Looking for some advice for staying in a hotel in East Orange (Newark: Valentine's day, renting)

[-b.e.-]

Hello all!

I did try and search for this, but the threads I found weren't as informative as I hoped them would be.
Anyway...

I'm travelling from Finland to NJ around Valentine's day, and I'm only staying for a couple of nights. The thing is, from what I've read, it seems my plans of exploring and otherwise just walking around might not be safe.
And, I'd love to have your input on that.

I'm not as much interested in East Orange (sorry if this offends anyone), but South Orange. I just couldn't find any hotels online in S.Orange. Or at least hotels that are less than 3 miles away from SOPAC.
The original plan was to walk from the hotel to SOPAC, but I've begun to think that it might not be the brightest of my ideas.

So, can you offer some advice about all of the above? I'm a Finnish gal in her late 20s, but as I will be travelling alone, so the normal advice "always travel with a friend" doesn't help much

Thanks in beforehand for any answers.

-b.e.-

[ottomobeale]

Dont walk around unless Finnish people have the adaptation of being bulletproof. EO You staying at the Ramada?

Local peeps. what about this place in SO?
Broad St Hotel‎ - more info »
111 S Orange Ave, South Orange, NJ‎ - (973) 762-2647‎
Write a review

[-b.e.-]

Originally Posted by ottomobeale

Dont walk around unless Finnish people have the adaptation of being bulletproof. EO You staying at the Ramada?

Unfortunately we haven't developed that kind of feature...

I've lived in rough places (by Finnish standards) but guns have never been that much of an issue in those places. Knives on the other hand...

The stupid thing is, that I've come to rely on my size as a deterrent (I'm a big girl and 6'2'') but that doesn't help if someone comes at me with a weapon of some kind.

Yup, you guessed the hotel correctly.

-b.e.-

[Nauticadon]

Not this crap again

Another "let's take a cheap shot at the ghetto" thread. Okay I'll play along.

You mentioned being within walking distance. Do you have a rental? If so I would suggest staying in Maplewood if "safety" is an issue.

I'm not sure where exactly SOPAC is but even the areas off S. Orange Ave in Newark close to Seton Hall aren't too bad.

I don't have much info as I don't live in NJ anymore but I hope that helps.

[-b.e.-]

Originally Posted by Nauticadon

Not this crap again

Another "let's take a cheap shot at the ghetto" thread. Okay I'll play along.

You mentioned being within walking distance. Do you have a rental? If so I would suggest staying in Maplewood if "safety" is an issue.

I'm not sure where exactly SOPAC is but even the areas off S. Orange Ave in Newark close to Seton Hall aren't too bad.

I don't have much info as I don't live in NJ anymore but I hope that helps.

I didn't mean to insult anyone. I am a real person, whom, might I add, has NEVER been to the US! That's why I'm asking all these dumb questions.
Someone in a Finnish forum directed me here, so I thought that maybe I could get some actual info.
BUT as I searched, I became more and more nervous about the whole thing. Things said in this board about East Orange, NJ are far from flattering.

Now to the questions you asked:
Unfortunately I haven't got a driver's licence, so renting is out of the question. (I know that it might sound odd that I don't drive, but the public transportation system works well where I live ... and the cost of gas and parking are quite high)

SOPAC is next to South Orange Station, in the corner of South Orange Avenue and Trenchard Place. Hopefully that gives you some some idea of its location...

I'd love to hear from others about all of this. Especially if there are (reasonably priced) hotels near SOPAC in South Orange, which can be booked online.

Maybe I should just risk it. The plane tickets and the event tickets are non-refundable and (naturally) already paid for. It's just the hotel and all the scary stories that are the problem here...

-b.e.-

[Jerseyt719]

Why are you going to South Orange? What are you doing there? Maybe there are safer alternatives that you can stay somewhere else and catch a cab to go where you need to.

6'2" female from a foreign land - hmmm, I don't know if that is a deterrent, but you certainly will stick out and attract attention regardless.

Seriously, think about this before you make any decisions. This is the Mom in me coming out. I'd be a nervous wreck if you were my daughter.

[EB2]

I sent you a DM.

[sdweisman]

SOPAC is right next to the train station so you can stay in a "safer" area and just take the train to go see a show or explore south orange. you can also take that train right into ny and see the sights there. i would do a check out towns on the morris/essex line: for a map try this: http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/Rail_System_Map.pdf

good luck

[veuvegirl]

There are a few hotels in Livingston that most people stay at when visiting the South Orange area, that said, this isn't walkable.

I would do what sdweisman said and look on the train line for another hotel. There is the Grand Summit in Summit NJ. Nice hotel, you can walk to the train in Summit which goes to South Orange. Summit and South Orange both have great downtowns.

[ottomobeale]

>I've lived in rough places (by Finnish standards) but guns have never been that much of an issue in those places. Knives on the other hand... <

Not sure how bad Finnish bad areas are. As bad as French Muslim Ghettos? I hear those are very bad. I lack information to give a European equivalent of East Orange. Put it this way. When driving through EO (very) occasionally, I watch EVERYONE around when driving through (I drive a very generic car and dont attract attention). Thats not something I do in SO or even Dover, NJ, which sometimes gets a bad rap on these boards.

The train lines idea above may be very very good.

>The stupid thing is, that I've come to rely on my size as a deterrent (I'm a big girl and 6'2'') but that doesn't help if someone comes at me with a weapon of some kind.<
Even in heels you are not big enough to stop a bullet.

>Yup, you guessed the hotel correctly.<
I did a hotel search for EO that is the only one that came up. As much as I like to brag about my brilliant genius, it is not hard to pick 1 from a list of 1.