Ok guys, as a New Yorker for most of my life, through good game and bad, I can attest to 100% of the stuff said here as true, the good and the bad.
First off - let's clear the air about these Meatpacking district supposedly "Model Infested" and impossible to get into clubs - most of these "Models" are actually college students (Many with Model Mayhem profiles filled out with the help of hustler photographers). Who else can go out on a Sunday, Monday, Wednesday night when the party gets "hot" only at midnight? They are mostly girls from the city's fashion schools, such as FIT and LIM, that basically have the lightest course work known to man. I'm friends with this chick that went to LIM and when we were pre-gaming in her dorm she was talking about how she "worked super hard for days" on this project. The project was essentially a "glue stuff on a poster" presentation that usually stops around 7th grade. I'm not saying that these girls aren't super hot, they are, but super super dumb, and that comes into play a bit later.
Most of this fairly underage nightlife is centered around these clubs (The frat scene is practically non existent in NYC schools, so for many girls - this is their only underage drinking option). Now - these clubs don't have many dudes in them - to get in you usually need to either spend lots of money or bring a bunch of girls with you, even if you know a promoter. And these girls get lots of attention anywhere else they go, but its impossible to compete for the super alphas that supposedly run shit at these places.
Now - lets flip the switch - just as 90% of the models are college students - 90% of the males in these "top" locations aren't ballers - but are simply involved in nightlife in some fashion - promoters, photographers, etc. These guys are enjoying a treasure trove of pussy simply with the sheer ratio in their favor, but these are not exactly the super stable "life provider" boyfriends that these chicks hope for. NYC is set up as a heaven for an established "30k millionaire".
Why? Because in NYC - to be rich and successful, and I'm talking big money successful like a finance guy or lawyer, you CANNOT afford to go out Sunday night at midnight, or Wednesday night at midnight, because your ass is in the office at the asscrack of dawn and stay there for a century. Say what you want about finance professionals - but they put in crazy office hours. And chicks wonder why they can't meet professional men at these things, silly broads.
Now - after college things get really interesting. The women from these hack schools get funneled into the fashion business and they have to work HARD. There is this thing called "fashion merchandising", I don't know exactly what it is, but 10 or 12 hour days are actually quite common, and the business end of fashion is incredibly demanding. It's a lot like finance, but with way less pay.
This is where the slope gradually begins.
The women in NYC know that the "wage gap" is bullshit, and that to make it in this city you gotta put in your hours. But when all you do is work and sleep, guess what goes first - that's right - upkeep. Weight is gained, skin gets messed up as stress and overdrinking sets in, and these girls, who were once the apple in the eye of so many men, begin slipping.
This tends to happen incredibly fast. I guess this is where the "DC-ishness" begins to set in.
The unfortunate part is that right when these women begin to decline - that's when they discover where all the good men with good jobs are - in the regular ass bars, drinking some cheap pretentious-free beers with their friends. But for many its too late. Some girls go to these bars while they're still pretty, and that's how places like Dorrians and Brother Jimmy's on the Upper East Side become popular.
Here's a little sample of the fashion school chicks meet finance culture here -
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/fashion/09fmeetf.html - the quotes from there are worth their weight in gold.
Ok.... lets take a break from the depressing stuff lol
What else - there are LOTS of niches and social circle stuff in this city. Just being nice to people pays dividends, and you're often invited out to parties with people that usually dont go out to bars and clubs. Just recently I went to a apartment party where most of the attendees were getting doctorates in biology. There is a large amount of girls that arent crazy social climbing whores, but you really gotta dig for them, and fight off some haters in the process, since a lot of these girls are shielded by their social circle to the max.
People are really into their nationalities here. I know some people who, for example are spanish and most of their social circle is Spanish, or at least some kind of european, and they consider Americans "dirty", although they live and work here.
It's impossible to keep up with all the variations of nightlife - the bars, the clubs, the ethnicities. For example, I went to a party in Washington Heights - and noticed this GIGANTIC line outside, with plenty of limos, people dressed to the 9s, everything - and it was a reggaeton concert, something that a white boy like me isnt ingrained in.
Now - the nightlife is so varied that its hard not to find a place that you wont like. There is a bar in brooklyn that has its walls lined with old video game arcade machines - and hipster chicks love it. there are bars frequented by college students, and bars swarmed with alumni of particular colleges. Here is where a lot of people fuck up in NYC - they try to get into the scenes that they really don't want to be in just because it seems cool. for example, i knew a guy that would most definitely be able to get hot chicks in that brooklyn arcade bar - but he damn near killed himself trying to get into the 30k millionaire meatpacking crowd.
what else - internet dating i HUGE here. people know that they are stuck in their social circles and want to get out. But this, in typical NYC fashion, comes with its own set of oddities. it's really an 80/20 thing here, because as we all know, girls egos grow exponentially online, so she immediately comes up with a 600 point checklist for men and mercilessly reject them. I was hanging out with my sister watching her friend drink wine and make fun of guys that send her messages on match.com. I was thinking to myself "damn bitch, chill out, you're 30". However, if you have your shit reasonably together and have a good profile - the pickings here are pretty damn good. I would highly recommend a OKCupid account for anyone in NYC. ((speaking of OKC, i think i found GMac's profile, and DAMN, you look a lot better than your competition and have a waaay sexier profile, no homo. But for real, you stand out in that endless pile of chub)).
Anyway - the key to NYC is to always explore. Explore the neighborhoods and explore yourself, and try to live by whatever standards make you happy. If you don't - you will immediately find yourself feeling absolutely fucking terrible.
I recently broke up with my girlfriend and to be honest, I was upset. Many of my nightlife connections soured and I really didn't know where to re-start again. I even made a post about it on this forum, I was really lost. I made a BIG mistake by going out with a friend of mine to what ended up being a guido club. I am not a guido, and i am not appealing in the guido sense of the word. I got rejected ALL night and felt like pure shit. However, just a few days later - i went to a place i liked, had some drinks and truly didn't give a shit - got a chick with my unborn children on her face by the end of the night.
Damn.. that was a long and unstructured rant