Rahway,NJ

[RUBIES77]

Originally Posted by LookinginNJ

I am living in staten island. My husband and I moved here from NJ two years ago (shore town), to cut our commute to work. We hate it because, the school system is not the best, and we want good schools because we are about to start a family. We are looking to move back to NJ. Can anyone tell me about Rahway? Is it a good place for children? Are the schools good? Is there a lot of crime? Are there gangs? (Where we lived in NJ, crime was a foreign word. No one ever seen it or heard of it.)

Thanks

CRIME IN NEW JERSEY IS A FOREIGN WORD? IT IS USUALLY not publicized by the newspapers, because they want to keep you dumb. Check all the bad cities of NJ in this data, someone had a list of ghettoes from here to the corner. Is it possible to have ghettoes without crime? GIVE ME A BREAK! As far as Rahway, it has a jail on Woodbridge Avenue with most violent offenders, has lots of crime, drugs, and gangs, so there. Linden next door also, and the north of Woodbridge is getting lots of junk. YOU BETTER DO your homework more in depth!

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by RUBIES77

CRIME IN NEW JERSEY IS A FOREIGN WORD? IT IS USUALLY not publicized by the newspapers, because they want to keep you dumb. Check all the bad cities of NJ in this data, someone had a list of ghettoes from here to the corner. Is it possible to have ghettoes without crime? GIVE ME A BREAK! As far as Rahway, it has a jail on Woodbridge Avenue with most violent offenders, has lots of crime, drugs, and gangs, so there. Linden next door also, and the north of Woodbridge is getting lots of junk. YOU BETTER DO your homework more in depth!

You are the one who should do your homework

THERE IS NO PRISON IN RAHWAY
Sure we have our problems as most cities do but
As far as gangs and drugs and crime
Tell me where so i can join in

I haven't had a good gang fight since my early days in Brooklyn

[BrianG]

Crime in Rahway by Year

Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Murders 1 2 1 0 2 0 0 1
per 100,000 3.9 7.7 3.7 0.0 7.4 0.0 0.0 3.6
Rapes 4 4 2 2 2 4 2 3
per 100,000 15.7 15.4 7.5 7.4 7.4 14.8 7.2 10.9
Robberies 52 31 27 32 49 55 44 46
per 100,000 204.5 119.0 101.0 118.3 181.1 204.0 159.2 166.8
Assaults 31 32 29 33 29 33 41 26
per 100,000 121.9 122.9 108.5 122.0 107.2 122.4 148.3 94.3
Burglaries 142 204 156 133 154 150 95 117
per 100,000 558.5 783.2 583.8 491.6 569.1 556.3 343.7 424.2
Thefts 490 522 633 519 457 449 376 433
per 100,000 1927.2 2004.1 2368.9 1918.4 1688.8 1665.1 1360.4 1569.8
Auto thefts 107 87 131 144 100 75 80 82
per 100,000 420.8 334.0 490.3 532.3 369.5 278.1 289.5 297.3
Arson 7 2 5 5 5 7 5 5
per 100,000 27.5 7.7 18.7 18.5 18.5 26.0 18.1 18.1
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 323.2) 256.0 249.6 240.3 219.5 233.4 225.3 184.9 201.1

[YankeesJetsFan]

I love Rahway. I've lived here for almost 2 years now and I've never felt threatened walking around anywhere downtown.

If someone like me can move to Rahway from Westchester County and feel safe then I think nobody has anything to worry about.

[njatty]

First of all the Penetentiary is in Woodbridge - not Rahway - the original name "Rahway State" was misleading and was changed to Jersey state b/c it wasn't in Rahway - it's a pet-peeve for Rahway citizens when this comes up!

My husband and I currently live in Rahway (off of Inman Ave)... here's the truth - IMO it's a great starter town for young families (5 of us on our block alone!) but we are thinking of moving before we have school aged children because we want more a rural vibe. The elementary schools are decent - especially if you live in a good area but the middle and high school can be tough - but there are alot of private schools in the area and with the money you save in taxes (Rahway is the only town in Union Cty where the taxes have remained low) you can afford a private school. We live around the corner from the Colonia golf club and a few blocks from Milton Lake (nicest areas) and our neighborhood is very quiet and all the families on the block are professional, friendly and respectful. We have block parties for 4th of July and everyone knows each other and is friendly. But everyone is older (we are 27 and 30) and their kids (now in HS) went to private high schools. But they all love Rahway and have been here for over 20 years. Also, there is major redevelopment downtown and a Trader Joe's will come in along with more restaurants, shopping and a Starbucks - they are trying to make it like Westfield but with a more cultural bent. The town also has a bunch of art galleries, open-air concerts, an arts center and is really trying to sell itself as a cultural hub. RahwayArtsDistrictHome It's a great town and it's gotten a bad rap by a lot of people who judge it by the highway and the prison. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We live here and we have never had any thefts or felt unsafe - IMO it's better than Linden, prettier than Colonia and Avenel and it has a lot happening - which means that your property values will go up and if anything you will make money when you sell. Case in point - we bought in 2004 for 260k, our neighbor just sold his home for 370k - same layout as our house - that's 110k in 3 years. Something to consider...

Also, if it helps, our neighbors just moved here from Staten Island and they love the neighborhood - they're also hoping to start a family and they always have their friends from "the Island" over and we all get together and have a great time. Give Rahway a try - stay in the Inman Heights section (the closer to Clark/Colonia the better) and if you don't like it, you can always sell before your kids go to jr. high or high school and if the development continues you will be guaranteed a nice profit. Hope this helps

[RobRiguez]

+1 NJATTY. All of these people putting down the more urban toans and cities really need to wake up and realize that urban does not automatically mean bad. I seem to be on a bit of a rant today but ive just read 5-6 post where someone is bashing what I would consider to be a decent place to live. Maybe if they are comming from whitebread-sheltered-snobby communities they dont know whats real in the world? I dont know. But there is a ton of NJ bashing done here that is completely unwarranted.

As for the crime statistics...compare them to any other urban area in the country before you go saying they are horrible. Keep in mind, From NYC almost all the way to the 287 loop is considered an "Urban Area" by most statistics across the country due to the population density. NJ has some of the highest population density in the country if not THEE highest.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by njatty

First of all the Penetentiary is in Woodbridge - not Rahway - the original name "Rahway State" was misleading and was changed to Jersey state b/c it wasn't in Rahway - it's a pet-peeve for Rahway citizens when this comes up!

My husband and I currently live in Rahway (off of Inman Ave)... here's the truth - IMO it's a great starter town for young families (5 of us on our block alone!) but we are thinking of moving before we have school aged children because we want more a rural vibe. The elementary schools are decent - especially if you live in a good area but the middle and high school can be tough - but there are alot of private schools in the area and with the money you save in taxes (Rahway is the only town in Union Cty where the taxes have remained low) you can afford a private school. We live around the corner from the Colonia golf club and a few blocks from Milton Lake (nicest areas) and our neighborhood is very quiet and all the families on the block are professional, friendly and respectful. We have block parties for 4th of July and everyone knows each other and is friendly. But everyone is older (we are 27 and 30) and their kids (now in HS) went to private high schools. But they all love Rahway and have been here for over 20 years. Also, there is major redevelopment downtown and a Trader Joe's will come in along with more restaurants, shopping and a Starbucks - they are trying to make it like Westfield but with a more cultural bent. The town also has a bunch of art galleries, open-air concerts, an arts center and is really trying to sell itself as a cultural hub. RahwayArtsDistrictHome It's a great town and it's gotten a bad rap by a lot of people who judge it by the highway and the prison. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We live here and we have never had any thefts or felt unsafe - IMO it's better than Linden, prettier than Colonia and Avenel and it has a lot happening - which means that your property values will go up and if anything you will make money when you sell. Case in point - we bought in 2004 for 260k, our neighbor just sold his home for 370k - same layout as our house - that's 110k in 3 years. Something to consider...

Also, if it helps, our neighbors just moved here from Staten Island and they love the neighborhood - they're also hoping to start a family and they always have their friends from "the Island" over and we all get together and have a great time. Give Rahway a try - stay in the Inman Heights section (the closer to Clark/Colonia the better) and if you don't like it, you can always sell before your kids go to jr. high or high school and if the development continues you will be guaranteed a nice profit. Hope this helps

Great post
Thanks neighbor

[bmack]

Originally Posted by YankeesJetsFan

I love Rahway. I've lived here for almost 2 years now and I've never felt threatened walking around anywhere downtown.

If someone like me can move to Rahway from Westchester County and feel safe then I think nobody has anything to worry about.

I have not either. People are so ignorant to talk about something they know nothing about.

[bmack]

Originally Posted by VST7

Just chiming in to say that my husband and I moved to Rahway last spring with our young daughter and we couldn't be happier. Our neighbors are absolutely wonderful; great things are happening downtown; and we love being able to commute by train.

As for crime that many seem to mistakenly associate with Rahway, I just don't see it. The claims about high crime rates match up with neither my research or my experience. Rahway has lower crime rates than Woodbrigde and Linden, higher than Carteret and Clark; but nothing excessive for the overall region. (I researched it before moving here). I grew up in a wealthy suburb but I've also lived in NYC and New Haven. I know a rough city and Rahway isn't it. And as for schools, well I'm firm believer that aside from extreme cases, school performance is largely a reflection of parents' values and the child's home environment. My husband and I both have advanced degrees, place a high priority on learning, and are involved in our daughter's education. We fully expect our daughter to thrive wherever she attends school.

This is a wonderful area that keeps getting better. It's also one of the few remaining towns in the NYC metro region where you can buy a family home without mortgaging yourself to your eyeballs.

I highly recommend it here.

AMEN!!! Well said!