I'm from China, and live in TX. The reason I choose Martha's Staten Island's house is that I would experience a different American life style and want to meet some really nice people.
Martha and Pat are the best host you can ever expect. I only had a 3-day-stay at Martha's house, but I hope I would have rescheduled a one-week-stay. Everything is perfect here. Martha and Pat picked us up at the railway station. To my surprise, the house is even more beautiful than the pics. Especially the bedroom, the comfy bed, the clean white sheets and pillows, the clean wardrobe with white towels. the clean drawers are empty for you to use. The decoration of the bedroom just makes you feel even better than home. Martha is so considerate to prepare many guiding books of NY, and a basket of welcoming snack and water. I also like the generous breakfast shared by them, the tea and coffee time in the garden, the petting time with 3 puppies in the living room. And I enjoyed all the conversations with Martha and Pat.
Don't worry about the transportation, there are X buses, trains and free ferry.On the ferry you can have a good view of the NY skyline. If you're tired of the chaos of the city, looking for some place which can compare to a sweet home, I highly recommend here. I would give them more than 5 stars. Martha and Pat's is a most desiring place to start and end an exploration of NY.You wouldn't regret about the choice.