NeverSleeps

I honestly don't know anyone who lives on Coney Island, though apparently there are quite a few residents in the neighborhood (not an actual island, by the way). Coney Island has seen some massive changes in the past few years, and fun here has morphed into a more family-friendly state-of-the-art kind of carnival thing - but it's still the best place in the city to get a hot dog by most accounts.

Even if many of the old school Coney Island tourist attractions have closed shop, it's still a grand nostalgic sort of place - and a must-see for anyone who has never been to the city. It's quite possibly one of the coolest spots in Brooklyn (though, admittedly not my personal fave).

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).

I was wandering around this area recently, desperately searching for the Gowanus Nursery (which I consequently never found), and I have to say there wasn't much going on.

Summit is lined with mostly decent-looking residences, but it's a little close to the waterfront for my taste. (In NYC, waterfront property is vastly overrated. We have too many months of cold weather to live near an icy, windy waterway, thank you very much.) To be completely honest, this street seems sort of dismal to me, even if it is part of the mostly affluent Carroll Gardens neighborhood.

Don't get me wrong, I love Carroll Gardens - there are plenty of cool places to shop and eat - but this street is a bit far from the area's action. That said, it seemed like a family-safe sort of place (in fact, the only people I seemed to see around anywhere were parents with kids or high school-aged kids).

It's not easy to rate Carroll Street because it is so long and transverses some vastly different neighborhoods. The best way to divide it up is by using Prospect Park - basically, the Carroll St on the west side of the park is magnificent, and the Carroll St on the east side of the park is less-than-savory.

On the west side, you have the Carroll Street of Park Slope - or, the Carroll Street that gets four stars. East of the park, you have the less lovable Carroll Street - the one where there isn't much to do and where I personally wouldn't love to live.

East of Prospect Park is the Crown Heights area - a neighborhood that has gotten increasingly less shady over the years, but it's not out of the dark just yet. That said, you can probably land some cheap rent over here. Just don't expect to have a lot of selection when it comes to good takeout or nightlife spots.

In Park Slope Carroll Street is a sloping lane of beautiful brownstones. Where the street intersects with 5th and 7th, there are tons of restaurants and shops. Two blocks north and parallel to the street in question is Union Street, another street literally lined with places to spend your money (suggested places to get acquainted with: Rosewater on the corner of 6th Ave and the Park Slope Food Coop between 6th and 7th Aves).

It seems like brownstones in this area are going on sale often enough, and are usually in the $500,000-to-just-under-a-million range. Lots of rather young parents live here with their rather young children, as you've probably already heard.

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.

Notable in Kips Bay are the Bellevue Hospital facilities - which are really incredible, it's sort of like the airport of hospitals. Hopefully no one reading this will ever find themselves there but if you do, you'll find yourself in good hands. Other than Bellevue - a building that is rather historic in itself - there isn't much to be seen in this neighborhood. (Obviously, if the first thing one mentions in a review is a hospital, there isn't much hope for the area.)

Kips Bay is well stocked with drug stores (not surprisingly, see above), and little places to grab a bite. But this little section of Manhattan is a far cry from anything trend-worthy. On the up-side, it's not a far walk to the cooler neighborhoods of Chelsea or the East Village. Heck, you could even cab it to the LES in no time at all.

So the conclusion is this: even if there isn't a lot to do in the immediate blocks that make up Kips Bay, it's not very difficult to get from boring Kips Bay to a more happening area. And then, when you've had your fun for the evening, it wouldn't be so bad to head back to this quiet area and hit the hay.

Boerum Hill is one of those Brooklyn neighborhoods that manages to attract quite a variety of outsiders with its endless shops, cafes, and restaurants (admittedly, I mostly head to Boerum for the shopping experience) despite being small in stature.

The past forty years or so have seen this near-Downtown Brooklyn area transformed from a not-so-safe place to one whose tree lined streets practically wink and glitter at you. Brownstones here look much like the ones in Park Slope - that is to say, lovely - but I think the shopping experience may be better than what you find in surrounding neighborhoods. For example, those ladies with designers in mind will find boutiques that cater to exactly their purpose, and those with a more mainstream aesthetic in mind can head to Urban or American Apparel.

It may be important to note that the neighborhood doesn't conform to brownstones like Park Slope seems to - the occasional brick home makes itself known in Boerum Hill. Park life is a little lacking, but it's not far too Fort Greene Park and there are quite a few trees on the neighborhood's residential streets.

It's obvious that the locals love their Boerum Hill neighborhood as the streets are among the city's cleanest, even if people are always on the area's sidewalks in droves. Yards, stoops and private buildings are well-maintained - it's almost like being in one of those gated communities in which people are required to meet certain standards that appeal to the eye. This neighborhood attracts families (though nowadays a family dwelling in this area is likely to cost millions), as it is safe and tends to quiet down pretty early in the evening. Nightlife is limited to restaurant-going - there are a few corner bars, but no clubs that I've really seen.

Atlantic Ave is the neighborhood's most happening street - it's lined with places to eat and shop and the traffic is jammed up regularly until after nightfall - but side streets like Court and Smith can be just as interesting to the casual shopper/restaurant goer and are often more populated with sidewalk traffic.

"Dyker Heights" is synonymous with "holiday decor" - so much so that people from all over the city flock to the neighborhood to check out the historic mansions draped in strings of light bulbs. It's rather unexpected that a neighborhood so far from the bustling center of Midtown Manhattan could manage such a draw, but mid December begins to see the commuters stream into this old school Brooklyn area nonetheless. (The attraction of the neighborhood was once spoofed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, in a segment in which the comedian informed viewers: "Apparently this house can be seen from the space shuttle in orbit. Several astronauts have called it tacky from 15 miles up.") The over-the-top light displays are often professionally assembled, and it is apparent that each house tries to outdo its neighbors with its holiday cheer. (See: http://gonyc.about.com/od/christmassights/ig/Dyker-Heights-Christmas-Lights/)

The population in Dyker Heights is predominantly composed of Italian-Americans, and while residents aren't opposed to having a few new neighbors, they work hard to keep condos from going up in the area. Indeed, if high rises were to be built there the neighborhood would lose much of its charm - this area is packed with sprawling stand-alone homes that offer something most New Yorkers will never know: space. In addition to such amenities, home owners work at keeping their grand-standing homes in excellent condition (which adds to the overall effect of the Dyker Lights displays). Eleventh Avenue is perhaps the highlight of the neighborhood as it features a row of mansions (as opposed to the one- and two-family homes found elsewhere in the area) that are the main attraction each Christmas season.

Being an Italian-American neighborhood, the local amenities involve exactly what one would expect: pizzerias, delis, meat markets, Catholic churches. Dyker Heights is very much an enclosed area - the locals don't see a lot of outsiders except when they have their Christmas lights displays up, and this can not only be attributed to a lack of tourist attractions, but to a lack of subway stops as well. In order to get to Manhattan from Dyker Heights, one has no option but to take a bus.

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'm truly surprised at how highly rated this Brooklyn neighborhood has become on Streetadvisor. Although there are some very beautiful family homes in Lefferts Gardens, they are part of a historical district and this real estate is difficult to get one's hands on. And although the neighborhood is next to the lovely Prospect Park, the surrounding neighborhoods are not that great. It's been my experience that there is not much to do in this neighborhood, and I really don't recommend the sushi restaurants. In fact, none of the restaurants I've tried in this area have been very good.

If you ask me, this neighborhood is really, really boring.When I go out in Brooklyn I don't go out to look at all the old world family homes. But that's just me. What I want from a neighborhood includes good food, crowded bars and maybe a few places to pick up a decent pair of shoes. The main drag through Lefferts, Flatbush Ave, features a lot of hole-in-the-wall hair salons that also sell knock-off Gucci bags. I definitely prefer the Brooklyn neighborhoods on the other side of the park.

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.

Crown Heights is not somewhere I'd personally like to spend a lot of time, but I do have friends who live here in order to enjoy the low low rents offered in the neighborhood. It's not so bad a place, and parts of it (where there are old one-family homes and plenty of trees) are actually kind of beautiful. That said, the area borders on Brownsville - a less-than-awesome neighborhood - and doesn't exactly offer an upscale dining or shopping experience. Instead, what you find in Crown Heights are a lot of fast food restaurants and mall-type clothings stores of the cheaper variety (Rainbow comes to mind).

There is absolutely nothing trendy about Crown Heights, but it's not far from Prospect Heights, which has become much cooler in the past few years, and it's a short ride to Cobble Hill and Boreum Hill, which are pretty established cool places. (Of course, potential residents should keep in mind that while there are awesome Brooklyn neighborhoods east of Crown Heights, there are some pretty bad ones directly west.)

I agree with the previous Streetadvisor reviews on Brownsville - this is a pretty nasty place. The area is poor and rundown and consistently tops the list of Brooklyn neighborhoods with the highest crime rates (along with East New York). I've actually only been here once - and it, incidentally, was because I didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

The are quite a few public housing projects out here, and the rest of the area is lined with the sort of row houses commonly seen in poor Brooklyn neighborhoods. Brownsville is actually the neighborhood with the highest concentration of public housing in the entire city. There are also a lot of empty lots where housing projects have been torn down - it's not an ideal landscape, and surely not one that I would want to live anywhere near.

Problems with crime and drugs keep many away from this neighborhood - it's one of those places where kids have to go through metal detectors just to get to class in the morning. Hospitals are filled with a high concentration of stab and gunshot victims. There are few Brooklyn neighborhoods that I would be reluctant to visit, but this is definitely one of them.

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.

I've looked at some really awesome apartments in Ditmas - but there are a few reasons I didn't move into this neighborhood. For one, it seems to be mostly populated by the older generation and a few Jehovah's witnesses (who are ever sitting outside their apartments, passing out flyers). And another - it's far away from anything cool and trendy, and let's face it: part of the reason twenty-somethings move to the city is to be near things that are cool and trendy.

That said, I would recommend this neighborhood to anyone looking to settle down a bit (or a lot). I think it's traditionally a working class sort of 'hood, and that's why you can get a huge apartment for a reasonable price.

There are a lot of one family homes here with gorgeous lawns, and there are some pretty cool pre-war brick buildings that have yet to be gut renovated and made into the tiny boxes enjoyed by the rest of the city. Cortelyou Road offers a few cool places to eat, as well as some cafes.

There are a lot of cool-looking old houses in Flatbush, but this neighborhood really feels like a working class Long Island suburb. The area is mostly filled with families - and it's a good place for them, as there isn't really a whole lot of nightlife. Some of the streets are very congested (like, say, Flatbush Avenue), but a lot of the residential streets don't have much traffic at all.

Anyone who moves to New York to experience the city as they see it on TV is not going to want to move here. Parts of this neighborhood are really rundown and the opposite of uplifting. On the other hand, the residential spots with the sprawling old houses have actual lawns - not something you see around this city all too often.

Nightlife is practically non-existent in Flatbush, and decent places to eat and grocery shop are few and far between. Not the place I'd pick to live my life.

Whenever I venture to Windsor Terrace (I live nextdoor in Park Slope) to get a little dry cleaning done, I have a nice time wandering around these established streets. I venture into used book shops and little groceries - it's not exactly a happening neighborhood, but it offers a certain coziness. It seems to me that most of the residents are retired, or at least old enough to retire, but there are some older twenty-somethings moving into the area as South Slope becomes louder and louder with all of its bar action.

I have heard that real estate can be sort of expensive in Windsor Terrace, but a friend of mine is moving there at the end of the month and will be paying a mere $700 for one bedroom in a three bedroom apartment. Not bad! But then again one also has to take in the fact that there isn't much to do here, and it's a hike into the nearest trendy neighborhood.

However, if you're not young and fabulous - that's another story. Since there seems to be so many retirees here, I'm going to assume that it's a great place for them. Whenever I visit I am struck by how little traffic is on the avenues, and by how quiet it always seems to be. Quiet and peaceful - rare adjectives to describe a Brooklyn neighborhood.

I don't get out to Red Hook as much as I would like - because it's not the most accessible neighborhood via public transportation. You really have to make a day out of any trip to this boondocks of a neighborhood - not that it isn't worth a visit. It is, it's just a pain to get around (unless of course for some reason you have a car in the city).

Red Hook was supposed to be the next Williamsburg - a haven for twenty-something hipsters to shop, eat and make art/music, as that's all the trendy set ever seems to do. And it sort of is - except that it never caught on as much down here as in Williamsburg and surrounding neighborhoods. Perhaps this is because Red Hook was never as affordable as Williamsburg once was (and Bushwick and Bed-Stuy still are, being crap neighborhoods to live in). Or perhaps it is because residents of Red Hook must take the hated G train to get anywhere (TERRIBLE transit!), or perhaps it's the housing projects that keep people away.

Red Hook is half industrial and half residential - I've looked at some very roomy and fairly priced spaces for rent here, and many have amazing views of the city skyline. And the neighborhood has its bright spots: the ballfields, IKEA, Fairway, and a ton of trendy boutique restaurants and cafes, like Baked, Sunny's Bar and Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pie. I'm not sure how many would agree that the city views, quaint residential streets (many of which are paved in shoddy brick) and parks would make up for the housing projects, industrial action (there are always huge trucks driving around these parts) and crap transportation. I suppose it's one of those neighborhoods where residents take the good with the bad.

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.

Greenpoint is a haven of authentic Polish food, and though it may not look like the trendiest shopping district, there are some pretty cool shops scattered around thanks to the influx of trendy residents who can't afford to live in Williamsburg anymore.

As far as Polish food is concerned, Lomzynianka comes to mind - as well as Krolewskie Jadlo. If you have a thing for stuffed cabbage, pierogies or kielbasa you can hardly skip a visit to Greenpoint, Brooklyn. There's also cool kid neighborhood staples like Enids, and though I've only been there to drink (they have a healthy bar atmosphere there), I hear the food is pretty good - and they serve a brunch that seems to be pretty popular. Generally the bars on Manhattan Ave stay flush with skinny hipster kid types, much like the neighboring Williamsburg bars.

Greenpoint can sort of be divided between the super-residential east side and the somewhat commercial west side (there are still plenty of residencies on this side, they just happen to be accompanied by restaurants and shopping options). Those that live on the east side have a pretty good walk to the L or the G trains, as well as to any of the action taking place on the other side of the neighborhood. If I had my pick of Greenpoint apartments, I think one one the more commercialized side of the neighborhood would make for a better living experience.

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.

Bay Ridge is one of those neighborhoods where many of the residents are from Brooklyn and have lived here there whole lives. Sure, many of their parents were newly integrated immigrants, but that only adds to the classic Brooklyn vibe emitted from Bay Ridge. There are so many true blue New Yorkers wandering around Bay Ridge it's hard not to feel like you've woken up in one of those gangster movies that throwback to the sixties and seventies.

If there's anything off-putting about this 'hood, it's that it's so far away from the action in Manhattan. You'll be on the M/R for a good 45 minutes before you get back into the city, but maybe that's why so many people DO move out here. (Or, maybe their families have just lived here for a few generations.) Anyway - I wouldn't want to wait that long to get home after a long day of shopping in the city, but that's just me.

Because there is a Century 21 store in Bay Ridge, a lot of people head down to this otherwise sort-of-obscure Brooklyn neighborhood. I have to admit that this store is the reason I'm familiar with the neighborhood in the first place. But, that aside, Bay Ridge doesn't seem like too shabby of a place to live: there shops in the form of pet supplies, hair care and just about anything you can think of in the area around 4th and 5th Aves. The residential buildings nearby are behind tree-lined streets, and they look nice enough. Bay Ridge is definitely an even-level middle class neighborhood, perhaps with some working class flavor.

Foodies know about it, but your everyday tourist might not have a sojourn to Sunset Park on the itinerary. But they should! Brooklyn natives and residents head to the virtual Chinatown here to eat at amazing dim sum places like Pacificana and Seafood Palace. Yes, Sunset Park is a bit out-of-the-way for a date night if you don't live in the surrounding area, but I think it's worth the trip on a number of levels.

Since the neighborhood is largely residential, it offers a sort of old school Brooklyn vibe, and it's really fun to just wander around. It's a completely different scene from the crowded streets and high rises of Manhattan, and therefore can offer some relief to a chronically rushed city dweller. Granted, Sunset Park isn't as fancy and exciting a place as neighboring Park Slope - but I wouldn't mind living here. It's a bit of a trip into the city - maybe a 20 minute train ride to Union Square - as well as a bit lacking in nightlife, though. Perhaps it's a neighborhood best left to families and retirees. And foodies.

I'm a little surprised that Carroll Gardens has come out atop the list of all Brooklyn 'hoods, but that's not to say that it isn't a quaint little place deserving of some praise and perhaps some tourist action. The residential streets in Carroll Gardens tend to be both quiet and safe, and if you want to walk around here late at night with your headphones cranked you are unlikely to have any problems.

Walking around Carroll Gardens, it's likely to strike you just how many homes have driveways - and it is a good place to have a car, as the only trains that stop down here are the F and the G. The latter is notorious for not arriving on time, and those poor residents in the north side of Brooklyn (who are forced to take the G) do nothing but complain about it.

A friend of mine who lives in this neighborhood - and reportedly landed a sweet deal on a studio apartment; they're not easy to come by here - says that the area is safe because there are still some Italian mob dudes hanging around. I'm not sure how true this holds, but for whatever reason, there isn't much to fear in Carroll Gardens as far as public safety goes.

The neighborhood is surely being infiltrated by the surrounding trendy spots in Boreum and Cobble Hills. These areas are loaded with good places to eat and expensive places to buy women's wear, and as the real estate fills up in the Hills, these kinds of retail outlets are popping up in Carroll Gardens more and more.

The Grocery and Buttermilk Channel are two neighborhood restaurants that continue to please, and that continue to turn up in trend-setting mags and online foodie forums alike. There is also a good deal of nightlife that can be taken advantage of - bars like Prime Meats and Zombie Hut attract young South Slope residents who aren't scared to take the G train late at night (or call a car, which will get you there much faster).

Just like any outer borough - or even like Manhattan itself - Brooklyn has its bright spots (Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Williamsburg), and it also is home to neighborhoods that no one should have to reside in (Brownsville, East New York). But it was once its own city, and walking around Brooklyn today that much is still apparent; Brooklyn remains very much a unique flavor, and each neighborhood is a variation on that flavor.

Sure, there are more middle class, non-trendy neighborhoods than anything else - but those have a vibe that can't be matched by Manhattan neighborhoods, and you can usually bet that there is a family-owned pizzeria nearby that serves up a mean slice. There are some unexpected niches in some of these middle class neighborhoods as well, like the virtual Chinatown in Sunset Park, where you can get fabulous dim sum at places like Pacificana.

Nicer, more expensive places to live - like Boreum Hill/Cobble Hill and Park Slope - are truly beautiful with their brownstones, numerous cafes and shops, and their leafy green streets. There is a certain moneyed air about neighborhoods like these - it's almost like being in a shorter version of the Upper East Side in Manhattan, but with much younger neighborhoods.

Then of course there are the neighborhoods into which the trendster set has spilled - the hipster neighborhood of Williamsburg. The rents have shot up in Williamsburg in the past few years, so poorer twenty-somethings who want to be close to the action have had to move into Greenpoint and Bushwick, the latter of which is certainly the more affordable - if not the safest - choice. Williamsburg does have some cool bars and some really awesome shopping holes, but overall it's not a beautiful as Park Slope - and McCarren Park is no match for Prospect Park, by far Brooklyn's most awesome park.

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.

A cabbie once told me that many drivers consider Hamilton Ave to be an offshoot of 3rd Ave (which it kind of is), or even as being the same street. Hamilton Ave is kind of horrible - it's right beneath the BQE (which for some reason is constantly dripping with disgustingly dirty water) and the street seems very dirty and very industrial. I do believe there are a few storefronts with apartments over them, but I can only feel very sorry for whoever lives in them.

Hamilton Ave is more of a necessary evil than anything - if you want to get to the BQE from South Slope, this is where you do it, and if you want to head to IKEA this is the route you take. It's a three lane highway built mostly for reasons of easing traffic flow, and that's the kind of thing that drivers have to appreciate. But Hamilton Ave isn't good for much else! And if you do drive your car on this road when the interstate happens to be raining that gross water, be prepared to have to wash your car - I'm not exaggerating in the least.

A friend of mine had to rinse a layer of black filth from her windshield after driving under the BQE "rain"!

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.

There is actually a pretty good reason as to why someone would drive out of their way to visit Columbia Street in particular: and that is that the actual street extends pretty far out on one of the docks and into the Gowanus Bay. This is a highly commercial area, so don't expect pretty beachs - quite the opposite, really. This docking area is a place where big commercial shipping boats like to dock, and it at least makes for an interesting view of the Statue of Liberty.

Traveling north on this street, mostly what you'll find are the rowhouse residencies of the locals. This street is populated by a pretty young crowd - it seems like a lot of young couples move in here, but there is a definite hipster vibe to the place. As the neighborhood continues to get cooler, little shops and restaurants are continuing to move in, and rents continue to rise - even if there is still no decent method of public transport in all of Red Hook.

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.

Perhaps because of its proximity to Atlantic Ave, there are a lot of stops for your highly specific shopper to be found on Bergen Street. One is Bergen Street Comics - a little comic shop where the staff is very friendly and helpful (if you, like me, aren't exactly a huge comic buff and need a little help navigating), and another is the infamous female-friendly sex shop, Babeland (they also have a location in the Lower East Side), where you can pick up all of the things you are imagining right now.

I am a big fan of the Bergen Street of Prospect Heights and, more especially, of Boreum Hill. In the latter neighborhood this street is a residential one close to the shopping districts of Atlantic Ave, Court Street and Smith Street - which are lined with shoe and clothing shops, boutique restaurants and a general browser's delight.

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.

For the most part, 22nd is a residential string of blocks stretching from the commercial area around 3rd Ave to the old school cemetery that stop the street at 7th Ave. The street makes for a fun bike ride westward from 7th Ave - you'll find yourself speeding down a decent sized hill. Greenwood Cemetery reaches even greater heights; if there weren't so many obstacles in the form of headstones the grassy knoll would make for perfect sledding grounds come wintertime.

The row houses here aren't as lovely as the ones a few blocks north in Park Slope (residents of this street live in the neighborhood of Greenwood Heights, or what the younger locals have taken to calling "South Slope"), with one exception on the southeast corner of 4th Ave. The house located there resembles a miniature castle and looks a bit out of place among the redbrick houses and those with aluminum siding.

This area is completely safe - I have lived here recently and never encountered anyone that wasn't friendly, and I've never worried for my safety. Not only that, but there are tons of little bars and restaurants nearby, and there are some really hot spots within walking distance, just blocks away in Park Slope. This makes it a prime location for young single people, but there are also a lot of young families moving into the area, as this is one of the nicer neighborhoods where budding careerist can afford to buy property.

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.

There is nothing - nothing! - to do here, but in my humble opinion the neighborhood is a sight to see. After all, it's a 0.279 square mile section of New York City - a strange thing if there ever was one. Okay, the area is stocked with dowdy-looking rental buildings which are mostly rentals rather than a place a budding family can purchase for their own, but it is an interesting enclave of the city in that it is a tiny island that almost doesn't seem fit for habitation, and yet it is incredibly stocked with New York City lives.

On the plus side for residents, there is a lack of hustle and bustle in the area - at least compared to neighboring Midtown East.

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.

No self respecting New Yorker could ever admit to enjoying Midtown, of course, but Murray Hill isn't the Midtown that tourists flock to - rather, it's a more low key version of the neighborhood. That's not to say that it isn't noisy and crowded, it's just less crowded and noisy than the area directly west of it. Residents complain of noise and traffic often, apparently, even if it does get worse elsewhere in Midtown.

If you're browsing the real estate market for a surprisingly affordable (for a New York City brownstone, anyway) brownstone, there are plenty to be had in this area - this is an area that would make a great permanent residence for established families, but as a young person who enjoys New York City nightlife I wouldn't even consider moving to this area. The area noticeably lacks trendy bars and whatnot, and therefore isn't a hot spot of the singles circuit.

The neighborhood is an appealing one for families, however, as there are plenty of high quality medical facilities as well as good schools in the area. Its proximity to the Long Island Expressway and the FDR Drive make it an easy neighborhood for drivers to access - which is good for residents in that they can easily return to their own neighborhood, but also bad for them in that traffic flows endlessly through the area.

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.

There currently isn't much up in Manhattan Valley that your everyday tourist would be interested in seeing - architecture buffs may be curious to take a peek at the former New York Cancer Hospital, established in 1887 and really a sort of spectacular edifice. Tourists beware, however, that this isn't exactly New York's most pleasant and welcoming neighborhood. Granted, it has undergone quite a bit of gentrification in recent years, but really what Manhattan neighborhood hasn't as rents continue to rise and your average Joe finds it more and more difficult to be able to afford NYC real estate?

Formerly known as the Bloomingdale district, this neighborhood on the upper west side has gone from being a rather unfortunate place to live to one that hosts its own Whole Foods Market - usually a grand sign that things are looking up. Things are still somewhat in-between overall, however, and you will still hear things about the neighborhood's drug culture even as it becomes increasingly safer in general.

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).

The Lower East Side has become more of an extension of Soho than anything else - every inch has been overtaken by something that hopes to offer trendiness, be it in the form of food, clothing, or bar-slash-music-venue. These days I hear it's still okay for hipsters to maintain their image by sneaking into the LES only on weekdays, as weekends draw in something other than a hipster crowd. (Though I am not convinced that hipsters leave Williamsburg all that often.)

Anyway, this neighborhood has seen a lot of turnover in the last five years in terms of shops and especially in terms of restaurants. The young hipsters who could barely afford to live here in 2005 have since been driven across the Williamsburg bridge, however, and it seems like the yuppies are increasingly moving in. Either that or the hipsters that staked out the place when it was still predominately a Hispanic neighborhood are just aging?

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.