In this section, I will selflessly share my "finds" with you -- ones that have taken me sixteen years of living in NYC to discover! Expensive and fancy is fun once in a while, but not always, so for everyday use, I've complied lists of places mostly on the inexpensive side, which are also of good quality. (Quality is very important to me -- I'm not just after "cheap.") Affordable quality in NYC is all around, but often it's hidden amongst an overwhelming amount of mediocrity and junk. I'll narrow those choices, so you might not feel as overwhelmed by our big city, if you're new to it!

My lists include exact streets and avenues of the places I've pointed out, as well as subway directions to the destination. Attention out-of-towners: For other places you want to visit, I've included a NYC Street Finder (a system to figure out which street a specific building is located on).

Before I start with my NYC Insider's Guide, I'd like to share a few assorted tips:

- Women: Never use a pocketbook with just a snap -- always use one with a zipper, and keep the zipper zipped at all times. I learned this important lesson the hard way: my wallet was stolen out of a bag that had only a snap-closure. If I'd had a zipped bag, it wouldn't have happened.

- Taxicabs are expensive, so try using buses or the subway instead. But if you do ride in a cab (even though it sounds corny), wear your seat belt! (Cabbies don't get their reputation for being wild drivers for nothing!) Although I've never been in an accident while riding in a cab, three of my friends have.

- When you're waiting for a subway train in the hot summer months and a train pulls in, look for a car with all of its windows up -- this means the car has air conditioning. If the windows are open, the car probably doesn't have AC. It'll feel like it's over 100 degrees in there, while the car next to it with AC is cool and comfortable.

- When walking, try to walk on the side of the avenue that's not alongside the bus lane. This side has less people crowding it, and also, you won't have to breathe the smelly exhaust spewed out from the many busses that pass by. (When walking downtown, this would be the right side of the avenue; for uptown, the left side of the avenue.)

- Annoying new (as of January '03) "10-Digit Dialing": For all calls within NYC, we now have to dial "1-212" before the number, like we would if it was a long distance call, even though it's local. So remember to dial that "212," or your call won't go through!