The guide to everything fun and affordable in New York City (with a few exceptions to splurge) that is easy-to-scan so you can quickly find where to go and what to do in each neighborhood of Manhattan you are in.
If you did a search, you would likely discover that in New York City alone there are over 24,000 restaurants, over 10,000 bars, over 3,500 coffee shops. So with that many choices, things have to be simplified.
This guide was made to distill, compress & break down each neighborhood to places that you can enjoy in the everyday New York City of 2020. And not swamp you with a zillion options to sift through and have to research again. An easy-to-scan guide  that allows you to survey the area quickly to find well considered and affordable choices without hassle.
In the 2020 edition
- covers
only the neighborhoods of Manhattan
starting from the Upper West Side & Upper East Side  all the way down to Wall Street. Rather than turning this into a phonebook-sized guide for the greater New York metropolitan area,  it was easier to focus on the parts that most people visit or use everyday and that's usually Manhattan (although Brooklyn, Queens, Harlem, Bronx & Staten Island are not covered here, they deserve their own book someday!)
All location-based on neighborhood -
Much thought was put into how you could quickly scan the best of what each neighborhood has to offer in few minutes with concise, short descriptions of each place that are on point. For example if you are in the East Village, all that's fun & affordable plus some fancy stuff that's worthwhile will be listed - coffee shops, tea places, eats, drinks & bars, fun stuff, outdoor spaces, Manhattan views and attractions will be offered in an easy-to-read way.
Midtown in New York is so big that we broke it down to its 6 respective parts
- each area of Midtown is treated like it's own neighborhood with its own offerings to list- (1) Midtown-57th St (2) Midtown East & 5th Ave (3) Midtown - Grand Central & 42nd St (4) Midtown-Times Square (5) Midtown West - Hudson Yards (6) Midtown -34th St Garment District
About what's listed:
Coffee Shops
- highly focused on the best coffee shops we could find in each area not named
Starbucks.
Nothing against Starbucks, they are a solid coffee option and listed when notable but they tend to be easy to find in NY. We wanted to offer more choices that define the character of each neighborhood. And try to note their situation with seating, Wifi and bathrooms when needed. Those factors can be important when looking for coffee shops in a crowded city and you need that space to relax or do work in.
Tea Places
- where to go for the growing tea culture in NYC. It's not usual to do this but there were so many interesting, small businesses offering tea as a focus, it can only add to everybody's enjoyment to track and list these places in their own category.
Eats
-  eats, snack places, food halls, bakeries & restaurants were vetted and researched to try be on point with what each neighborhood has to offer, along with everyday places that are just solid and reliable. To find affordable options as well as highly-rated and well regarded ones. Cheap, affordable and splurge places are listed ($, $$, $$$)
Drinks & Bars
- Bars are everywhere in New York but we focused in on the best, most solid and fun options for each neighborhood - whether it be dive bars, urban bars, gastropubs, arcade bars, pool bars, beer halls or rooftop bars. A lot of bars in the city have exceptional food and we point that when we see it.
And more
- Fun Stuff, Manhattan Views, Indoor & Outdoor Public Spaces, City Parks and Attractions