Bridgeton-How Bad Could It Be??? (Jersey City, Trenton: rent, crime rates, houses)

[johnnyd1297]

My wife and I currently live in a nice mixed area of Brooklyn, New York and were condidering a property in Bridgeton, NJ.
Some people seem to think it's a bad place but surely someone is living there.
That may sound a little sarcastic and I don't mean to be at all. I just can't believe that it's as bad as some on the site say it is.
Can anyone straighten me out.
Thanx in advance for any help you guys can give us.

[CrazyJerzyKidUNO]

yea bridgeton is pretty much a ****hole

but coming from Teaneck, NJ which is REALLY a dive, i would have to say that there are worse places in NJ. Truthfully your better of staying in Brooklyn. Alot of New Yorkers move to NJ for some strange reason and then figure out what its like and move back. Dont waste your time. But if you are set on moving i would say move to North Bergen, NJ or WEst New york, NJ or Union City of Jersey City.

[christina0001]

South Woods State Prison is in Bridgeton. For NJ, it's pretty rural down there. I have an in-law who is "vacationing" in Bridgeton. My husband and I visited a few times; we stopped at the local grocery store and the folks there were pretty rough. Keep in mind, I work in Trenton and go into Trenton stores regularly, and feel pretty safe there. I did not feel safe at the grocery store near Bridgeton (I think technically the store was in the next town over). That's all I know about the area. Because it is relatively rural in that area, I do suspect it's possible that only the area immediately surrounding the prison might be shady.

[wjcheng]

One great thing about the town is that the housing is very affordable, you can get house for $20,000 to $60,000 and may be throw some more money to make it shine! After all, the more South of NJ, the better the price...

Where are you going to work? You sure want to be able to commute comfortably ...

Another great thing is that it is very close to Atlantic City, if you enjoy the nice buffet there, you will find lots of great time there, especially, lots of new stores open and the beach in summer time ...

Brooklyn is too crowd, and expensive to live. But, you first want to know where your job is going to be?

Oh! one more great thing is the gas price! During my job hunting trip, I have never seen gas price that cheap in NJ, not to mention Brooklyn NY ...

[Taboo]

OK.. here is the lowdown on Bridgeton. It IS NOT CLOSE to Atlantic City by any means, unless you consider 50 miles a hop skip and a jump. Bridgeton is a scary place and the surrounding area is scary too. Of course there are nice streets everywhere but that is all there is a nice street here and there and the folks that live there are scared. The area around south woods is nice and quiet and south woods is not really that close to Bridgeton either ( around 10 miles out). If you have children, you do not wish them to go to bridgeton if you have a choice. There is no night life in Bridgton besides shopping (in nearby towns) and movie theatres ( also in nearby towns). I taught in Bridgeton for many years and commuted an hour each way each day for the piece of mind of a nice community. Bridgeton is very depressing. SURE you can find old homes cheap and fix them up but you would not want to live in them and the type of folks that would rent them from you and take care of them are few and far between. I do know lots of folks that are struggling in the town to get out or make it better but you do not want to put yourself in the situaion on purpose. If you are looking for night life, AC is the way to go and ther are safe communities much closer then Bridgeton that you can live in.

[LittleMissSunshine]

I've had the unfortunate experience of spending one afternoon in Bridgeton--I couldn't wait to leave. It's very rural, but very abandoned and scary at the same time. Stores were closed at 2 o'clock on a Wednesday afternoon, that's not normal by any means.

[snuggles]

My husband and I just signed contracts to buy a home in Bridgeton.
We do see that all of NJ has pretty high pollution but well,,,,Colorado is another option we have thought about(if we want to get cleaner air. And we do but why are we so attracted to Newjersey?? Maybe because I have always lived in southjersey and had fun (mostly in the woods) you have to have imagination to live here well...anyway, we may be Bridgeton residents. We hope to help the community. High crime rates are an issue.
We will be getting a dog and we will have an alarm system on the house.
What do yas think? Are we crazy?

[jm2jm3jm4jm5]

Bridgeton is actually closest to Vineland not Atlantic City if I recall. But that's not saying too much either, since Vineland isn't necessarily the nicest place in the world to live. It can't hurt getting a dog and alarm system. But I'm not sure what you plan on doing in your free time? If you can get away with just watching TV and not leaving the house to do much then you'll probably be okay? I guess.

[Taboo]

snuggles... although I would live nowhere near Bridgeton myself ( having taught there for many years) There are some nice streets... not areas mind you... streets ! They are not far enough away from the bad element for me to get a wink of sleep, nevermind go outside. Why in the world did you pick there if I may ask ???

[AngelicHali07]

Originally Posted by johnnyd1297

My wife and I currently live in a nice mixed area of Brooklyn, New York and were condidering a property in Bridgeton, NJ.
Some people seem to think it's a bad place but surely someone is living there.
That may sound a little sarcastic and I don't mean to be at all. I just can't believe that it's as bad as some on the site say it is.
Can anyone straighten me out.
Thanx in advance for any help you guys can give us.

Like with any place you are considering moving to, you need to go and check the area at night. Nighttime is the best time to really know what the place is like. I used to live in Bridgeton behind the old Chapman Ford on Pearl Street and it was quiet back there. There are not that many people that know there are houses back there. Also like ANY other town, there are nice places to live and people and NOT so nice place to live and people. Just be careful no matter where you go.

AngelicHali07