Hoboken is a very small town, about 3 by 3 miles. However, it's not only the birth place of baseball, but also has one of nation's oldest engineering school. This is where my undergraduate college - Stevens Institute of Technology is located. During the twenties, the ranking of Stevens was in par with MIT and since then, it has been going downwards somehow. I was told that Andrew Carnegie was once on the Trustee's and somehow he had a fight with the authority at that time and left and founded CMU. I'm not sure if this was completely true, but I believe it definite has some truths in it. There is still a building which Carnegie donated at Stevens.

In Hoboken, besides school events, there are always something going on here and the city has gained more attention recently. When I left there last September, the real estate of the city has went up substancially. A lot of middle class men and women are flooding in to live in there. More apartment buildings were being built. A big park was in progress. In short, it's becoming a party town. The main reason for this, I guess, is because of Hoboken's unique location and security.

The city is located on the west side of the Hudson river and faces Manhatten. The highest point at Hoboken is called Castle Point of the Hudson. From there, you can look over the to the City. At night, you can see the headlight of cars which are busy running over the highway next to the west bank of Manhatten. You can also watch fireworks of New York on big holidays. To get into the city, you can take ferry or the path train. The ferry takes you right to the World Trade Center and you can go on enjoying Broadway, Wall Street, China Town from there.

You can also get the Newport Shopping mall by path train. It's a big shopping mall with all kinds of stores in it, music shop, clothings, restaurants, computer stores and even movie theaters. You can spend the whole day in it without getting bored.

Aside from the convenience of being close to the city culture, Hoboken has its own traditions. There are a lot of art festival or cultural celebrations such as parades going on here. People go on parades at all kinds of holidays such as Saint Peter's day. Because of the city size, even a fairly small event will have most people involved.

The main stree of Hoboken is the Washington street, which goes all the way from downtown to uptown. There are all kinds of shops along the street, flower shops, bars, bookstores, pharmacies, news stands, wedding shops. The restaurants at Hoboken are so diverse that you can certainly find your favorite food here. I think I have probably visited almost all of them.

The city's streets are named from 1st to 15th street southwest to northeast. Stevens buildings are located next to the Hudson river at the east side of the Hoboken. You can walk to most places if you like. Stevens Center, a 13-floor administration building, is built right on top of the Castle Point. In summer or winter, it can get very windy around the building.

The building of Hoboken are all old but they are still quite respectable. Some belongs to Stevens and other than all kinds of stores and restaurants, the rest are mostly apartments for rent. People here are very nice and warm-hearted. On a hot summer night, you can see a lot of people walking on the street, having meal in the restaurants and on the side of streets. It's also very safe at night. You don't have to worry too much even walking on the street at 2 to 5 am in the morning.

Life is fun and relaxing in Hoboken. Next time you visit the city, don't forget to stop by Hoboken, and enjoy the unique atmosphere of a special city.