Need advice for planning New York trip

I'm not an art snob either, but the Met is amazing. The Egyptian exhibit was probably my favorite, along with the Assyrian section, and the girlfriend loved the Monet's.

We did a boat ride to Ellis Island (excellent museum and only took about 3 hours to get a full expierence) and you get a great view of the Statue of Liberty without the hassle of getting off on the island itself.

We took the subway everywhere, even some late ones at like 1 AM and I never felt unsafe fwiw.

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!) What is the best time to visit? (Are summers miserable there? Would Mardi Gras week or Thanksgiving week be a better time to visit?)

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Not Mardi Gras week. It will be too cold. Thanksgiving may also be a little chilly as well. Ideally you'd want April/May or late August/September/October. It gets hot a frick in the summer. Seriously, hotter than the south due to the concrete/pavement and difficulty finding central AC to escape it all.

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) Where should we stay? (Mainly looking for the best location in the city that puts us closest to most of the attractions that we plan to visit. I'm open to spending $300-500/night for a nice view and convenient location.)

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As someone else mentioned...with that price range, somewhere near Central Park South would be good (anywhere between 57th and 65th or so between 5th avenue and 7th or 8th avenue). It's very central but also a little away from the ridiculously tourist-y areas like times square.

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3) Is a cab the best means of transportation? Are subways safe and more convenient? I don't even want to think about renting a car and driving around in New York.

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based on your price range for hotel, i'm guessing you don't mind spending a little money. so what i would do is buy a week-long metro pass. it will cost like 30soemthing. i can't even remember. but that will cover you for subway/bus anywhere at anytime. then just uber or cab whenever you don't feel like hopping on the subway. uber during non peak hours can be extremely cheap and cabs are abundant.

plan your trip ahead of time in terms of places you want to hit but leave some free time to just walk around, explore, go to outer boroughs, etc. for your restaurants, get reservations far far in advance for the nicer ones. but there's plenty of places you can just go hop in without one and have a great meal.

if you're going to do a "top of the" kinda thing, do either 30 rock or 1WTC. don't do empire state. i really highly recommend 1WTC at night. you can book the ticket in advance. it's a stunning view and they have a rooftop bar up there. seriously unbeatable.

enjoy it

We went in March and the weather was perfect. Light jacket at night and short sleeves during the day.