Cranford/Westfield/Fanwood (Newark, Jersey City, Union: real estate, houses, to buy)

[t_taiko]

Hi everyone, I need your thoughts on Carnford/Westfield/Fanwood.
Currently my husband and I live in Jersey City, NJ.
We are planning to buy our first house in year2008 and looking into those 3 towns. Since I am Asian and my husband is Afro-American, it is important that we live in diversified community. We want to live in the town where the train goes into Newark-Penn Station since my husband works in Exchange Place by Path and I work in Manhattan. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

[tandcookies]

Hi!

I used to live in Cranford and it was a wonderful and kind town. I am in a whelchair and I used to say it felt like people in cranford would jump out of their cars to help me open a door. I've been out of that town for four years, but I really didn't think it was that diverse, but it is welcoming.

One thing to note your commute would not be direct from there to NY. You have to get off in Newark and switch trains. It wasn't a huge deal, but did add time...

Good luck!!

[missy2]

Originally Posted by t_taiko

Hi everyone, I need your thoughts on Carnford/Westfield/Fanwood.
Currently my husband and I live in Jersey City, NJ.
We are planning to buy our first house in year2008 and looking into those 3 towns. Since I am Asian and my husband is Afro-American, it is important that we live in diversified community. We want to live in the town where the train goes into Newark-Penn Station since my husband works in Exchange Place by Path and I work in Manhattan. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

I think Westfield is a good choice, and the other 2 aren't bad.

[BobKovacs]

While I can't say that you'll have problems, per se, those three towns aren't the most diverse areas- they're pretty conservative white-bread towns. Again, that's not to say that you'll be shunned or anything, but I don't know that I'd expect a really warm welcome, especially if you're in the higher $$ areas of the towns.

[E-TOWN-R.I.P.]

I agree with Bob. I've lived in this area for 5 years and it's a beautiful area with wonderful people. But the one thing it's not is diverse. Now that doesn't mean you'll run into trouble, but it's something you should keep in mind.

[HelgaB]

Morris Township is a quite diverse area. In term of investing in real estate, the values are more stable, the lots are larger, and the taxes are lower there than in Union or Essex counties. Also you would enjoy the close proximity to Morristown with its culture life and the convenience of commuting to NYC via Midtown Direct from Morristown train station.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by t_taiko

Hi everyone, I need your thoughts on Carnford/Westfield/Fanwood.
Currently my husband and I live in Jersey City, NJ.
We are planning to buy our first house in year2008 and looking into those 3 towns. Since I am Asian and my husband is Afro-American, it is important that we live in diversified community. We want to live in the town where the train goes into Newark-Penn Station since my husband works in Exchange Place by Path and I work in Manhattan. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

All three are good towns and you
would not have any problems in any one of them but
those community's are not as diversified as you would want
Good luck and
Happy holidays to all

[E-TOWN-R.I.P.]

Originally Posted by HelgaB

Morris Township is a quite diverse area. In term of investing in real estate, the values are more stable, the lots are larger, and the taxes are lower there than in Union or Essex counties. Also you would enjoy the close proximity to Morristown with its culture life and the convenience of commuting to NYC via Midtown Direct from Morristown train station.

You're kidding, right? I worked in Morris County for years and it's as far from diverse as you can get. It's basically white NYC commuters and hicks. Morris Township is every bit as white-dominated as Westfield, Cranford, etc. The only diversity you get is if you cross over into the ghetto sections of neighboring Morristown. And please don't compare downtown Morristown to downtown Westfield. The only people who think Morristown is cosmopolitan are the hicks living anywhere west of Mo-Town. Wow, the Famished Frog ... about as hokey as it gets. And their are plenty of houses in Westfield, Cranford, etc. that cost way more than those in Morris Township. And the property taxes in Morris County are INSANE!!! Plus, you're farther from NYC and you have to squeeze into the God-awful Midtown Direct train. C'mon ... In short, please don't expect any convenience or diversity if you move to Morris County.

[t_taiko]

Thanks everyone for your posts! We will go check out those cities and see what happens! have a happy new year!

[andrewC]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

While I can't say that you'll have problems, per se, those three towns aren't the most diverse areas- they're pretty conservative white-bread towns. Again, that's not to say that you'll be shunned or anything, but I don't know that I'd expect a really warm welcome, especially if you're in the higher $$ areas of the towns.

I tend to agree with Bob.

We have friends (South Asians) who recently moved into a section of Westfield that I'd consider to be more like the moneyed part of town and the welcome from neighbors has so far been warm. But my guess is that they do not expect to experience much diversity or a notable increase in non-whites moving into town. The public schools have track record for excellence and that appears to be among the most important reasons for their move to Westfield.

My family is also considering a move to Westfield aslo for thesame reason. We've looked at homes on the north west side in the area of Brightwood Rd.

Bob, since all of what I've read from you is generally quite accurate, what can you honetly share about the desirability of that section of town given the fact that it's virtually on the Scoth Plains border ? .... and could Brightwood possibly develope into a rather busy street in the near future ?