NEW YORK CITY = FIVE BOROUGHS

NEW YORK CITY is a massive pile of people from all over the world. The "City" is actually a set of five "boroughs" separated by rivers, bays and other  borders.  Each borough, while tethered to "Manhattan" has it's own neighborhoods and flavors. 

MANHATTAN

This is the center. When people visit New York City, this is what they mean. It is the most densely populated of New York City’s 5 boroughs. It's mostly made up of Manhattan Island, bounded by the Hudson, East and Harlem rivers. It's 22.7 square miles in total area, 13.4 miles long and 2.3 miles wide at it's widest point (at 14th street).  Among the world’s major commercial, financial and cultural centers, it’s the heart of “the Big Apple.”  The map shows how it is divided into it's various "neighborhoods".  Once you get north of downtown, the streets are numbered and run east and west, the Avenues run north and south- with Broadway basically running down the center of the island.  So knowing this you can never walk more than block in the wrong direction.  Central Park is in the middle of it all.  You can find out more about various neighborhoods in the "Finding An Apartment" and the "Culture! Culture! Culture! Things To Do And See" sections of this blog, or  you can go to:  http://www.nycgo.com/manhattan

BROOKLYN

Now in the height of it's Renaissance, Brooklyn is the most populous of the five boroughs. As prices for rents skyrocketed out of range in Manhattan in the late 90's, Brooklyn became the first viable option for artists and creative types to move to. Soon sleepy little neighborhoods quickly became fun artsy enclaves and restaurants, galleries, shops and hotels soon followed. Now many of the upper scale neighborhoods have been fully gentrified, and prices are comparable to Manhattan. But there are still neighborhoods to find there. Look at the where to live section of the blog for more info.  Brooklyn's big nature area is Prospect Park and the neighborhoods around the park have become family friendly, so lots of kids and babies are always around. 
For things to do/see in Brooklyn: http://www.nycgo.com/articles/neighborhoods-brooklyn

QUEENS

Queens is the easternmost and largest in area of the boroughs.  It is geographically adjacent to Brooklyn at the western end of Long Island. Your major airports (JFK, LaGuardia) are here. The Mets play in Queens. The U.S. Open Tennis Tournament is held here. It has urban areas and suburban areas. Culturally diverse, Queens is the second most-populated borough with 2.3 million inhabitants. 

For more to do and see in Queens: http://www.nycgo.com/queens

THE BRONX

Of the five boroughs, the Bronx ("br-ah-nks") is the only one on the U.S. mainland and, with a land area of 42 square miles and a population of just over 1.4 millions. It sits just below Westchester County and is connected to Manhattan by bridges and tunnels the traverse the narrow Harlem River. This is where Yankee Stadium sits, the New York Botanical Gardens and of course the famous Bronx Zoo. The Bronx is economically diverse with some of the most upscale neighborhoods and most impoverished areas of New York City. For things to do/see in The Bronx:  http://www.nycgo.com/the-bronx

STATEN ISLAND

"The forgotten borough," Staten Island sits at the Southwest of Manhattan across the East Bay at the southern most point of the state of New York. It connects to Manhattan via the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, its North Shore is the most populated area of the borough and it's St. George Historic District has many large Victorian homes. It is a largely residential borough with a great view of the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan's skyline, accessible via the famous Staten Island Ferry. For more to do/see in Staten Island: http://www.nycgo.com/staten-island

AND YO! DON'T FORGET ABOUT NEW JERSEY!

Across the Hudson River paralleling the west side of Manhattan, lie the low cliffs of New Jersey.  Connected to Manhattan by the George Washington Bridge at the North end and the Holland Tunnel downtown, New Jersey's cities that look out onto Manhattan have become a sort of "6th borough." Recent residential and commercial developments in the cities of Hoboken and Jersey City, have made them acceptable, more affordable alternatives to living in the City. For more information on New Jersey: http://www.hobokennj.org  http://www.jerseycitynj.gov