Yesterday, we took a small rail excursion, due to some domestic issues that made us want to be out of the house for a while. So we went to Hoboken, and then took the Pascak Valley Line to Spring Valley. It was a relatively boring route, but it did bring up a question in my mind.
We went out on the 3:20 departure, arriving more or less on time to Spring Valley at around 4:37. And the area I found was... interesting, to say the least. It was completely run down, and downright nasty. It also was all hispanic. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with hispanics- its just that I was the only white guy in the place, and I didn't seem to speak the language (and I'm talking both verbal spanish, and cultural body language, etc). Which naturally, makes me uncomfortable. In addition, the next train out was at 6:04, and there were no places nearby that I felt comfortable sitting in. No indoor waiting room (or even warming booth), and the only other places to go were a bank, and some clearly inexpensive mexican/south/central american restaurants, and a few crummy looking stores. The Pizza joint in the old station building was closed.
Since I felt like I was in a ghetto, I really didn't feel comfortable going into any of them. I mean, I stuck out like a sore thumb, here. I didn't want to bring any attention to myself, or accidentally trod on anyones toes, or anything like that. Nothing here looked like it was really welcoming/aimed at transients. I'd get the same feeling in the dead center of Harlem, I'd imagine, if I wasn't pretty good friends with a few residents there. And knowing many from that region, and having black housekeepers of the years, I'm better at reading various signals and responding in the appropriate way. Which is one of the biggest problems.
I've gotten two independent recommendations of the Port Jervis line from this board, and several from NJ Transit conductors as well. So when the spring bloom I am referring to comes along, it is my intention to take that line. However, I definitely want to avoid going through the same problem. So what I'm asking is, what is it like at the end of the Port Jervis line?