New York

Bushwick used to be synonymous with crime and urban blight but nowadays, there's not too much anxiety on a late-night walk home. This neighborhood has been on the rise since rent in Williamsburg started sky-rocketing, and Bushwick's close location and low-rent lured over students and artists into what used to be - - and, in many pockets, continues be - - a family-oriented, predominantly Latino community.

Get ready for a lot of grey - - much of what's considered "residential" to the Williamsburg expats of Bushwick's artist community are warehouses and factories renovated into loft spaces. But Bushwick isn't completely color-starved. Commissioned murals like the one on the corner of Central and Myrtle break up the monotony of uneven sidewalks and just-functional architecture. Get up onto any rooftop to appreciate a skyline that can move even the most jaded local. Bits of nature like Maria Hernandez Park also provide residents with some much-needed green (no, not that kind). A fair warning for any over-nighters: come armed with clean sheets. The city-wide resurgence of bedbugs has hit Bushwick particularly hard.

As a residential neighborhood, Bushwick is fully functional. Youngsters out past bedtime might not be able to get their midnight skinny latte (sorry, yuppies: no Starbucks for miles), but the main thoroughfares - - Wilson Avenue, Central Avenue, Knickerbocker Avenue, and Broadway - - provide every service imaginable. Ninety-nine cent stores compete with music stores, pawn shops, and laundromats. ("The best" of any of these businesses is usually determined by how long it takes to walk there.) Sick of those con men across the river who charge $80 for a trim, not including tip? In Bushwick, a cut from a unisex hair salon for around $10 to $20 is never more than three steps away.

Bushwick shows its family roots in the mind-boggling number of churches of all different denominations scattered throughout the neighborhood, many merely humble storefronts among the milieu of bodegas and take-out Chinese. For a historic parish, visit St. Barbara's for beautiful, if out-of-place, architecture and a thriving religious community. But residents, beware the bells: they have a tendency to interrupt a hungover Sunday morning sleep.

Folks who want to bring a piece of their faith home can visit any number of the botanicas selling articulos religosos around the area, such as Botanica Sauteria and Magic, stocked with candles, incense, and saint-themed aerosol sprays (really!). Besides, no Bushwick home is complete without at least one glass candle-holder depicting a Catholic saint.

Nobody will ever go hungry in Bushwick - - the neighborhood is cluttered with chain stores of Kennedy Fried Chicken and other knock-offs of this knock-off franchise (notice the acronym?). Cheap gems like Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos provide good food for the thrifty, but higher-class, sit-down fare is limited to stand-out Northeast Kingdom.

Bushwick may not rival Chelsea in gallery quantity, but shows what the mainstream won't, and serves it up with substantially less stick-up-the-ass attitude. Norte Maar showcases performance art and other media, while nomadic acts like Parlour exhibit in living rooms across the neighborhood. Caffeine junkies can get their fix at the Wyckoff Starr.

Nightlife
Bushwick’s venues are never pretentious but prepare to come out smelling like Pabst and weed smoke. Drop by the Bushwick Starr to see Manhattan-calibre performance art. Bring ear-plugs for the lo-fi squeals of Silent Barn; give those ears a rest at an acoustic set in Northeast Kingdom’s cozy basement lounge.

Restaurants
Except for Northeast Kingdom, people looking for Michelin stars should keep it to that other borough. Fortunately, their cuisine is so inventive and so good that we're not really complaining (yet). Chinese take-out and Latin American cuisine dominate the scene; check out La Isla Cuchifritos for Puerto Rican soul-food 24/7, or for Thai, Long Lai Thai.

Shopping
Associated is everyone's grocery staple but check out Angel's Fruit Market across the street for the freshest produce and a wide variety of Mexican sodas. Rincon Musical provides low-price instruments and a wide variety of cuatro guitars. Hungry locals can sate their sweet tooth on the cheap at El Charro and Gaby's Bakery.