PRE-TRIP: Mercedes was incredibly accommodating as I needed to deliver a package for my trip to New Jersey. I was so thankful for her generosity in allowing that package to come days early and a tenant grabbing it for me.
ACTUAL TRIP: I did have a very difficult experience in the neighborhood and at the actual house, however.
I arrived at the airport after a very delayed flight and had to make my way to the house from Newark late at night. It was $50 to Uber there (no thanks for a 10-15 min trip) and quite complicated to go by train (I never figured it out). Ignorantly, I decided to take the bus and walk the several blocks to the house. It was now about 12:40p and I immediately knew I made a niave decision when I entered the bus. As we rolled through the stops, I had no other choice but to get off and walk. Upon exiting the bus, a woman was walking the street in front of me, turned around and let me know I was not welcome in the neighborhood NOR was I safe there. She proceeded to tell me a couple cars/trucks to watch out for because they would kidnap me and to go fast wherever I was going. I was caught between asking her to help me make it to the house and thinking she might not be the safest of people herself. She stated multiple times that I was not safe walking these streets. She told me shes from the block so she doesn't have to worry herself...
I began to jog (with a giant camping backpack) and ran across rats, cats, and several people sitting out on their patios who shouted things at me. Only one did I catch and they were essentially making fun of me jogging and yelled out, "run! run!". There were only male voices yelling at me. It's almost 1 am at this point and none of it was funny and quite scary. I get that this is my fault for my naivety and ignorance but I want others to be informed. From the looks of getting off the bus, I knew it wasn't safe for me to be walking after dark, but the woman's words + tone made it exceptionally intense and scary.
I was so thankful to have made it to the house. There were few lights on and only an overhead light in the room. I slept with it on. My senses were on alert and there was no lamp or anything comfortable or homie about the room. It was basically empty except for a bed, side table, chair, and desk.
I easily see how I could come across in this review but this experience was worth me sharing in case anyone else would read it and make better decisions than I did. I imagine this neighborhood is fine during the day, but it is no place for an individual female to walk after dark.