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Cranford, hands down. Not sure what the rents are there, but Rahway has a more rough-n-tumble blue collarish feel to it (nothing wrong with that) and the elements that comes along with it. Cranford has a nicer town center and good school system, though try to avoid some parts that flood so badly you need a canoe to get around (no joke).
I found it is not good to pick a town that has good sections and bad sections. Sooner or later people from all of the sections come to the same XXX (be it pool, school, etc). I hadnt been to Woodbridge in a long time until I sent to the mall recently. I wouldnt want my kids hanging out there.
BTW, I am suprised that you are finding Cranford cheaper than Maplewood.
Also, is your husband planning on driving to JC? You should figure out the commute (and test it once in rush hour) before you decide
I hadnt been to Woodbridge in a long time until I sent to the mall recently. I wouldnt want my kids hanging out there.
Once the gang members from Elizabeth started parading there at night with their Baby Mamas and their strollers, I decided to call it quits on Woodbridge Center.
I can't recall now whether it was Friday night or Saturday night, but one of those two nights rapidly became known by the locals as "Gang Night" at Woodbridge Center.
And, of course, that soon inspired weak-minded wanna-be local teens to begin dressing like the genuine gangsters from Elizabeth.
Sonofagunk - I'm not sure that Cranford is cheaper than Maplewood. The places we looked at in Maplewood that are in our budget are on the edges of town, near Irvington and/or Union. I'm sure the neighborhoods are completely safe, but they didn't have that "feel" that we're looking for by moving out of Weehawken. It seems that the areas we'd like to live in - closer to the center of town - have few rentals, and they are of course more expensive, substantially so.
We upped our budget a little when we looked in Cranford and found some places that might work. So it's not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, but I still get the feeling that the most desirable locations in Maplewood are more expensive than similar Cranford rentals.
ETA: My husband will be taking the train into JC, so that's not an issue. It's actually a better connection from Cranford than Maplewood, since he can connect to the PATH in Newark which takes him directly into his office at Exchange Place. From Maplewood he has to connect in Hoboken, which takes about 10 minutes longer and is $100 more per month.
Last edited by kristir; 06-19-2012 at 08:41 AM..
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