jersey city

Date traveled: Nov 4, 2017

After a two week Eurotrip, I wanted a way to see one of my favourite bands from my youth in New Jersey, their hometown, which happened to be on the day I was supposed to fly back to Ottawa. I found a stop-over flight connection and spent only $15 on the concert ticket, even catching a drumstick flung into the crowd.

The price of the concert tickets were a steal compared to the cab ride from Newark airport to the hostel in Union City. When I first got off the place in Jersey this guy tried to get me to go into his car claiming he was Uber, and I was so tired I walked about 10 steps before realizing I shouldn’t get into this man’s car and that I don’t even have Uber. So I went into the legitimate cab line and ended up playing about $90 for a cab and the cab drive asking me how much I tipped. When I said $5 (it was a 15 minute drive), he took out a calculator, did 15% of the fare and said that’s how much I should tip and tried to shake me down for any cash I had on hand. I’m not sure what the fake Uber guy would’ve done, but it’s up in the air whether he was more or less sketchy.

In Jersey it was surprisingly hard to find a cab so I ended up walking about 90 minutes each way to the show. I wanted to take a picture of this sign saying that boom boxes were outlawed in Union City but was too afraid to take out my phone. It was late at night and I was pretty clearly the only tourist in that neighbourhood.

The hostel was pretty clearly the worst place I have ever stayed in my life. I had a room with three beds – a single and a bunk bed – and after I came back from the concert, about 15 minutes after I got back and did my thing, I realized that someone was lying awake in one of the bunk beds, completely covered by various blankets and towels they had created a barrier with around their bed. The place felt like a prison, and the people I saw there didn’t make me feel any better about it.

Obviously an evening where I spent most the night trying to find and come to terms with transportation and fear of getting mugged by whoever walks down the dark streets of Jersey at one in the morning I didn’t get a chance to experience much outside of my own paranoia and elation at living the dream of teenage me and the sickness from being overtired and not sleeping anywhere close to even half the recommended amount the past two weeks.

What I did learn about Jersey is that you’re better off spending more money and just staying in New York if you don’t know your way around well because you’ll end up spending more time and money getting around than is worth it if you can afford to be on vacation in the New York area anyway.