I stayed with Lisa & Jackson the first 3.5 months of 2020 while I attended a computer programming retreat in Brooklyn. The location was perfect for me—a 20-minute walk to downtown Brooklyn everyday, close proximity to public transportation and groceries. The street itself was surprisingly quiet for New York and I felt comfortable & safe my whole time there.
Lisa & Jackson are both very warm, kind people. They were happy to engage and spend time with me, whether that meant a sharing a conversation or a meal, and also happy to leave me to my own devices during the stretches where I really immersed myself in the program. Oh, Shaggy (the dog) was also a very gracious host :)
I'd be remiss not to mention that my stay overlapped with the emergence of COVID-19 and New York becoming the epicenter of the pandemic. Truly strange, worrying times as schools and businesses shutdown and many organizations tried to go to an all-remote format on the fly—including my program, Lisa's company and Jackson's school. Up until this point I had felt lucky that I had picked such a nice place with wonderful people, but when the social-distancing orders went into effect and the number of cases and deaths started to climb I felt *especially* lucky to have chosen so well.
The last month or so of my stay we basically all lived and worked from home, venturing out as needed, spending lots more time a round one another than I think any of us had anticipated. Lisa was thoughtful, provided me with a mask and asked if I needed anything on the occasions she went out. I appreciated the open-line of communication as the situation escalated, making sure we were both on the same page in terms of how we were practicing social distancing and doing our best to not being the virus into the home. Her openness, compassion and humor through the whole ordeal made a very unusual experience something more than simply manageable—it was memorable, enriching and, I almost hesitate to say, a little bit fun :)
For all these reasons, I cannot recommend Lisa and her place highly enough. If I could give her 6 stars I would.
Thank you Lisa! ❤️