Hoboken, no jokin’

Whenever I tell somebody that I go to Stevens, I always get asked about how I like Hoboken. I have mixed feelings.

Before coming here, I valued the location of Stevens based on it’s closeness to NYC. I loved how it was so convenient to take the PATH in search of good food and cute stores. But I quickly learned that I don’t even need to take that ride because I can find those things right here in Hoboken. There’s also a good amount of history and character in Hoboken because of Frank Sinatra-esque pride and the old architecture of the buildings. As a bonus, we also get the beautiful city view that you obviously can’t enjoy if you’re over in New York. I love that everything in Hoboken is close walking distance, there’s a variety, and stores are open late. Basically, I really like the smaller city life atmosphere here.

I still haven’t seen all of Hoboken though. I primarily walk south of Sixth Street unless I’m headed to Bagles. This is because I live in Davis and the 24 hour CVS and Dunkin are down that way. I just never had a reason to walk around up past Ninth Street.  But the other night, my friend and I went for a walk that way, and I feel like that’s the fancier side of Hoboken. So I’m going to make more of an effort to go to new places in that area this spring and summer.

So I would definitely say that I actively leave campus, especially on the weekends. This is exactly what I don’t like about Hoboken: weekend nights. I always feel like it’s not safe. To begin, I never go west past Washington because I was told that it’s the dangerous “Dead Presidents” section. Like I don’t want to risk getting mugged. Also, I was cat called when I was walking back by Jefferson street last semester by some creepy guy. That’s not a situation I want to be in. Like I always try to put on a resting bitch face so that nobody will bother me. And the homeless people scare me because I’m worried that they might randomly get upset and attack me because I’m alone. I’m thinking carrying around pepper spray is a necessity.  And I also get worried that super drunk guys might team up and try to bother me. It’s also super gross that drunk people randomly pee in the streets.

I just don’t know if I’m the only one worried about walking alone.