Hi all,
I'm gonna try to be as detailed as possible with what I'm looking for and hopefully you guys can help me.

Which caribbean island can offer:
1. Safety.
2. Mixed ethnicity amongst tourists.
White,Black, Asian, Spanish,
purple, green you name it.
3. beautiful beaches..white sand,
incredible water..no syringes like
NY's beaches
4. fantastic nightlife.
5. trendy, hip hotels, if that's
possible on an island.
6. Cost..this is tough part. Don't
want to say sky's the limit, but
then I guess you get what you pay
for, so how about almost sky high.

I'll be leaving from NY (JFK). Only doing 5 days. Wish I could make it longer, but the guilt of leaving my daughter(10yrs) is killing me. Serious fear of flying. However, for the right Island and some serious alcohol, I plan to get over it.
All suggestions are appreciated and Thanks for reading this lengthy post...

No single island will fulfill all your criteria convincingly.

Top considerations include:

Barbados--fulfills most all your criteria but doesn't rank among the very top in the Caribbean in any one of these areas. Beaches aren't white and sand is not the soft talcum powder you're probably thinking of, but they're certainly at or slightly above average for the Caribbean as a whole.

St. Bart's--only shortcomings would be that it's a super expensive island, quieter island as far as nightlife goes (definitely not "fantastic), the better hotels may be considered trendy and hip but not necessarily in the way you're thinking, and while the better beaches are good they're not near the top of the Caribbean's "best of..." list.

Aruba: not one of my persoanl favorites because it lacks style and character but it is safe, has a mix of tourists, great beaches, above average nightlife for Caribbean, it's relatively cheap, and there's a hotel for most any taste though it's short on trendy hotels--think Hyatt/Marriott/Radisson or else small boutique-y places.

You might want to check into the Mexican Riviera places or even Dominican, but there will be tradeoffs there too.

Ted gave excellent advice. You are asking a lot. I would suggest you look into Curacao. It won't have the beaches. But it has diversity, safety and trendy places to stay. It's not cheap but not the high end either.

It's not an island, but I know of somewhere in the Caribbean that fulfills just about all that you are asking for - Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

You will get everything that you are looking for - the only thing that you should not do is go walking alone at night off the main street or on the beach. (But that's true almost anywhere.)

As a matter of fact, you described Playa del Carmen (about 45 min. south of Cancun) just about perfectly!

Hotels you should look into - Deseo, Mosquito Blue.

Bars - Deseo Lounge, Frida's

Lots of tourists from all over the world and a hip, funky vibe. Cool boutiques to shop in, day trips to take, and some of the most stunning water I've ever seen. Little beach bars/restaurants that go well into the night, and a lot of friendly people.

As the above poster said you are asking alot. No one island will give youeverything. I've said this many times - every island is different so don't let others tell you where to go. Get a good guide book. Read about each one. That will help narrow your choices to those which most closely fit what you are looking for in a vacation destination. Once you find 2 or 3 placee you can ask detailed questions on this and other boards. You'll be surprised what you learn and you'll find your spot in paradise.

Barbados was ranked by the World Travel Awards 2003 (in NYC) as the Caribbean's Best Destination, so an earlier poster was not correct.

It does have white sand beaches too - we love them.

I'll disagree with your comment, Lois. I said Barbados does not rank at the very top of the Caribbean islands in any one of the areas that jenee72 inquired about.
Safety: you cannot argue Barbados is safer than, say, Virgin Gorda or Jumby Bay (Long) Island (and many others).
Beaches: nowhere near as pretty (or soft or white) as Turks and Caicos, Anguilla or Out islands of the Bahamas.
Nightlife: nothing like Puerto Rico or Cuba.
Trendy: not.
Cost: not as cheap as Aruba or Dominican, etc.
Yes, Barbados scores well in aggregate. But it's not tops in any one area.

And while I think Barbados is a great destination (which is why I recommended it above) not everyone else does.
The new Readers Choice poll in Conde Nast Traveler doesn't even rank Barbados in the top 10 for Caribbean island destinations.

. . . though Barbados did tie for third as "best destination" in the March 2003 poll from Caribbean Travel & Life. I might be skimming too quickly, but among the SPECIFIC categories in this reader poll, I don't see Barbados mentioned anywhere else -- which would tie in with TedTurner's thoughts . . .

Your advice and suggestions have been very helpful. Thank you all. I've decided to do Southbeach for nightlife in April, and then Aruba or Turks & Caicos in July. For the latter I'll be able to take my daughter. Thanks again.

I thought Barbados was bland, overrated, aloof and I wouldn't rush back.