Many people who are visiting NYC stay in New Jersey of Long Island City instead of Manhattan, but I don't think any of those hotels would be considered "non-touristy"...I actually don't understand what you mean by that.

Here is a website that gives a pretty good rundown of New Jersey accomodations:

www.broadwayfocus.com/nj_nyc?

That's "or" Long Island City, not "of".

Right. Aren't hotels for tourists? Do you mean a non-touristy part of town?

If you are going to sightsee in NYC, stay IN NYC. It will be expensive and time consuming going back and forth from Jersey or anywhere else. As for "non-tourist"--you really are a tourist, and will be glad to be recognized as one when you need directions!!
Honest, getting on a commuter train or bus every day to come to the city will not be pleasant--wake up, go to the local diner, and get on with a great day of sightseeing.

Long Island City IS in NYC; it's a section of Queens that's a short subway ride from Manhattan. The Country Inn and Suites (a chain we like, although we haven't stayed at this one) is often recommended.

We've also had good results using Priceline to get reasonable hotel rates in NYC. Read betterbidding and biddingfortravel if you haven't used Priceline before.

I agree with Gretchen, if you want to see NYC then stay in NYC. Look for a hotel away from the madness of Times Square and I think you would be much happier than spending time and money traveling back and forth.

I'm guessing that montaya is looking for an apartment rental. These are illegal in NYC but not in NJ, so I'd suggest you look there, or at a hotel like the Beacon on the Upper West Side or Radio City Apartments in Midtown that has apartment-like units with kitchens. Needless to say, you're going to pay more to stay in Manhattan, but the proximity is worth it in my opinion.

One place that might interest you is a new hotel in the Brox called the Andrew Freeman. It's brand new and might be up your alley. But realize there are few restaurants, stores, or anything else for that matter in the immediate vicinity.

And if you search for a place in NJ, be on the lookout for scams (Craigslist is notorious for these) or apartments that are in particularly inconvenient locations. Transit from NJ isn't as cheap as a lot of people think. It can cost as much as $10 per person to come over to Manhattan via ferry or a combination of bus and train. And Hoboken, as close as it is to Manhattan, still has areas that aren't close to public transit. Further, the transit system in NJ is geared more to commuters than leisure travelers, so you may experience much less frequent service on weekends.

That's true in NYC as well, by the way, which is why most of us who live here recommend that tourists stay in Manhattan. At least in Manhattan you have access to more choices like city buses and an occasional taxi. But even where I live on the Upper East Side, we have no service at my stop on weekends until sometime next month. As in a lot of cities, weekend service disruptions are common.

Sorry ... I mistyped. The Andrew Freeman is in the BRONX, not the "Brox". It's right on the Grand Concourse and is very affordable and in a historic building.

It is possible the OP is thinking of the hotels in Jersey City? There are several very close to a PATH (the "subway train" that goes to/from NYC from NJ), including a Marriott which is right above the Newport station, and the Hyatt, which is right above the Exchange Place station. There's also a Doubletree Suites hotel across the street from the Marriott. There's several others within that immediate vicinity but they slip my mind at the moment.

The trip from the Marriott/Newport PATH station to midtown/Penn Station PATH station is less than 20 minutes. On the weekends when the train stops in Hoboken it's a few minutes more. I've seen many many tourists on the PATH going to/from NYC in the 4 years we've lived there.

I might add, one nice thing about visiting/staying in Jersey City is that you can make a photo of the NYC skyline; especially at sunset, all lit up across the river, it's like something out of a fairytale.

Yes- but hotels in Jersey are not any more "cozy" than in Manhattan and still a PIA to gt to.

NYC does not specialize in "cozy" - we are big and bustling. And getting to and fro the city (unless you are immediately on a subway or path line) can take a long time (more than an hour) and a lot of money - better spent on a hotel in Manhattan.

If hotel budgets are a real issue LIC is nearby - but it is the antithesis of cozy - i's mixed use (motels stuck between auto body shops) and there are limited local resources.

There are some neighborhoods in Jersey that are pleasant - but while a 45 minute commute may be OK for a local on a budget I can;t reco it for a tourist. And those commuter services are on commuter time - not great in the evening after a show or dinner in the city. And you need to find a place only a couple of blocks from the ferry ($20 per day per person)- or whatever - or commutes could be really onerous - involving cabs, etc.

Wish the OP would come back and give us some more info...at this point some of us think she meant hotels and Doug thinks apartments....so, OP please come back! We need clarification.

Montaya, our family went to New York last summer and I think it would be far more stressful to commute into the city each day than to find a hotel in Manhattan but away from Times Square as mentioned above. Ours was an Affinia Hotel on 34th, a busy street but not crowded with tourists as the Times Square area.

There are other areas even quieter. There is another poster you may want to look up, Maitaitom, whose New York trip report talks about the Chelsea Pines Hotel.

I used to live in one of those "nearby New jersey" places that montana seems to crave and STRONGLY recommend that if she and her husband want to visit NYC city they SHOULD NOT stay in New Jersey or out on Long island - no matter where they stay in the suburbs commuting back and forth into the city gets old very quickly. It's a pain if they travel in rush hour which they will most likely be doing if they want to get in a decent day of sightseeing, wastes a lot of time "waiting for transportation" if the travel outside of rush hour and no one, repeat, no one in their right mind would want to use public transportation to make the commute late in the evening.

I never can understand why any tourist would subject themselves to the "headaches of commuting to/from the suburbs and NYC just to save a few dollars in room costs. Once you add in the costs to commute and take in to account the time wasted going back and forth staying in the city makes a lot more sense.

Montaya will have a much more enjoyable and stress free time staying in the city.be much better

I totally agree with Roams Around. Those hotels are in a no man's land in the Meadowlands, Secaucus and then you have to commute which is never pleasant plus train tickets are expensive not reasonablly priced like the subways in the city.
To find cosy charm, you will have to commute to and from NY's nicer suburbs which have more expensive lodgings,, an hour to an hour and a half not uncommon on the pricey commuter train.Cosy does not apply. If you want less touristed areas of NYC, look at neighborhoods, Chelsea, E. and W. Village, Upper West Side.

Thank you everyone. I will look at accommodation in Manhattan (not Times Square though).

My next search will be where to go and what public transportation is best along the east coast. We have looked at both motorhome and car hire but think our preference would be public transport (we will be travelling light).
More good suggestions and tips are welcome.

There isn't much public transporation from city to city and up and down the coast if you mean transportation provided by a municipality (like a public school or library). There is Amtrak and private bus lines (Greyhound, Megabus, Bolt Bus). Some cities such as Baltimore and DC have public transportation between them because of so many commuters but it is Monday - Friday.

Amtrak has good service - trains every 30 mnutes or so for most of the day - between Boston and DC (including major cities in between - about 9 stops). There are also buses on the same route - but they are more subject to delays due to accidents, traffic and bad weather. Really no other intercity public transit.

Other than that there is public transit within each city. And commuter rail/buses from the suburbs into each city. But in the US intercity travel is based on car or plane. And naturally the former is usually much cheaper.

In Manhattan, have a look at hotels on the upper west side, which is primarily residential - Beacon is excellent, Newton a good budget choice. Broadway up there isn't cozy - but it's not frantic like Times Square.

Yes,we have been looking at Amtrak. One possibility is to enjoy New York for a week, take the train from New York to New Orleans (stopping somehere nice/interesting along the way for a few nights) from New Orleans to Chicago (again stopping along the way for a few nights), stay another few nights in Chicago and back to New York.
Altogether our trip from Australia would take about 8 weeks.
Any suggestions ?

Oh, we prefer not the big/bigger hotels/chains which are rather impersonal and one alike the other but something like in Europe you have these smaller hotels/motels/B&Bs which are more laid-back and personal.

Travelling by car would be the best way to see the country, but hiring one for the period is much too expensive.
Does anyone know about tourists buying a car ?

When you are done in New York, take the train to Washington DC. Spend at least a day in DC before you get on the Amtrak Crescent (#19) to Atlanta. Spend a day in and around Atlanta before taking the next Crescent to New Orleans.
The trip from Washington to Atlanta is overnight-about 14 hours.
From New Orleans travel on the City of New Orleans to Memphis and spend a day there before heading north to Chicago.
You can at least tolerate if not enjoy sleeping in coach on a long distance Amtrak train without spending a lot on a sleeper.

I have not stayed here, but a Fodor's poster wrote a very entertaining trip report about his New York City visit and this is where they stayed--it might be what you are looking for, and it does sound charming.

http://www.chelseapinesinn.com/

Here is the trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/maitaitoms-new-york-city-subway-safari.cfm

I can assure you it is a very entertaining read, well worth the time.

I can't imagine that tourists could buy a car. You have to get insurance and to get insurance I believe that you have to have residency. Car rentals can be reasonable (and are much cheaper than I've seen in Europe, and gas is about half the price)

Besides, you do not want a car in the major cities. You can do city to city by train or plane, and rent a car for a few days at a time to explore less urban areas.

There are planty of non-chain hotels even in the major cities. Many are high priced, but as noted above some people on this board have stayed at smaller more modest places and were very happy.

B&Bs are not typical in NYC and many are illegal on top of it. Apartment rentals are almost all illegal here unless you're staying 30 days or more in the same place.

In some parts of the country in the rural and some suburban areas there are both chain motels and indepenedent ones, Quality varies dramatically and in some places people are more confident with the safety and type of accomodations that a chain can offer.

Buying a car is probably not a good idea. You'll need a local address to register the vehicle, you'll have to buy at least liability insurance (for any car) and collision insurance (if it's a new vehicle) and you'll probably lose money when you try sell it when you are ready to leave.

New cars depreciate by 20% when you drive them off the lot. Buying a used car can be problematic - late model cars will still depreciate quickly and older model cars can have mechanical problems which you wouldn't want to deal with while on vacation.

If you think renting a car for 8 weeks is expensive you'll be floored by what your out of pocket costs will be to purchase, insure and resell a car in 8 weeks.

If you want to use a car for your transportation needs renting is the way to go. If I were you I'd check directly with the various US based car rental companies (by calling not by using the internet - they all have "800' numbers) to get quotes as they often will give discounts for long term rentals.

You start out saying you are going to the "east coast" and then mention New Orleans and Chicago, neither of which is anywhere near the east coast. You are also going in mid summer. Have you looked up what the temperatures are in New Orleans in mid summer?

Why have you chosen the locations you mention? What is it about them that you want to see? And you are talking about traveling by car or train. These are huge distances, and while there are certainly worthwhile things to see just about everywhere, most people coming to the US wanting to see the 'best' would not spend most of their time driving between the cities you list. If you have specific reasons for those places that's one thing. But if not, and given the season you are coming in I would suggest a different itinerary.

North of NYC is a beautiful part of the country, especially in summer. Consider spending at least a couple of your weeks in New England. Good train connections between Boston and NYC, and Boston is 'worth' at least several days. The coast of Maine, and inland New Hampshire, Vermont and Western Massachusetts are also beautiful, although they would be better done by car. You could rent a car just for a week or so to see those areas.

Another thing I suggest, if you want to see places as far as New Orleans or Chicago would be to fly. Look into some of the lower cost air carriers. It won't be cheap, but neither will car rentals or trains. And then if you are going to consider that you might ask yourself if New Orleans and Chicago are really where you want to go or if you might rather see some of the west (rocky Mts, desert southwest, west coast). Don't mean to offend anyone from New Orleans or Chicago, but if I were coming to the US for the summer those are the last two places I would go.

It started out OK but now we are being played. Chicago--NOLA--and buying a car. We are done. Sorry Charley/

Thank you very much for all your suggestions and advice. My husband and I both read with interest the New York trip report and will surely check The Pines Inn which sounds really good.
The idea of buying a used car to travel around was dead almost as soon as I had written it down.
What we have decided to do, is something like this: fly to Los Angeles, stay there a few days, take a train north to Seattle (maybe stop in San Fracisco), stay there a few days. Then take a train to New York stopping "älong the way" a few days in East Glacier Park, Chicago and Washington DC. From New York we would take a train to Atlanta for a few days and from there to New Orleans and after a few days another train to Los Angeles and then fly home.
As I mentioned we like train travel as that way we will see a lot of the country. I am sure the plan (places) mentioned can be improved on, added/changed/taken out. Like if Chicago and New Orleans are not recommended in summer, maybe we should instead take in some other places (north of New York as suggested by Isabel).
The reason we are doing this "route" is that we wish to see Seattle and New York ("maybe" New Orleans)and we wouldn't mind giving Chicago a miss if we can find a better train route. Starting the train trip from Los Angeles is sensible as that is where we land first.
Any more tips/suggestions/advice ?
I'm truly grateful for your input, we do wish to have a memorable trip

I don't really know the answer to this but I would certainly start by checking train prices and schedules. For example from NY to Chicago there's an overnight train (but you won't see any scenery, and sleeping on a train is not fun for most people) and if you can't get that then you are talking about 22 hours. New York to Atlanta is like 18 hours. You might see some 'scenery' but mostly you won't. New England is one of the most beautiful areas of the country, but if you go by what you see on the train it is butt ugly and boring as hell. I think there is a scenic route that goes through the rockies, but that's just one little bit. I guess if you really love trains and that's the kind of vacation you want then certainly you should do it. But if you just think it's a good way to get from point A to point B then you need to be aware of the realities.

I don't really know the answer to this but I would certainly start by checking train prices and schedules. For example from NY to Chicago there's an overnight train (but you won't see any scenery, and sleeping on a train is not fun for most people) and if you can't get that then you are talking about 22 hours. New York to Atlanta is like 18 hours. You might see some 'scenery' but mostly you won't. New England is one of the most beautiful areas of the country, but if you go by what you see on the train it is butt ugly and boring as hell. I think there is a scenic route that goes through the rockies, but that's just one little bit. I guess if you really love trains and that's the kind of vacation you want then certainly you should do it. But if you just think it's a good way to get from point A to point B then you need to be aware of the realities.

My only suggestion is to cool it quite a bit on the train travel. I know you want to see the "sights", but Amtrak in the U.S. isn't particularly comfortable for long-distance travel and takes forever (it's like going coast to coast in Australia. I hope you realize that in all this train travel you will be spending over 2 of your 8 weeks doing nothing but riding on trains. If you really really like riding on trains, then by all means that's ok, but the U.S. doesn't have as good a train system as Europe.

And unless you pay hundreds of extra dollars per leg (and make your reservations far in advance), you won't have a bedroom or bath. It will mean sitting up in coach seats for days at a time and using a dirty public rest room to wash off the dirt of the day. I'd schedule a few flights in the mix for the longer distances. Do one long train trip and a couple of shorter ones, but that's it. Otherwise, fly.

I don't have time for a lengthy reply, but did want to make sure you realize that at least in Los Angeles, it will be hard to sightsee without a car. Even in Glacier National Park it will be a challenge; there is some public transportation, but it will be hard to see the park without a car. Others may have suggestions, but that is what occurred to me.

Before you decide on trains have a look at prices. It is VERY expensive unless you are going to sit up the entire time- 24 hours per day. Renting a car - esp from Oz - where you can get great deals including insurance and tax - would be considerably cheaper.

Really think flying longer distances and car for shorter is a much more comfortable and less expensive way to go.

Thank you all so much for that valuable infomation.
I think we will look at motorhomes hire or buy, as we have owned one here in Australia

You are welcome about the Chelsea Pines idea, for which musicfan later posted the link. Hopefully that would work out.

Purchasing a motorhome will also require insurance and proof of residency as buying a car. You would need to rent. If it were me, I would rent a car, and enjoy staying in the beautiful historic lodges that are part of the National Parks experience.

You can't buy a motorhome in the US (that's as crazy as the idea of buying a used car), but you could certainly rent one. But they are not easy to find in the NYC area. I'm sure you can find one within a relatively short train ride of NYC though. I do think you'd enjoy that more than Amtrak.

I'd recommend a one-way rental if it's not too cost prohibitive. Otherwise, you're better off flying into the middle of the country or the southwest and renting a motor home there, perhaps in Dallas. That would give you a chance to visit parts of the south and the west in 7 weeks, doing a round-trip circuit and flying home from DFW. But with a motorhome, you're going to have to forego big cities like Chicago. You could stay in a motel in the New Orleans suburbs and taking a taxi into town for a day, though.

Thanks for all the ideas. We now need to do some serious reading and searching
I'll be back

Montaya, on our recent trip to the US, we landed in San Francisco, spent three days there, flew to New Orleans, spent four days there, then flew to New York and stayed there for three weeks. We stayed in Long Island City, close to a subway and honestly it only took about ten minutes to get into Times Square, it was no hassle at all, the hotel was considerably cheaper than in Manhattan.

On a previous trip we flew from San Fransisco to Washington DC, and then took Amtrak to New York. We stayed at Radio City Apartments which is right by Times Square. These get booked up very quickly though so need to be in early.