It depends on what you are used to where you are from, but compared to other places would you say New York is inexpensive or very costly to live in?

We're interested in knowing what areas are good for young people who are interested in nightlife, as well as areas that are good for families and so are a bit quieter.

Either because they're unsafe at night, or because they're really not nice places to live!

Whether they're outdoors or indoors, we want to know what popular activities exist for when people have spare time.

Every place has different customs, so there must be some local customs which turn people's heads. The more we know about them the better prepared we can be!

Both direct and indirect (through local agents) rentals.

How do I go about organising a visa or sponsorship?

Are we talking craiglist here, or are there other more specific sites that should be checked out to find rental accommodation (shared or otherwise)?

In every big city it can seem like no one cares about each other because there are simply 'too many' people around to pay attention to individuals. Is this any different in New York?