Cacciola Pl, Westfield (Cranford, Summit, Chatham: section 8, houses, neighborhoods)

[james2012]

I am looking for a house in Westfield/Cranford/Summit/Chatham. There is a new listing located on Cacciola Pl, Westfield. It is a young 2-family house built in 1998 and priced at only 479K. Pictures look great. I did a quick search on google and found out Cacciola Pl has some section 8 housing. Is Cacciola Pl a horrible place to live? Thanks.

[Smartone]

I'd stay away from section 8 housing, period.

[RiggerNY]

Every few months, someone asks about the Cacciola Pl area in WF. I highly suggest driving/walking around the area before seriously considering making an offer. This is the only area of WF that I would caution someone about. 479k wont get you very much in WF, Summit, or Chatham. You can probably fair better in Cranford.

[Suluki11]

Completely agree with Smartone and RiggerNY. If you dont mind a busy road, there is a home that needs some updating priced I believe at $439K on North Avenue by Charles Street (in Westfield) with a nice size lot and garage (very close walking distance to downtown and both bus/train NYC transportation). Would much rather consider that vs. living in the area you are considering.

[Retriever]

Originally Posted by RiggerNY

Every few months, someone asks about the Cacciola Pl area in WF. I highly suggest driving/walking around the area before seriously considering making an offer. This is the only area of WF that I would caution someone about. 479k wont get you very much in WF, Summit, or Chatham. You can probably fair better in Cranford.

Not only should someone drive and walk around a neighborhood that they are considering, but they should be sure to do it at night as well as during the day. On more than one occasion, I have heard of folks who moved into a neighborhood because it looked decent during daylight hours. However, that same neighborhood turned out to be a haven for hookers and their patrons, and for drug dealers and their customers, after...let's say...11:00 PM.

[RiggerNY]

While there are no hookers and likely very few drug dealers in this area, its still known for property crime. I almost bought a house off of Central Ave near the Cacciola area and am very thankful I did not now that I'm much more familiar with the town.

[petenaff]

How is the area that is within a few block radius from Westfield High School?

[Suluki11]

As long as you are not too close to the HS proper, that is a nice area (although there always is that South vs. North side debate - but dont let that influence you - there are absolutley beautiful homes/neighborhoods on the South side). However, if you want/need to be walking distance to NYC commute (bus/train), try getting homes that are closer to South Ave vs on the other side of the HS.

[petenaff]

What would be considered as the other side of the WF HS?? The block that I am referring to is around Park and Summit.

[ZdGoma]

Petenaff, IMHO the area around the intersection you mention is nice, nice houses etc. However, it is pretty busy with traffic (and parking) from HS and commuters to the train station.

BTW, thanks for your reply to my other question. Good luck in your househunt!