New York Nightlife and Changing Directions

The nightlife is a big part of the New York culture, there's no reason if you are able, willing, and have no children to keep you in the room at night that you are your date for your New York City vacation can't get out and hit the town while checking out some of the wonders of New York nights.

The problem is that there is no one size fits all when it comes to nightclubs, bars, and lounges. Each of these is well represented in almost any New York neighborhood and it really is up to each individual to find the bar or club that works best for them. The best recommendation I can give anyone is to check out the acts that are headlining and find an act that you think will suit your style and tastes.

If you're in the mood for laughter, then a comedy club might be the best for you. If you're looking for a nice quiet place where you and your date or mate can converse quietly and contemplate life and love then a piano or jazz lounge might be the best option for you. Trying to suggest a bar in New York is almost as difficult as trying to recommend one on Bourbon Street, they are all somewhat alike and yet they are all very different. The trick is in finding the one that suits you best.

Now, if you want to get terribly sloshed and have a rousing good time, then I will suggest a karaoke bar. What could be better than an off key sing-along to bad eighties music? Not much, but laughing at someone else for doing it is much better than getting up there and doing it yourself. There is so much potential for fun to be had and only you are the one that can decide if you would even consider enjoying certain moments. We all have music we prefer, crowds we prefer, and more importantly music and crowds we'd rather avoid.

The good news is that within New York City there are bars that represent almost any musical tastes in history, and then a few more. Chances are that there's a bar somewhere that offers the kind of music you prefer or are in the mood for tonight. Some of these bars will have live bands or one man/woman shows and some will have DJs spinning tunes till last call or the sun comes up. There's Jazz, Hip Hop, The best and worst of the 80's, the 90's, alternative, country, techno, pop, smooth jazz, R&B, Manilow and Streisand, the 70's, Classic Rock, and so many more my head spins trying to think of them all. Somewhere in the mix there has to be something that works for you, or perhaps silence or simple piano ballads are the way to go.

Whatever your music and whatever your mood there is a bar or a club in New York that has something that will speak to you. And if you are in a particularly dark mood, they have clubs for that too. Many of us use our vacation time to explore other aspects of our nature, if you are interested in trying out new music or a new crowd; New York City is a big anonymous city in which to try new things. Just don't have so much fun that you decide to stay.

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Planning your NYC Vacation Makes all the Difference

Whether you realize it or not, planning is the key to any successful vacation. You do not have to be a vacation tyrant that makes your family dread vacations and the boot camp they entail but by having some sort of plan of action for each day of your vacation you can much better stick to a budget as well as assuring you will get the rest and relaxation that is so very important to the renewal of mind and body before returning to work.

Vacations do not have to cost a vast fortune, even vacations in cities that are

known for being expensive such as New York City. Most people fail to realize that people of all economic backgrounds live in these cities as well and there are some forms of entertainment that offer a little something for everyone and many of these are free. If you plan carefully you can have two or three activities that are low or no cost in one area of the city each day followed by a restful hour or two in your room during the afternoon and a very nice event for each evening. This gives you budget control, down time each day for you and your kids and (if planned right) activities in one general area each day rather than spending a lot of time and money on transportation.

Most cities have city guides that can be found easily online. New York City is no different. In fact there are several city guides. It would be a good idea to find out the activities you can do for little or no cost, choose several of those activities that interest you or may interest other members of your family and see where they are all located in reference to each other. Try to bunch the several that are geographically central to each other for one day's activities and doing the same for subsequent days.

Keep in mind that you aren't marrying the plan and shouldn't overlook things you happen upon that may not have been in the guide or may not have seemed as appealing in the guide as they do in person. Some of the best trips we'll ever make in life are detours. Not only that, but if you allowed yourself the cushion of time each day I recommended earlier you have the option of adjusting your schedule slightly and enjoying less rest or skipping one of the less appealing items on your itinerary in favor of this new attraction you found.

Vacations are meant to be fun for the entire family. We often forget that and make plans without getting the input of the family. If you do not allow for open dialog and at least get some input from all family members no one is going to enjoy the vacation. The kids are going to be fussy and irritated, the spouse is going to feel neglected and overlooked, and you are going to feel that no one is sticking to the plan. This is why getting everyone to look over the plan, sign off on the plan, and to compromise is by far the best way to go about things. This way everyone has input, everyone gets something that is important to them out of the vacation experience, and there are no major surprises or upsets involved. Everyone knows what to expect along the way.

It is better by far when you can build happy vacation memories rather than of hours spend in the hot sun with cranky children who feel as though no one is taking their input seriously or spending a day with cranky spouses in desperate need of some downtime themselves. So plan for these times as well as the activities (particularly the more costly activities) in which you will participate. No ahead of time where the bulk of your money will be spent and make it clear that there is only so much money to be spent. Many people don't keep close enough track of vacation spending and find they've spent far more than they anticipated.

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New York City of Diversity

If you've never been to New York City, you may be surprised to know that there is so much more to this great city than skyscrapers, lots of people, and really fantastic parades. While it is in fact the wonderful people of this city that make it the exciting place to visit that it has become, there is so much more to this city than what you'll see on the television shows and in the news.

New York City is a city full of exciting people from all kinds of backgrounds with

all kinds of hopes and dreams of the future and experiences of the past. You will find artwork here like few other places in the world, you will see more nature here than in most big cities around the world, and you will enjoy seeing more cultures and nationalities represented in the space of an hour in this city than most people who live elsewhere experience in their entire lives. New York City is the true melting pot of the world and the rest of America is simply trying to catch up.

You will find music and art that is representative of the many cultures that call this grand city home. You will experience the sights, sounds, and scents of worlds that are exotic and foreign simply by walking down neighborhood streets where people are cooking dinner at night. You will hear more languages in one day than you probably ever dreamed imagine and while you may stand around with sensory overload thinking anyone would be crazy to live like this, most of them are looking at you thinking you'd be crazy to live anywhere else.

This is perhaps the greatest thing about visiting New York City. You get to experience for a moment the excitement that comes from living in this fascinating city. You get to understand what it is like for those living there. And you get to understand first hand what it is like to be alone in a city of millions and yet by being there, being one of them, belonging somehow to this giant community of strangers from different cultures, different pasts, and different futures.

Most people visit New York with certain preconceived ideas and certain goals for their visits. Hopefully the preconceived ideas will all be challenged and the plans that you have made are flexible. There is so much to do and see that you could go one block each way from your hotel and probably notice something new each and every single time you went by. My point in this is that you need to leave time to experience the wonderful things you won't discover in the guidebooks. There is only so much of this city that any one person could possibly find to write about. I can imagine that there are New Yorkers that could eat in a different restaurant each and every day without eating in the same one twice in five or ten years. I find it hard to believe that a guide book is going to be able to hold everything you might find interesting in this city and if you spend your entire visit with your head in the book you might miss something truly worthwhile.

That being said, it is a good idea to make plans according to your budget and the things you wish to see, I'm just urging you to leave room in that schedule for change. The Statue of Liberty is great, but it takes a while to get there and back. Could it be that you take some photos, buy some post cards and do two or three other activities that you could have enjoyed in the space of time it takes to get there and back? Plans are made to change whenever possible-especially while on vacation. I seriously recommend that you reserve two hours minimum each day to do something that you discovered rather than something you planned.

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The Blessings Of Vacations

There are so many wonderful things to do and see in New York City. It's hard to imagine that in a lifetime someone could possibly manage to get to them all. The problem is that many of them sound like so much fun it's hard to choose between the men and select the few. The best solution for me is to stick with things that can't be done at home. Playing in parks for the most part can be done at home. While none of our parks compare to the many available here, it can still be done at home without traveling thousands of miles in order to do so.

The same can be said for watching movies, fishing, hiking, riding bikes, and roller-blading. While getting exercise is great, there will be plenty of walking while in

New York and I can actually roller blade when I get home, right? But if you like doing those things, why on earth would you deprive yourself of doing them simply because the locale has changed? If anything you will have a new shot of scenery to enjoy, new sights and sounds, and perhaps you can get your family, up, out, and active right along with you.

In addition to the physical activities there are so many wonderful shows that can be seen on and off Broadway, there are also some wonderful opportunities to dance yourself as well as to watch others dancing. You can make music and listen to the beautiful sounds that others have made. You also have the wonderful and unique ability to choose from so many bookstore and antique shops. There are literally thousands of things you can choose to do and see within the course of a day in New York City, many of them free and some of them are actually freeing.

It is so important that we remember when vacationing what the actual purpose of a vacation is-to renew ourselves in our commitments to our families, our mates, and our work. In doing this we are supposed to come back refreshed and renewed ready to face the challenges that await us. Find something freeing to do while on vacation. Let your hair down and enjoy the ability to dance without worrying about who might see. Sing karaoke in a tavern, act silly with your kids and go walking barefoot on the beach with flowers in your hair. Remember what it was like to be young and have fun for the sake of having fun and most importantly, remember how to smile.

Your New York Vacation should remind you, if nothing else how fleeting life is. The skyline of this great city has forever been changed and that is something we can never forget, it is not something we need to dwell on, but it is something that should really make us think when we remember it. We should seize each moment with our friends and families for the opportunity it is to not only be blessed but also to be a blessing in return.

Use your vacation as an opportunity to read to your children, sing to your mate, hold hands in the rain, and fall in love with each other all over again. Be romantic and sweet and hold the door open for him. Be silly and make up rhyming songs and tell your children often just how much you are enjoying playing with them and remember all of these things when you return home. That is when you will find that you are truly blessed.

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