NJ Monthly: Best Places To Live (Newark, Westfield: crime rate, home, unemployment)

[kalim2008]

It's funny, we live in cranford and were looking to move to someplace like Watchung, and now it turns out given all factors, it's much better to live in Cranford (#37 out of 566 towns)

New Jersey Monthly (njmonthly.com) (broken link)

[AnesthesiaMD]

Originally Posted by kalim2008

It's funny, we live in cranford and were looking to move to someplace like Watchung, and now it turns out given all factors, it's much better to live in Cranford (#37 out of 566 towns)

New Jersey Monthly (njmonthly.com) (broken link)

Please don't take that list seriously. It is a joke.

[brookdaleresident]

Some towns rated higher (horrible) than others (much nicer) lower on the list. Makes no sense.

[JackedInPrinceton]

Wow, oh my... its listed higher on a ranking in NJ monthly! You better stay in Cranford now!!

[CuCullin]

Read the fine print on how they came up with their stats - its pretty ridiculous. I wouldn't judge anything based on that list.

[kalim2008]

Originally Posted by brookdaleresident

Some towns rated higher (horrible) than others (much nicer) lower on the list. Makes no sense.

Really? Like what?

[CuCullin]

Clark is 35. Cranford is 37. Westfield is 118. Livingston is 137. Marlboro is 268.

Newark, at 361, beat out Red Bank, at 503.

That doesn't seem a little off to you?

[JackedInPrinceton]

Originally Posted by kalim2008

Really? Like what?

You cant be serious right? Why would you take a magazines word for it? Who even goes about rating the towns? Make your own decision.

[kalim2008]

Originally Posted by CuCullin

Clark is 35. Cranford is 37. Westfield is 118. Livingston is 137. Marlboro is 268.

Newark, at 361, beat out Red Bank, at 503.

That doesn't seem a little off to you?

Why not? Clark, Westfield, and Cranford are next to each other, and I personally can't say which is better. It would help if they explained some of their more "unusual" results though....

Here's their methodology...sounds pretty ok to me...I'd pick a survey that at least tries to use statistical and scientific methodology than lists compiled by some Joe Nobody who simply uses personal preference.


METHODOLOGY: In compiling New Jersey Monthly’s 2007 Top Towns list, researchers at Monmouth University’s Polling Institute considered eight categories best representing the quality of life in New Jersey’s 566 municipalities: property taxes, home values, population growth, land development, employment, crime rate, school performance, and proximity to services.

The research team selected a prototypical indicator corresponding, respectively, to each of these eight categories: median property tax (2007), median increase in home values (2000–2006), population growth rate (2000–2006), percentage of land preserved as open space (2007), unemployment rate (2006), total crime rate (2006), student proficiency on state-mandated standardized tests for students in grades 4, 8, and 11 (2006), and number of acute-care hospitals within ten miles.
To level the playing field, household income was not considered, and home values were measured by their rate of increase over five years rather than by current prices. To compare land development, towns with relatively slower growth and more open space were rated more favorably. Towns with lower unemployment and crime rates also scored higher, as did those closer to hospitals.
A statistical standardization technique was used to rank all 566 municipalities according to the eight indicators; an average of the eight numerical values for each municipality determined its final rank.

[JackedInPrinceton]

Its all numbers... whats it mean? Nothing. You should decide where you want to live.... Joe Nobody? You are putting yourself down there. Are they better than you because they rank towns? No. Spend some time in Watchung... if YOU like it better than Watchung is for YOU. The only one deciding where you should live is yourself. Dont take some so called "guru's" word for it. Research it and make a decision. Good luck!