Squeezed between Little Italy, Chinatown, and Greenwich, SoHo (South of Houston Street) is another distinct area of New York. The area is also renowned for its architecture. Iron-clad buildings line the streets, emergency stairs hanging out of the houses. What once were industrial buildings were gentrified and turned into loft spaces with many art galleries and boutiques. SoHo is constantly changing. SoHo is also easy to cover. You just walk the length of its blocks between Houston and Broome, turning the corner and seeing what's coming next.

Walking in SoHo is, to me, the best quality of the area. SoHo is so 'city' yet so devoid of the ills of a major city. This includes homeless people, sidewalk vendors, trash on the street and even cars. For some strange reason, people never bother to drive down the streets of SoHo.

Everyone walking with you, appears to either work as a model or as an art student, and the area isn't crowded. Window shopping and sitting on the clean benches to take a nibble is uninterrupted by fears of being mugged. If I were ever forced to live in New York City, I would pick SoHo!

The streets are, however, always cast in shadow and there are really no trees. Anyone from the country may feel a bit claustrophobic yet be awed by the architectural detail of the buildings. Most are actually maintained and complete with window boxes or, if a store, a pretty renaissance looking banner. It appears the district does not allow for normal business signs to be attached to the buildings, so downword hanging banners with the name of the store is quite in vogue. So put on a pair of really good walking shoes, grab the arm of a friend (SoHo is better in pairs) and walk to your heart's delight.