceries spring into action. However, conniving real estate agents would often list apartments in Bed-Stuy as being located in Prospect Heights. Sure, they are neighboring 'hoods, but they are a world apart (you can usually tell when a listing was really in Bed-Stuy by its low rent).

There are streets in Bed-Stuy that are still known for their gang activity - even if the area has become greatly gentrified in the last decade or so. I read an article recently in which residents were thrilled that they could actually throw a block party and not be scared of insane fights breaking out, which is something that apparently used to happen often here.

Bed-Stuy remains a place for those with modest incomes - it's not that safe, and it has no appeal whatsoever to those who can afford to live outside of it. Clinton Hill (okay, I suppose it might be it's own neighborhood nowadays) is what they're calling the area of Bed-Stuy that has drawn the most gentrification and Pratt students. There is a marked difference, however, as you are traveling west on any street in Bed-Stuy and come upon Clinton Hill - suddenly the streets are cleaner and the buildings better kept.

Rent is cheap in Bed-Stuy, so I can understand the appeal to those students who study close by - or to any student, really. The areas closer to Clinton Hill and Prospect Heights are surely much nicer than those near Bushwick and Williamsburg, where there seems to be much more public housing high rises.

Because Bushwick is slowly being gentrified by hipster kids who can't afford to live in Greenpoint and Williamsburg - likely because they work in the service industry and spend all their extra cash on Ray-Bans and angular haircuts, this means that there are cool bars and restaurants that cater to this crowd springing up all over the hood. One spot known around BK for being awesome is Gotham City off Myrtle Ave. However, beware the rat population in this area late at night. As one can see, going out in Bushwick is not for the faint of heart.

Besides providing shelter for much of the city's rat population, Bushwick is home to its share of crime (especially in the summer months, like most neighborhoods prone to such activity). There are a few low-income housing projects peppering the neighborhood, and there are plenty in the neighboring Bed-Stuy, giving the area a low chance of ever truly being gentrified. Keep this in mind when your hipster cousin invites you to come live in the extra room in his Bushwick apartment and he tells you: "In five years this place is going to be the new Williamsburg!"

Of course there is always speculation as to which neighborhood will be the next big trend monster - and if you're looking to get into the bar business, it won't hurt to set up in the area of Bushwick that borders Williamsburg. Already bars like Wreck Room and Kings County are doing pretty good business in the area. But I disagree that Bushwick has any real potential to drive out the low income natives and see condos rise from the ashes. Sorry, hipsters.

This neighborhood has become very gentrified in the past few years, thanks in part to neighboring Pratt. The Brooklyn flea is in this neighborhood on Saturdays, and on weekends the area around Atlantic Ave is busy with shoppers and brunch goers. This neighborhood is much nicer in the areas that border Prospect Heights and Fort Greene - over by Bed-Stuy is not where I would want to be living or hanging out.

I checked out this neighborhood in my recent search for a new apartment and found that there were a lot of newly renovated apartments on slightly questionable blocks. These apartments tended to be overpriced - after all, this neighborhood is still being gentrified. While there are a lot of trendy restaurants opening up in Clinton Hill, the neighborhood still shows signs of its old wear-and-tear.

Of course, there are exceptions - real estate closer to Atlantic Ave, especially in the western portion of the neighborhood is much nicer and perhaps worth paying higher mortgages and rents. In addition to having prettier apartment buildings, the nicer part of Clinton Hill is lined with tall trees and close to some really cool places on Atlantic Ave.

Highlights of Clinton Hill proper include Urban Vintage, a coffee shop with a really unique atmosphere, and Pilar Cuban Eatery, an inexpensive cafe offering some real deal Cuban cuisine.

I realize it's just me - as everyone else seems to be a big fan of this neighborhood - but I have never spent a day in DUMBO without wishing I was somewhere else. Perhaps I just haven't been introduced to the right spots to hang Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. After going on a few dates at merely average restaurants in this neighborhood, I haven't been back much. From what I have seen, however, there seems to be plenty of expensive real estate and gyms in the area, and it is very quiet here at night. Almost too quiet.

In my opinion DUMBO is seriously lacking in Brooklyn personality. What used to be a neighborhood full of warehouses has been converted into rows upon rows of shining new condominiums. This, of course, is not the most uncommon transformation to occur in a New York neighborhood - but it's still a little bit depressing.

Overall, a visit to DUMBO is a pretty average experience. The restaurants are average, the shopping is minimal, and I'd honestly rather spend a night on the down in Boreum or Cobble Hill. Or even in Williamsburg.

Bed-Stuy has a reputation for being a bad place. There are a lot of people living in poverty and in housing projects in this neighborhood, but there are also a lot of working class citizens and Pratt kids in the area. It's a rough place, and there has been plenty of gang activity here in the past.

However, gentrification is happening here - if a little slowly. This area will never be the next Williamsburg, though, and potential residents should be very careful about moving onto certain blocks (some are known gang spots). The worst areas are closer to Bushwick, or in the north side of the neighborhood.

Cute little groceries and cafes keep popping up here, especially in the area closer to Atlantic Avenue and Clinton Hill. Of course, this is the area that has been gentrified the most. Havana Outpost is in this area and attracts a huge crowd when it is open in the summertime, and the newly opened Hot Bird is just as popular with its huge outdoor (and indoor) space.

Today Williamsburg is bustling with a variety of activities: the home-office-at-the-coffee shop kind, the fashionista sort that brings mass crowds of people on weekends and the type that builds condos. There is something about the air around here, though - it's not uncommon to come across snotty shop keepers and baristas. It's gotten pretty swank around here in the last decade. From a neighborhood of mostly industrial warehouses (which have been converted into some pretty cool apartments where they weren't knocked down to create high rise condos on the water), Williamsburg has fast become swanky albeit in a youthful way.

On the weekends there are book vendors on the sidewalks and a farmer's market in McCarren Park (which I suppose is borderline Greenpoint area), and all the bars and places to get brunch really serve as neighborhood draws. While there are some cute clothing stores and at least one awesome shoe carrier, I don't think it attracts many people outside of the hipster circle, unless anyone outside of a hipster likes second hand "vintage" shops.

I have a few friends that live in the south part of Williamsburg, which isn't nearly as nice as the area of the neighborhood starting around Grand. Down there there are a lot of brand new buildings or newly remodeled ones, but somehow they aren't very charming. I hear the apartments around the Bedford L - besides being hard to obtain - have gotten pretty expensive for what they are, which is nothing new and nothing too special.

Sure, the hipsters have cased out Williamsburg and it's now brimming with shops and restaurants that cater to their set - but Cobble Hill just can't be reckoned with when it comes to having the better eating experience and the trendier shopping outlets. In fact, you don't even have to want to shop or eat to enjoy your time here, because unlike Williamsburg, Cobble Hill is stunningly beautiful. Walking around here, I always feel like I'm living in a fashion ad (in fact, Ralph Lauren shot the commercial for this year's fall collection there).

Undoubtedly it's a fair penny to own one of the brownstones that line these streets, as well as to simply rent one. But, it's one of Brooklyn's best neighborhoods, so what else do you expect? If you do move in to Cobble Hill, be prepared to enjoy a number of neighborhood bars and book shops. Up on Atlantic Ave there are quite a few shops owned by immigrants from the Middle East, with Arabic writing on the awning and quite a variety of things for sale. This is also where the Brooklyn Urban Outfitters and Trader Joe's locations live, so you can expect to see a lot of foot traffic (as well as car traffic - the neighborhood is right off the BQE) at all hours.

If I were going to compare Cobble Hill with any Manhattan neighborhood (certainly a dangerous undertaking), I would pick the West Village. It's quaint and attracts quite a few people who like to eat out, but it's not exactly the biggest night spot. Of course there are bars in the area, but it's not the neighborhood you head to when you're going all out for a night on the town.

People from all over the city head over to Atlantic Ave because it's the home of Target and the Atlantic Center, which houses our local DSW, a giant Marshall's and all of the usual retail spots found in standard commercial malls. The place is always, always massively crowded - and I really recommend getting to Target early in the morning on a weekday, if at all possible. It's a mad house in there just about all of the time.

Besides the Atlantic Center, Atlantic Ave is home to the Brooklyn Urban Outfitters and there is an American Apparel close by. In short, Atlantic Ave is home to just about every mall or chain retail outlet your heart could ever desire. Close to the Brooklyn Bridge Atlantic Ave becomes especially downtown-like, but where it cuts through Cobble Hill there are a lot of interesting little restaurants and boutique shops.

The avenue is crazy packed with traffic just about all of the time - especially in the areas from the BQE to the Atlantic Center, and it kind of tapers off after that. I don't think I would want to live on this street, just because it is a little too busy and a little too commercial for my tastes.

Eastern Parkway may be four lanes of traffic in each direction, but it has a few awesome points that make it worth it to live on this street. First of all, I've looked at some GREAT apartments on this street, with views of the Brooklyn Museum and of Prospect Park - and since this is in Prospect Heights, the rents weren't too bad. If these same apartments were on Prospect Park West, there is no way they would be half as affordable.

If you have a car and live on Eastern Parkway, you'll be relieved to know that there is a wide access road on the north side of the street where everyone parks their cars - there is just no way you can park on the actual Eastern Parkway over by the park.

Of course, the further east you go down this road, the more questionable the neighborhood becomes (the closer you stay to Park Slope, the nicer the neighborhood stays). That said, I have to say that I love Prospect Heights. It's undergone so many improvements in the past few years, and these days you can get a really good meal right off Eastern Parkway. Someone recently built one of those popular all-glass apartment buildings on this street, right across from the library (which is another big highlight of this street), which to me is a sign of spreading opulence.

Union Street is one of the most lively streets in the neighborhood - especially when it comes to eating out or high-end grocery shopping. That might be a downside if you want to actually live here, but if you don't mind a little bit of a nightlife crowd and can afford to land one of the beautiful brownstones that line Union, then I think this would be a wonderful place to live.

This is where the original Union Street Market is located, as well as the neighborhood food co-op, Park Slope Food Cooperative. There are a bunch of organic restaurants on Union as well, like Rose Water and Scottadito's. I've heard great things about the latter, which is a place that serves organic Tuscan cuisine.

There is one downside: the actual street is a little traffic-heavy, but the fact that it is absolutely gorgeous makes up for the fact that you have to be on the look out for cars all the time. Union is the street that a lot of people take to get to Grand Army Plaza - a huge, highly trafficked roundabout at the end of the street - and so there is usually a long line of cars sitting at the light there.

Like many industrial spots in Brooklyn, there have been a lot of cool joints popping up in this neighborhood - like, say Four and Twenty Blackbirds, a pie shop that is constantly being featured on TV and in glossy magazines. This area has gotten way cooler as Park Slope spreads its wealth in a westerly fashion, and more shops and eateries and quaintly remodeled apartments continue to pop up - especially in the area around 9th Street.

The northern section of the neighborhood tends to be pretty cool as well - this is where the commercialism of Boreum Hill is spreading out, and the streets are lined with trees and gorgeous brownstones.

The area around the Gowanus Canal is probably the lamest part of the neighborhood. This is where you can find places like Pathmark and Lowes and Home Depot - and a lot of dirt and dingy looking buildings.

Overall, Gowanus is a hit-or-miss type neighborhood. If you happen to live in the area, then you probably know of some awesome places to eat and shop, but it's not like the area attracts many people who don't already live there.

Rush hour will set you back about half an hour on the Prospect Expressway - at least in the morning, headed west toward the BQE. The after-work crowd doesn't clog up the expressway as bad heading east in the evenings, but it can get a little traffic-y around then. Other than during rush hour, the Prospect Expressway stays pretty empty (as far as NYC highways are concerned), and I actually enjoy a cab ride over the park much more than I enjoy the crazy ride up the BQE to Williamsburg, which is never a quiet ride.

Just keep in mind that when I say there's not much traffic, I'm using the rest of the city as a scaled comparison!

Prospect Park is bordered by four relatively diverse neighborhoods, and the south side of the park - where Caton Ave is - probably isn't the best of of them, but it's not TOO bad. Prospect Park is gorgeous on the north side of the street, but the apartment buildings that line the other side of the street aren't all as beautiful as you would expect. The neighborhood isn't a rich one, and the brick buildings here remind one of middle class government housing buildings. They aren't, of course, but the point is that these apartment buildings are terribly ugly from the outside, and sort of take away from the glorious greenery of the park.

This area of the park is full of playing fields and basketball courts that have been thriving all summer, and Caton Ave is relatively close to the huge lake in Prospect Park. This street is pretty residential, but there is tons of pedestrian traffic in the area. The surrounding neighborhood offers some good Caribbean joints, but there isn't a lot of awesome nightlife and there certainly aren't any good shopping outlets on this street.

Grand Army Plaza is undoubtedly in my Top Five places in Brooklyn. The Civil War memorial arch that sits in the center of the Plaza is probably the most beautiful monument in the borough, and the Brooklyn library across the way isn't too shabby either, even if the building is not really geared toward my tastes. Beyond the arch there is a fountain that has been bursting and burbling since summer began, and in spite of the horrid amounts of traffic the area stays leafy green and beautiful.

There is an entrance to the north side of Prospect Park here as well - which is by far my favorite park in Brooklyn. The buildings that surround the roundabout are an interesting mix of old and new. I prefer the old ones - they're really beautiful - but the glass apartment building across from the library can make for some interesting people watching.

Besides a number of picnic tables outside of the city library, there are also a number of places to lounge around and people watch around the plaza - especially right in front of the park. You see a lot of musicians playing in the area, and on warm weather weekends there is a fabulous farmer's market in Grand Army Plaza.

9th Street is pretty much the main east-west drag in Park Slope. While all of the parallel streets are single lane, one way streets that are mostly residential, 9th Street is the one with four lanes of traffic and is lined with a number of places to spend your money.

I think because there is so much traffic on this street, it's not as pretty as other streets in the area, and because of all the storefronts, fast food joints, banks and the YMCA, there is a definite lack of the charming brownstones that the neighborhood has become known for (with the exception of the area closest to Prospect Park). Withstanding that, 9th Street is somewhat unavoidable - if you live in the area, this is a very practical street to visit. All of the trains that visit the neighborhood stop here - the F, G, M and R - and the street has everything that a Brooklynite would want: pizza, grocery, banks, gyms, and bars.

Highlights include the 9th Street entrance of Prospect Park (located close to the baseball diamonds as well as the concert shell where they have free shows all summer) and Barbès, a bar that features new music just about every night.

I do live in the area, but I can't say that I would want to live right on 9th Street, since it stays so busy with traffic and nightlife - it's not the quietest place to be in Park Slope, but it can be fun.

Cruising from Gowanus Bay in Red Hook all the way up to where Tillary Street becomes the Brooklyn Bridge, Clinton Street undergoes quite a few changes in scenery along the way. Things on Clinton Street range from very clean to not-so-nice, from very quiet to very busy and very noisy.

The area south of the where the street goes under the BQE is relatively industrial (but the street stays pretty busy, as this is a main drag on the way to neighborhood hot spots like IKEA) and none too pretty. It becomes pretty residential after that - at least until you hit the downtown area.

In Carroll Gardens, Clinton Street is nice, quiet, clean, and safe. I've heard that this is a longtime mob neighborhood, but I've also heard that that's why Carroll Gardens is so safe. There are a lot of cool nightlife spots around here as well.

It's obvious when Clinton Street reaches Cobble Hill, because the street is suddenly lined with shops and restaurants and the more expensive real estate looks the part. Cobble Hill is a fantastic place for people who like to sample random shops and places to eat on their own.

In the Downtown Brooklyn/DUMBO area, Clinton Street is much, much busier with both street traffic and pedestrian traffic. It's more difficult to find any parking in this area, and it's another expensive place to live - but less quiet and less leafy.

Bay Street is one of the best streets in Red Hook - mostly because of the vendors that hang around the Red Hook Ball Fields. You can get some of the best Latin food in Brooklyn from these trucks, including - but not limited to - empanadas, grilled corn (with chili, lime and cheese), tamales and the infamous pupusas.

Besides the Red Hook Ball Fields - where you can get your soccer game on - the Red Hook swimming pool also sits right on Bay Street.

Bay Street never really gets very residential, and the eastern most block is pretty industrial and deserted-seeming. The recreational area of this street is a great place to be during the day, but I don't know that I would want to hang around here at night, seeing as how not many other people stick around and it stops being as safe.

Like the rest of the neighborhood, Bay Street offers up an awesome vibe, but if you don't have a car down here your transportation options remain pretty limited. For some reason, the G train is still the only train that comes down to Red Hook - no matter how up-and-coming the neighborhood has proven to be in recent years.

Beard Street may be close to the waterfront, but don't expect any to find any New York City treasures around here. IKEA sits right off this street, and in front of the somewhat new furniture store the street is nicely paved - which is good for IKEA shoppers, as it is advisable to at least rent a car before you head there to shop. But as soon as you pass the Swedish furniture giant, the road turns to brick. Well, mostly brick - some of the bricks seem to be missing.

The street isn't the least bit pedestrian or bike friendly, at least not until you pass Van Brunt Street - but then there is just one block left, which is the street's only residential area. Residents that live here enjoy close quarters with a rather large garden supply shop and Fairway Market - both of which are conveniently located about a block away. No doubt the rent prices include the awesome view of the NYC skyline that many of the residents of Red Hook enjoy.

This street is by all means safe during the day, but I wouldn't want to be wandering around here at night - it's just too deserted after IKEA business hours.

Friends of mine that have lived in Red Hook swear it's necessary to have a car if you live on this street or elsewhere in this neighborhood, but car drivers beware: while Van Brunt Street is paved, many of the surrounding streets are made of shoddy bricks. Van Brunt is one of the neighborhoods busier streets - but there still isn't much traffic around here.

Much of the draw has to do with Fairway Market at the end of the street (if you haven't been, I recommend you check it out - it's right on the water and there's a little cafe in the bakery area where you can take a break from shopping and take in the view). There's also a little wine shop a few blocks from Fairway - Dry Dock - and while it's not exactly a huge draw for people who live outside the neighborhood, I find myself stopping there just about every time I do any shopping at Fairway, which doesn't sell any wine. The people there are knowledgeable and friendly, and all of their recommendations have worked wonders for my pasta dishes.

Van Brunt is a kind of quaint street that offers both a residential feel and a commercial one, as it is lined with the occasional antique shop or barbecue pub. Perhaps the one down side of living on this street is that if you have no choice but to take public transportation, the only train available to you is the G train, which is not exactly MTA's most reputable transit option.

If you find yourself on Court Street in the Brooklyn Heights/Downtown area, you may feel like you haven't actually left Manhattan. But even though Court Street has all the standard big chains - Starbucks, Barnes and Noble, Trader Joe's - it also is home to quaint shops and privately owned restaurants, and is one of my favorite places to shop. I think there is even a Checkers on Court Street - not exactly a common sight in New York City. But even if you aren't a fan of southern fast food chains, I think the average shopper/ tourist would really enjoy this area of Court Street. The smaller stores are more prominent where Court Street runs through the neighborhood of Boreum Hill, and once you cross Atlantic Ave you begin to find the big name chains (American Apparel and such). Court Street runs all the way down to Red Hook, and is the street you take to get you most of the way to IKEA - another popular Brooklyn go-to spot.

This street is remarkably beautiful, but it gets low marks for noise pollution. The three lane, one-way highway that is Prospect Park West may offer pedestrians the beautiful backdrop of Prospect Park to the east, but the constant noise of cars zooming (and I mean zooming!) by takes a little away from the experience. Then again traffic is part of the city's charm (even if it generally shouldn't be as bad in Brooklyn as it is in Manhattan), and it's something we've found we can grow accustomed to if forced.

There is a little movie theater down by 14th St, making this street a nice option for date night (a nice walk in and around the park followed by a sweet little film is likely to score points with anyone), and Prospect Park West is close to quite a few restaurants that would also make for a cozy night out (Applewood on 11th at 7th Ave comes to mind).

More than a few running clubs meet on this street before heading into the park for a workout, and joggers can be seen on Prospect Park West at all hours of the day. Currently (in the month of June), strollers can bear witness to impressive foliage and rows and rows of blooms - in the park and in the front yards of residents' brownstones.

Nolita is one of my favorite New York neighborhoods, and I find myself here often - whether it be to shop, eat, grab a few cocktails or just to stroll. On weekends the area does get crowded, and even during the week this neighborhood never exactly dies down. If you want to catch Nolita with quiet streets and empty sidewalks, try stopping by during a blizzard. There is an endless string of trendy bars, restaurants and shops in these blocks - making it a perfect place for the singles set. Beware, though - if you aren't making big bucks you are unlikely to be able to afford such incredible digs.

You'll find a lot of tourist-friendly/famous restaurants (think Balthazar) here, as well as staples like the Dean and Deluca store and the Housing Works book shop. If my parents were coming into town, I think this is the one neighborhood where I would most delight in taking them. For an area so crowded, the streets stay clean (a New York clean) and these blocks are absolutely beautiful.

Unlike many people, I'll admit that Noho exists - well, barely. It's not exactly a huge slice of Manhattan, but it seems legitimate enough. This used to be one of my favorite areas of the city when I was in my early twenties. Astor Place is charming enough, and this piece of Broadway is home to the Strand - possibly the world's greatest used book store.

The surrounding area is much prettier than Noho - the East Village has some lovely buildings, but the area around Cooper Square isn't nearly as attractive. The new Cooper Union building is, um, interesting, and I would recommend taking a peak at it - no matter how out of it actually seems when taken in with the surrounding architecture. (I must admit to being a fan of the old building - it's much more classic and visually appealing than the new residence, which is full of curves, sharp angles, steel and glass.)

The one thing that keeps me coming back to Noho is Astor Wines & Spirits - truly a great New York City staple, and they offer some of the best tastings I've ever taken in for free.

If I were asked to choose between the college town neighborhood that is Washington Square, near the NYU spread, and the one that is Morningside Heights, where Columbia and a lot of other establishments of higher education reside, I would have to say that I prefer the latter.

The neighborhood boasts some incredible history which can be found in landmarks like Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, Grant's Tomb and Riverside Church or the West End Bar, where beat poets liked to meet up and compared notes during the forties and fifties.

Surrounding streets boast a little bit of that old school charm without being too overrun by corporate restaurant chains and/or stores, like you see down in NYU territory.

While I understand the power this place has over tourists and people who have otherwise never seen New York City - and, hey, I even encourage them to go! check it out! make up your own mind! - I absolutely hate this horrible neighborhood. But, then, I rarely have an occasion to go. It's not as if I'm one of those people who needs to check out the latest Broadway musical - especially when the powers that be are letting people like Green Day contribute to the art form - and I don't especially want to spend ridiculous amounts of money at Saks or any of the chain restaurants that roost here in great numbers.

This is the neighborhood of flashing lights and sparkling sidewalks - as seen in Times Square - and it tends to be overwrought with crowds, which may be something that most people expect from this city, but in this case the crowds are a bit out-of-control and entirely slow-moving. Besides tourists, plenty of people make the trek to this neighborhood to go to their corporate professions so it stays incredibly packed during business hours.

I've seen Midtown - even Times Square - looking pretty desolate during the weeknight hours, and I suppose that while there are plenty of bars to be found they tend to cater to the after work crews and the tourist types rather than the trendy New York club goer.

I don't really have anything bad to say about Madison Square - it's a nice little park in the middle of the tall New York City landscape, and as someone who lives in NYC you can't really do too much complaining about any amount of green space that may appear on the horizon. One of my favorite New York sights - the Flatiron building - is located here, and the surrounding area plays host to some decent shopping, especially at affordable chains like H&M and whatnot. I've never really heard the surrounding neighborhood referred to as "Madison Square," but perhaps there is still someone out there who calls it that.

I recently stopped by Shake Shack for the first time ever - I got a Shack burger, fries, and a strawberry (malted) milkshake. Everything was great - and it the burger was the best greasy fast food number I've had in a while. Definitely recommend (just beware the 90 line that tends to trail around the park during lunchtime).

It doesn't get more Woody Allen than this - posh is exactly the right word, but in an Upper East Side sort of way. The area is flourishing with condos and co-ops and other forms of luxury buildings; it is a permanent home to the city's upper crust...and that's about it. Tourists will find a lovely temporary stay here, and there are many things that draw them to the neighborhood besides its loveliness - like the Frick, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Asia Society. Anyone looking for the New York City that they've seen in movies about rich people will find it in this neighborhood - definitely a classic NYC hood.

I can't remember the last time I strolled through this neighborhood - and with good reason. There isn't much to do here unless you're hospital hopping, and I can't say that hospital visits are something I enjoy or that, thankfully, I've been forced to do in recent months.

This is a Manhattan neighborhood that is actually rather unappealing, it's not especially pretty and isn't home to any city landmarks that would attract the occasional NYC tourist. I mean, if your neighborhood is in Manhattan and can only boast a shopping center which is home to a Rite Aid (where isn't there a Rite Aid!) and a Crunch fitness center (also relatively common in the city), then it's likely your neighborhood is pretty sad.

I like this neighborhood - I mean, s'alright - even if I have no real reason to ever go here. There are pretty views of the Hudson, and some little parks - Fort Tyron Park and Inwood Hill Park - which are relatively cool. Fort Tyron Park is the location of the infamous Cloisters, where a bunch of Medieval art pieces are exhibited.

Like some other people mentioned, being in this neighborhood is sort of like leaving the city - and so if you've come to experience the gritty, fast paced version of the city you may not find it so much in Inwood. However, I can understand why such a neighborhood would be appealing to so many people, especially those who need a bit of a break from the chaos of the city. Inwood is very far (in Manhattan distance) from the rest of the city, and I could never live here as such a long train ride would discourage me from every going anywhere else in NYC.

8th Ave is nowhere near the commercially trendy hub that is 5th Ave - or even 7th Ave - in the Slope, but there are a few brunch spots and tattoo shops and what have you on this street. More importantly, this street offers quiet apartments/brownstones away from the noise of the barhopping areas of this neighborhood. And more than that, it is another beautiful Park Slope avenue. So, if you are looking for a street that is close and yet removed from all of the action, you are likely to love Brooklyn's 8th Ave - at least the Park Slope version of the street.

7th Ave is probably the second best Avenue in Park Slope - it may be way up on the hill beside (though not RIGHT beside) Prospect Park, but there is plenty to do up here if you have a lot of money burning a hole in your pocket. Shoe Mine on 7th Ave between 16th and Windsor Pl is a really great tiny shoe shop, and there is a "Shoe Hospital" on 7th at 7th for when your shoes break down. There is absolutely no shortage of eateries on this street - the avenue is so full of them that you may find it hard to decide just where you want to go. Cafe Steinhof at 14th St. is one of the standouts, and the Smiling Pizzeria at 9th St is another good place to stop in.

Just like much of Park Slope, 7th Ave is tree-lined and fenced in with lovely brownstones and is quite a nice walk in any season.

6th Ave is a surprisingly residential street between two rather commercial outposts (ie, 5th & 6th Aves) in Park Slope. It's also a surprisingly gorgeous street - the Park Slope area is lined with brownstones and trees and the residents have been known to keep little gardens in their little front lawns. Naturally the street has amenities typical of any New York neighborhood - the laundromat, the deli, the preschool. 6th Ave in Park Slope is one of the more quiet avenues in the area. 3rd Ave is too industrial and congested, 4th Ave doesn't have a whole lot going on except traffic, 5th Ave is packed with bars/shops/restaurants and general nightlife, making it incredibly noisy at night, and 7th Ave is somewhere in between the quiet residential attitude of 6th Ave and the busy nightlife on 5th. Anyway, my point is that if you want to live in this area to enjoy all that it has to offer but still live on a quiet street, this is one of your best bets!

This street only receives two stars for its proximity to civilization - Park Slope, that is. If you live out here, you live under the Gowanus Expressway, which for some reason is always leaking a lot of water and ricocheting with the sounds of constant traffic. The traffic on the street below - 3rd Ave, that is - isn't much better as 3rd Ave is one of the main arteries of the area. This street is mostly commercial, and there are a lot of businesses sitting empty on it at the moment. Overall it's a dreary place, and I don't recommend it if you are simply going for a stroll.

There is perhaps one stop you need to make on 3rd Ave if you happen to live in the area (and only if you happen to live in the area), and that is Rossman Fruit and Vegetable District. They have excellent prices on fresh produce, and they have enough other products available to make a decent shopping trip out of the experience.

The thing that's great about 5th Avenue in Park Slope is that there is something to do - or buy - no matter what your mood or interests have you craving. There is a lot of excellent second hand and vintage shopping to be had, and you can get everything from a surprisingly decent burger at Aperitivo's brunch for $9.95 to some first class sea bass at Al Di La.

The street itself is rather like a long shopping strip, and stays that way until you find yourself leaving the neighborhood of Park Slope. Then it becomes rather residential, and not nearly as lovely. Down in the Windsor Terrace/ Sunset Park area of the street you may not have the same amenities as you find in Park Slope, but this area is quiet and close enough to the good life to make it a great street to live on.

I find myself in this area more often than any other Manhattan neighborhood - perhaps because it has been so long established as the art-y neighborhood where so many poets and musicians hung out. Younger artists and musicians have of course moved on to cheaper neighborhoods, but the charm still remains in the East Village.

As you get closer to the East River the neighborhood gets a bit sketchier - but bars and shops are constantly popping up even here in an commercial landscape that is constantly changing to suit the needs of those art-y kids who grew up and got real jobs but still never left the neighborhood.

Anyone in need of some shopping therapy, a bit of bar hopping or just a stroll around an inviting neighborhood would fare well in the East Village.

I always get lost in this neighborhood. No matter how many times I troll the area for outdoor book sellers, I can never find my way around properly - mostly because the streets tend to take on names instead of numbers in this area. In any case, there isn't much wrong with this neighborhood if you don't mind the population overload of NYU students - but it's never been my cup of tea, really.

The dining in the area tends to cater to that poor college kid crowd, which is something I can no longer relate to, even if I'm sure there are many people who would enjoy this neighborhood for just that reason. The bars also tend to be crowded with that specimen that is the NYU student, which is also not my scene in any way.

But, if you're into the offerings of the 'hood, then you will be happy with what it has to offer. It's in no way a bad neighborhood, it's just not a good fit for me personally.

Sounds like it would be an awesome place for fashionistas, doesn't it? But it's not. Unless you are a fashionista capable of creating your own designs with some fabric and stitching, which in no way applies to me. Not only that, but this neighborhood isn't exactly known for being a place that anyone would be dying to grab a bite or hang out after dark. Not. Recommended.

This is where I typically go when I'm going on an outing to shop at the best/most affordable new clothes chain shops in the city: H&M and Zara. Sometimes, if I am feeling like spending a bit more money at such a chain, I'll stop into the neighborhood's Anthropologie. So, long story short, I am in the neighborhood quite a bit. (Though last time I stopped into H&M, I felt like I was in K-Mart. Let's hope the selection gets better with the arrival of spring.)

The Flatiron District is really quite lovely, in a New York City sort of way - and though the area around these shopping hot spots can be a little hectic, it's nothing like the chaos that is the Soho shopping district on Broadway - not even close.

I enjoy an evening stroll around the place, and the neighborhood is home to a lot of random eateries - but I have yet to explore many of them, as I'm usually too busy shopping.

Normally I'm not a big crowd person, and normally I avoid places that are as full of tourists as the Financial District tends to be. But there is something really appealing about this neighborhood - every time I'm there I think to myself, "man, this must be the cleanest place in all of New York City." Because, comparatively, the streets are amazingly clean - which is impressive for a place that is bustling during business hours.

The neighborhood is full of tourists who've come to check out Wall Street and whatnot, but the neighborhood really caters to the suits who run the city - with endless delis and eateries and a few upscale club-type of restaurants.

This is not a neighborhood I would ever consider living in - the action dies out pretty early around these parts, after the tourists have moved on and the business men have gone home or out in a more happening part of the city. But I'm sure people do live down there - they must. And it's clean and probably pretty quiet at night, as no one else is likely to venture down there unless they happen to live there...

I feel a bit apathetic about this area, to be honest. Last summer I actually found myself at South Street Seaport – which is nothing more than a glorified mall that doesn’t even really have that great a selection of stores – a few times. There is an outdoor mall of sorts across the street from the aforementioned glorified mall, which caters to wearers of such overpriced brands as Abercrombie & Fitch. This is not a New Yorker’s sort of neighborhood – really I’m not sure if people actually live around here or not, it seems more downtown business-oriented, besides the shopping. In any case, I certainly wouldn’t want to. Besides a spectacular view of the Brooklyn Bridge from the Seaport, I can’t really see how this area attracts so many tourists, when the stores they offer in the area are really the ones you see in every mall in America.

I honestly haven’t been to the park for quite some time – mostly because the area tends to be full of tourists, and I do mean full. The area may be crowded during warmer seasons, but anyone who has never been should definitely venture out and take a look. I have to say that I don’t really enjoy the area when it comes to dining or shopping experiences, so the area’s only draw is really the spectacular view of the Hudson and the Statue of Liberty. After taking in the view, it’s best to head on out to greener pastures, or in this case more culturally enriched NYC neighborhoods.

The Bowery can be all kinds of fun in the evenings to early mornings. The poverty that was once present in this neighborhood is no more, and you have to be a bit of a yuppie to afford such digs these days. But even those who can’t afford to live here can afford to go out and about in the area – there are a number of bars and restaurants lining Bowery, and anyone would be doing themselves a favor by checking out the student artwork at the local Cooper Union. The area doesn't differ much from the sorts of places found in the neighboring East Village.

A tightly-knit sort of community of high-end stores, restaurants and real estate can be found in this breathtakingly gorgeous neighborhood. It’s the sort of place that one imagines the well-to-do characters of Woody Allen films to reside, and the area hasn’t seen any reconstruction for quite some time, making the area an aesthetic delight for tourists and residents alike.

During my last trip to the park, I found myself sitting under the fall trees, listening to a three piece jazz band that often plays to the crowds in the Park. Central Park can be almost magical if the weather is just right – thanks in part to countless movies that have immortalized the place. No one is too young or too old or from too far away to enjoy Central Park, a much needed respite from the rest of the stress-inducing isle of Manhattan.

Chelsea is one of the great New York neighborhoods: great food, great hangout spots, great real estate – but as is the trend in NYC, the price of such things in Chelsea are quite high. That said, Chelsea has just about everything that a well-rounded resident or tourist would expect from the city: art galleries and tons of trendy restaurants and clubs. It’s not the hipster-fied Williamsburg or what was once the Lower East Side, but rather a more upscale brand of cool.