I am seriously confused.

I used to live in the Heights about 7 years ago on Summit Avenue near Manhattan. I absolutely loved it. I moved out of state and am now back again and live near Journal Square.

Like it here as well but I live in a very small two-family house and I have to keep a good deal of my stuff in storage because the halls of this tiny house are too narrow to accommodate large furniture. At some point I have to move and I was thinking of returning to the Heights.

But now I'm told that the Heights are full of gang members and that I should stay far away. When did this happen?? I never felt afraid when I lived there before.......!

I'm a black woman in my 50s and a native New Yorker -- meaning I don't scare easily and I know that there is crime everywhere. But I wish someone would give an objective and unemotional opinion on whether or not it is safe to live in the Heights, or even Union City.

Also, it's been suggested to me that I should think about moving to Bayonne. But I don't drive, which means I'd have to be near the light rail. And if it's as quiet and close-knit as I've been led to believe, I'm not sure a woman like me would be as comfortable there than I would in the Heights. I'm a city girl; I like to be not far from a place to grab a cup of coffee, buy a bottle a wine, and get a pack of cigarettes, or get breakfast in a friendly nearby diner.

So - what say u?