My stay at Jian's mom's place was very pleasant, in large part because Jian’s mom is such a sweet lady. Jian's mom was seriously THE NICEST person ever, super accommodating and kind.
The room itself is a good size (full-sized bed, large closet, a storage drawer, desk, though it’s positioned in such a way that you can’t sit in the chair). Your room shares a wall with the neighbors. The apartment itself is super well taken care of; very neat, clean, and tidy. It’s a 3-bedroom apartment, occupied by two others (Jian’s mom, and another gentleman, Jian doesn’t live on the property, but she was still very easy to get ahold of). It doesn’t have a living area/living room, but it does have a kitchen, which has upgraded appliances and lots of cooking utensils (pots, pans, cups, etc.).
I was here for two weeks, looking for a permanent place in the area (which I still haven't found haha), travelling solo. The neighborhood is SO safe for a single female wandering around, even past 11pm. There were always some people around (lots of elderly and millennials), and a decent size of people always getting off the train and walking a few blocks together. I loved going out during the day because every street becomes a market, selling fruits and vegetables for super affordable prices. It’s a very vibrant, lovely community.
The metro ride into Manhattan is about 45-60 minutes, depending on if you manage to catch the bus or just miss it.
And now for the things that can’t be helped, but which I think are still important to mention. The walls are SUPER thin. I wore earplugs for a few nights (didn't work) until I started playing white noise overnight. I still woke up all the time. The tenants next door have a small kid that would throw a tantrum for their Omma every day around 7am, Monday through Friday (I'm not kidding), and I didn’t work until 9am, but I was up, so I was up. At night, I could hear the person in the next bedroom snoring, since my head was near the wall. I didn’t sleep well for 14 days.
Additionally, I work from home, so I worked daylight hours and went to see Broadway shows after hours, so I was here during most of the day. I always felt bad when I had meetings (6-8+ hours every week, unfortunately) because I know that the walls are thin, so I feel like I must have bothered the other occupants. This caused me a lot of anxiety.
Even with these cons, I still gave this place 5 stars, because it was still a great spot. Just maybe not the best place for a light sleeper like me!
PROS:
-Super safe neighborhood for solo ladies.
-Great hosts; really nice and accommodating.
-Good water pressure in the shower for the most part; gets pretty hot, too.
-Neat, clean, tidy rooms.
-Microwave, stove, pots and pans, bowels, utensils, etc. You even get some room in the fridge.
-Working elevator.
-Strong internet that never went out.
-You get separate keys to both the bedroom and the apartment, so it feels like your things are super safe.
-10 minutes from the subway that takes you into Manhattan.
-Hooks on the back of the door are a great place to hang a jacket, a drying towel to dry, or extra masks.
CONS:
-The walls are so so so thin, and there's about an inch of space around the windows, which causes a lot of noise to filter in from outside.
-Firmer beds tend to hurt my lower back, so the bed was super uncomfortable to me. Obviously, this is personal preference :)
Bottom line is that I recommend Jian's place to people coming into the city that want to explore this part of Brooklyn, that want a safe stay in a tidy, clean apartment with super kind hosts. But maybe bring a noise machine if you're a light sleeper!