Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We've been looking at houses in Cranford and Westfield, in the neighborhood of $500-550k. In the current market, we've found houses, on the modest side, in that range in both towns. We have two small children, one of whom benefits from a small class size and extra help (he gets therapy at school now). One of us does business in Manhattan, and we both love a town to walk around.
Having a very hard time wondering whether it's worth it to move to Westfield in our price range, if we wouldn't be happier in Scotch Plains or Fanwood, but know little about the towns. What's the general feel there? Are the neighbors friendly? Any elementary school district especially worth looking into, given what we're looking for? Any areas to stay away from?
Very similar feel, though not really a walkable downtown like Westfield or Cranford... however, its close enough, and you can just drive the 5 minutes it would take to get to Westfield, or a few minutes more to Cranford.
There is a train stop, but unlike Westfield, not all trains stop there; locals only. So you wouldn't be able to catch an express to NYC (adds about 15-20 minutes to the commute).
There are plenty of areas to walk, parks and the like, the primary difference is just the downtown area.
Scotch Plains and Fanwood are both lovely towns, very much in line with Westfield and Cranford. Depending on where your house is located, you can walk around in both SP and Fanwood - I used to live just a couple blocks from downtown SP and my Saturday mornings consisted of pushing the stroller to the Farmers Market, then John's Meat Market, My Town Bakery, (shhh...the liquor store), the library, and home. Plenty of neighborhood parks - just a wonderful place.
The schools are wonderful - the PPD/early intervention preschool programs at Brunner Elementary (where all students who need those services in SP & F go) are staffed by some truly wonderful people - absolute gems.
Many trains do stop at Fanwood - SP does not have a train station of its own. So it isn't like you have to wait for hours for a train - I'm pretty sure most rush hours trains stop there - unlike, say, Garwood. In my recollection, the Westfield trains all stopped at Cranford, Roselle Park, etc - so you don't really get an express from there either (I think!).
In sum, I would definitely open your home search to include SP & Fanwood. They are lovely, family towns!
Many trains do stop at Fanwood - SP does not have a train station of its own. So it isn't like you have to wait for hours for a train - I'm pretty sure most rush hours trains stop there - unlike, say, Garwood. In my recollection, the Westfield trains all stopped at Cranford, Roselle Park, etc - so you don't really get an express from there either (I think!).
Westfield has express lines (goes right to Newark from there, though some now also stop at Cranford, but nothing else). Between 6am and 9am, 10 trains are on the Raritan Valley line - 6 will stop at Fanwood station, all of which are local trains.
Once concern - parking for the train. I believe wait time is years for a Fanwood train station parking sticker.
-Marc
Actually, Fanwood's system doesn't have a waiting list. There is turnover, but you have to keep calling in order to find out if a permit is available at that time. There's also daily parking available if you're an early-bird, and a lot of people who live close to town walk.
I know 10 years ago there was a year plus wait for Westfield. Not sure if that's gotten better.
I know 10 years ago there was a year plus wait for Westfield. Not sure if that's gotten better.
Nope, not at all. There is still a number of daily parking slots available, but the parking pass is like getting yankees season tickets. I chose to walk instead.
That's what I suspected, but I try not to speculate around here too much. I actually "sub-let" my permit for a few months back then. Shhhhh...about the only illegal activity I've ever participated in.
We just moved to Scotch Plains this weekend and we couldn't be happier. I just checked out the Fanwood train station this afternoon around 2:00 and there were PLENTY of parking spaces for "daily" parking available. It is $5/per day to park, which isn't bad. My husband and I both commute into the city, and I did a lot of research before choosing to move to SP. I'm very happy with our neighbors and our choice. Good luck!
We went househunting there this weekend, and saw some great homes for the $. One in the Crestwood section of town seemed especially promising.
Deb, mind if I ask how you commute to Manhattan every day? Do you take the train? We've also seen a couple of listings that note the properties are "walking distance to express bus to NYC," but not sure where those bus stops are. (Our agent was checking.) One such house was on the south side of town, near the Westfield border.
Also, if I'm interpreting this correctly, Brunner is the elementary school to check out if your child's getting services? I also heard good things about McGinn? How are the middle schools and can anyone tell me the differences between them? It's hard to get a "feel" from school reports online, and I'm still slowly checking out schools in person, so any help or thoughts are much appreciated.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Scotch Plains is Great
