Last week, I got in a healthy debate with one of my friends about if nightlife was a worthless whirlwind of debauchery or a powerful networking tool. I argued that anyone you met in a club was probably sleazy and untrustworthy. Only regrettable activities resulted from frolicking around New York at night. She argued that she’s built her entire PR empire off of clients she’s known through the party circuit, and that powerful alliances ensued.

Granted, nightlife and networking have always gone hand-in-hand. But how often do these relationships actually result in solid business deals? Can we really use business advancement as an excuse to party until the wee hours at Bijoux? To what extent is professional advancement justification to party?

To get some answers, I decided to ask real estate mogul and New York scencester Jaf Glazer. As Managing Director as Conquest Advisors Real Estate Firm, Jaf acquired an impressive network of entrepreneurs, celebrities, and socialites with whom he is frequently spotted at the hottest events around the world. Over the years, he’s become the go-to source for all things real estate by his A-list social circle. Jaf closed on some impressive deals finding the perfect Hamptons Estate for Tenjune in SagHarbor, NY for Mark Birnbaum and Eugene Remm, and finding Australian Supermodel Miranda Kerr her dream New York City condo. Glazer cannot disclose details of many of his clients due to respect of client confidentiality, but sources reveal that he’s been spotted around New York showing apartments to actorJoaquin Phoenix, a member of the Versace family, and a certain Celtics basketball player. If anyone could tell me exactly how business and late-night clubbing intermingle, it was this guy. You can check out the interview I conducted with him here.

On a separate note, I have a question for inhabitants of the universe: It’s not even Halloween, therefore why is everyone freaking out about New Years?

Yes, the New Years madness has begun. The question’s being tossed around left and right, leaving me dizzy and about to fall over. Those of us who don’t work in finance can finagle a nice chunk of time off for the Holidays. So the pressure’s on to do something FUN. And unless you’re what I call a ‘ski-Nazi’ (someone who enjoys the feeling of their extremities morphing into icicles as they hurdle down a mountain at life-threatening speed), chances are you want to go someplace warm, preferably with a great party scene.

Here are my New Years vacation destination requirements:

1. Warmth, by ‘warmth’ I mean tropical level heat

2. A beach with a ‘swimable’ water, by swimable I mean no scary waves, no fish, actually minimal marine life of any kind, and a transparent ocean so I can be certain there are no sharks

3. A great party scene that isn’t too immature, by ‘too immature’ I mean I don’t want there to be frat boys and rowdy college kids puking in the pristine ocean I just described

4. That it be in the realm of affordability, by ‘affordability’ I mean as cheap as possible without resorting to pitching camp on the beach.

So what options does that leave us with? Continue