Cranford,Summit,Springfield,Garwood,Fanwood... (Union, Westfield: condo, house, neighborhoods)

[andyh428]

I drove to the Union County section of NJ this weekend and stopped by some areas (Cranford,Summit,Springfield)

Anyody from these areas or others like Garwood,Fanwood,Westfield and Mountainside???

Id like to hear from people who live in these areas or have lived in these areas. Positives/Negatives etc.

Im currently in the market for a home in the 350-450k range and will start house hunting soon. Any feedback would be great.

[Riccijoe]

The towns of Springfield, Westfield, and Summit are great towns with good school systems. The positives are that they are family neighborhoods with good school systems. The prices in these towns are expensive but you can get a good house if you look hard enough.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by andyh428

I drove to the Union County section of NJ this weekend and stopped by some areas (Cranford,Summit,Springfield)

Anyody from these areas or others like Garwood,Fanwood,Westfield and Mountainside???

Id like to hear from people who live in these areas or have lived in these areas. Positives/Negatives etc.

Im currently in the market for a home in the 350-450k range and will start house hunting soon. Any feedback would be great.

All nice towns and i second what riccijoe says

[Wellatleast]

I live in Roselle Park, which is also in Union County. I like Union County because:
Only an hour (max) drive to spend the day at the shore or NY city.
Many towns have a train station.
Easy access to highways (Pkwy, NJTP, 78, 22, 95, 1&9, 80)
There is a diverse community and a good mix of cultures and races
There are a lot of good resteraunts.
Roselle Park has a library, post office, community center, boys and girls club, cinema, supportive local government, veterinarian, a couple of small parks plus stores and other conveniences. Our daughter just finished first grade and was very happy. There is an after-care program and excellent PTA.
The down side would only be the things that you don't want so it would be difficult to list those.
Take Care!

[lblasche]

Andy,

I grew up in this area. It was a wonderful place to grow up, excellent school systems, access to cultural events, the beach, winter sports resorts, etc. It also has some of the most beautiful areas. I have lived out of state for years, but also enjoy my return visits. Out of staters always put NJ down or characterize it by garbage dumps and the Sopranos like atmosphere.

Personally, I had the most wonderful experience growing up there and would not have traded it for anything.

Positives--proximately to the NJ Shore, Skiing, NYC, metro area job opportunities for upward mobility with higher salaries

Negatives--have always been and increasingly so, expensive housing and high taxes, overall high cost of living.

[ira]

Originally Posted by andyh428

I drove to the Union County section of NJ this weekend and stopped by some areas (Cranford,Summit,Springfield)

Anyody from these areas or others like Garwood,Fanwood,Westfield and Mountainside???

Id like to hear from people who live in these areas or have lived in these areas. Positives/Negatives etc.

Im currently in the market for a home in the 350-450k range and will start house hunting soon. Any feedback would be great.

They are all nice areas but I doubt you can find anything in the 350K-450K range - maybe a condo, but finding a house would be really tough.