When traveling through new and unknown cities, most people have the natural inclination to explore this vast new world in order to see the "hot spots" and mingle with the locals. Even if a person is familiar with the cityscape itself, they still often find themselves to be foreigners to their social surroundings, and thus forth, allow themselves to be left out of all the truly unique happenings that each particular city has to offer.

There are many websites online that can help direct such a flustered traveler in search of nightlife, but at the same time, those sites can also often lead a person to the main drag featuring college night discounts and obnoxious crowds or cover charges. There is nothing wrong with such scenes, it really all just depends on what your looking for. Should curious travelers be forced to populate whatever bar puts forth the most in advertising, or is there a way to be picky about your experiences in the cities nightlife? This is a guide that can help you pick and choose what you really want from a cities nightlifehttp://nightlifelink.com/.

To really have a sense of what a city has to offer for nightlife, you might be best to consider a small handful of sources aside from the typical blind search engine. To find out what resources to use, and what tactics to consider when finding your new favorite place in the city, read the comprehensive How To guide that follows. Anyone can be city smart about where they spend their hard earned cash- its only a matter of some simple researchhttp://wikitravel.org/en/Main_Page.

This research is based entirely upon the resources that you may or may not have at hand. There are three basic categories that I have broken down and evaluated in order to make finding the nightlife of a city easier for the wayward traveler.

Methods and purposes of traveling differ greatly from person to person, and therefore, not all travelers may have the internet at their fingertipshttp://www.alltraveltips.com/. If a traveler does have the internet, but is limited on funds- using the internet as a '[[first resource]], might not be the best option, as it tends to bring up the more mainstream/commercialized options that are likely to be less affordable to the budget traveler. This isn't always the case however, so if you have the internet available, it can most definitely be used to your advantage.

The internet offers such a massive amount of pages that differ from city to city, and because of this, it can be a hectic to search vaguely. A good tactic, is to simply consider what you want the focus of your experience to be (club scene, blues bar, bar scene, cheap bars, college bars, dance clubs, art bars, historical pubs, live music, karaoke), and to type in your city, followed by some of those more [[specific tags]]http://denver.craigslist.org/.

If you still haven't found what you are looking for, a decent go-to site for nightlife happenings, is citysearch www.citysearch.com. Sites such as citysearch are often better at offering you a place to start, in general though, one should be looking for sites that are more catered to your city personally. Often times you can find material that is published by local people who really have a good sense of their city, as opposed to large scale sites that appeal simply to ad revenue.

Another funny little tip (especially if you are looking for specific music tastes), is to find a listing of the cities local radio stations, find the station the tends to play what you listen to, and check out their site. More often then not, these stations will sponsor venues or establishments that appeal to the taste of their listeners radio-locator is a helpful site for such situations.www.radio-locator.com

For those who may not have the luxury of internet access when traveling, a traveler might consider going back to the trusty form of printhttp://www.openwifispots.com/. Even if you do have the internet, newspapers can be a greater source of highlighting some of the more eclectic happenings that a city might have to offer, or some of the options that cater to a cities special attractions.

Virtually every city has their major printing publications, and a traveler should have no problem finding one of these papers in any grocery store or gas station. If you don't wish to spring for the $2.75, and you have the internet, you can find listings for the local paper relatively easy, and just in case you cant- usnpl lists all the newspapers in major cities.www.usnpl.com

Browsing through the entertainment section, you can often find larger events and venues listed, and if the art scene is your cup of tea, it is one of your best resources to find a trustworthy listing of local galleries.http://www.gallerytoday.com/ The same goes for any high art events such as theater, opera, major concerts, and even sporting events. These events appeals to a more specific type, and luckily, most major papers will have a smaller segment toward the back of the arts and entertainment section that highlights some of the events that are smaller, more affordable, and locally geared.

Major papers don't often focus on these smaller or more unique [[happenings], and because they aren't as cheap to advertise in, these papers do not tend to appeal to the smaller business owner that a traveler might be seeking to support. This is why a wonderful companion to the internet-less and/or frugal traveler, is secondary publicationshttp://www.legendsofamerica.com/LA-TipsCheapTravel.html. Most larger cities have their own weekly newspaper that most often times is a weekly publication. Because many of them have a somewhat bent political twist on their news, they are called "alternative newsweeklies.http://dir.yahoo.com/News_and_Media/newspapers/alternative_newsweeklies/

If you can look past their political affiliations, they are often times the richest source of weekly happenings since they appeal on a local level to their city, and are affordable for business owners to advertise in. Along with this, they usually advertise some of the best drink specials you can find in a city since these weeklies are a popular news source to colleges and alternative scenes. To find the weekly in your city, the best place to go, is the "association of alternative newsweeklies," http://aan.org/alternative/Aan/index. Along similar printing lines, is the highly popularized Onion newspaper.www.theonion.com/ A great tactic to finding good nightlife, is using your local onion if your city carries them. Each city has its own seperate column of writing for their arts and entertainment, AND they have a quite impressive listing of what is going on every night of the week in their given city.

If open mic's, local music, poetry reading, bargain drink specials, alternative art spots, or other things quirky and unique to the city are what you're after- these alternative newsweeklies are a great source. These papers are usually easy to find in coffee shops, trendy areas, music stores, tattoo shops, head-shops, and most of the time, ordinary grocers or local markets.

Many times, the best way to find out what you want to know about a city, is to go straight to the source- the people themselves!

One reason this is such a wonderful way to inquire about a cities nightlife, is that it in part, has you engaging with the locals already. In this world of faced paced web based interactions, don't put it past yourself to meet a new friend the good old fashioned way, being kind, courteous, and friendly.

Another great reason, is that it doesn't require you to find wi-fi, locate a newspaper, or filter through whatever options you find in either category. Locating the pulse in any city, is usually done best by interacting with the people themselves.http://socyberty.com/sociology/7-reasons-why-you-should-talk-to-strangers/

Find yourself a comfortable space that might attract people that share your interests. Check out a local book shop, a Barnes and Noble, record stores, coffee shops, a campus, restaurants- wherever you find to be comfortable, and suitable in attracting like minded folks. After you've done this, begin asking away!

Allowing yourself to be seen as an "outsider" or a "tourist," does not always have to be a demeaning reflection. More often then not, you will find that doing this will make people take pride in their suggestions to you, as they almost feel like guides to their own city. Don't be afraid to ask more specific questions that are tailored to your needs either. People are almost always obliged to help, and the generosity of a stranger always reflects well upon a persons experience in a city. Take a chance, make a friend, and find out what the people of the city actually think about the best spots of the city. Lastly, experience, and enjoy the thriving nightlife that their city has to offer you. You've earned it|http://www.onlinecityguide.com/main.php