absolutromantic

My main occasion to visit 65th street is to take the crosstown bus over to the east side, but it's not a bad street. Between West End and Amsterdam, it's a bit boring, with one side being a solid concrete wall, and the other side being low-income housing projects. However, at Amsterdam it livens up - on one corner is the High School for the Performing Arts, kittycorner is the New York Public Library, and across from that is Lincoln Center! Continuing on eastward, you'll pass Juilliard before reaching the major intersection of Broadway, Columbus, and 65th. Between Columbus and Central Park West, you can dine in style at Shun Lee's or live in one of the beautiful (but expensive) old apartment buildings. Finally, you'll reach Central Park, where you'll find the ultra-convenient through street going to the east side.

Below 96th Street, Amsterdam is a great avenue that embodies the eclectic artistic nature of the Upper West Side. On weekends, you'll find crowds lining the sidewalks (even in the winter) for the best Sunday brunches in New York City; on weekdays, the streets are populated with shoppers visiting the many cute stores and restaurants in the area. At the south end of Amsterdam where it intersects with Broadway, it's a bit more upscale, but the northern parts are still great. They're just very down-to-earth and homey - a very different vibe from their classy/chic southern counterparts. There is plenty of nightlife on Amsterdam, particularly in the 80s where cheap college bars abound. If I had to compare Amsterdam to something on the east side, I'd say it most resembles Second Ave: a nice mix of residences, stores, bars, and restaurants, without being too pretentious.

Because 72nd Street is such a big cross-street, it has a lot of shops and restaurants, while there are hardly any standalone apartment buildings - you'll find these mainly between Columbus and Central Park West and between West End Ave and Riverside Drive. In between, you’ll find everything from Tasti D Lite frozen yogurt (my favorite), to Lime Leaf (a wonderfully chic Thai restaurant that’s surprisingly inexpensive), to Urban Outfitters, to small hardware stores and nail salons. The traffic is busy and loud (after all, it’s a two way street and it goes through Central Park AND out to the Henry Hudson Parkway), but because all the apartments are high above the street due to the storefronts underneath, it’s not really a problem for those who live there. 72nd street is also an express stop for the 1/2/3 and the A/C subways, so it’s an easy task to get anywhere else you might like to go in New York.

West End Ave is one of the best kept secrets of Manhattan. Prices are much lower than closer to the center of the island, but it's actually not far at all to get to the subways. People think that because it's on the edge of the island, it must be a trek to get to the subway, but it's actually no further than living on 2nd Ave on the east side.

West End Ave is mainly residential, with a few upscale stores and a lot of corner convenience stores. To get to real shops or grocery stores, you need to go over a block to Amsterdam or Broadway, but that's hardly a sacrifice for the wonderful residential atmosphere with clean streets and peace and quiet. West End Ave is also just a block away from Riverside Park, the quieter and less-crowded version of Central Park, which only adds further to its residential/suburban appeal.

My boyfriend lives on W 68th between Columbus and Central Park West, so I spend a lot of time there and in the area. Between Columbus and CPW, the street is very residential, with buildings that are at most 10 stories high. There is a private school on the street, as well as a few upscale restaurants. As you move west, you'll find a Loews on the corner of Broadway, which is really convenient if you're a movie lover. Broadway, Columbus, and Amsterdam all have tons of restaurants and shops, so the street is great for those who want to feel like they're in a quiet residential neighborhood but still have all the amenities of the big city.

I lived on E 10th Street and 5th Avenue for a year and found it to be a great place to live in New York. The street is very residential - it's mainly lined with brownstones and apartment buildings. There is a great Thai restaurant on the corner of University Place – one of my favorites in the city. Unfortunately, other than that there aren’t really any businesses or restaurants on the street, but there is plenty in the area. Fifth Avenue has plenty of shopping just a few blocks away, and Broadway also has a lot of stores. Third Avenue and Tenth Street has plenty of bars and nightlife, but as you go further east, the neighborhood gets a bit seedy (as is often the case as you go deeper into the East Village). Overall, the west side of East 10th Street is great, but be wary the further you move east.