Union, NJ close to Kenilworth???? (Linden, Maplewood: apartments, house, to buy)

[spotlight114]

Originally Posted by nobi

Actually most of the people that are buying houses in Union are Portugese, all my neighbors are portugese and are bringing more friends and family into Union. And what are portugese they are caucasian from Europe, wherever they are real estate values go up because they really take care of places where they live. Union high school maybe is not the best and Burnet Middle school might not be best also but look at Kawamee middle school there is nothing bad about that school. Of course those 2 schools (high school and Burnet are affected by Vauxhall section of the town) but they arent horrible or bad. Overcrowded maybe but when it comes to education level they are not lowering it so kids would pass like they do in Irvington or other towns. I could argue about this whole day but everybody is free to have their own opinion.

i get the overall point youre making and I mostly agree. Union is not westfield summit or clark but not everyone could afford those towns. I know we certainly can not. I really like towns like linden (or at least while i was growing up) b/c it always felt like it was a place where hardworking (not rich) families could buy a home and give there children a nice/safe place to live and schools to attends w/out metal detectors...sure its not the top tier of towns but once again not everyone can afford those places...now that i am looking into buying a home (also being young, married, and with a small child) i have to find a place within my budget that offers starting out families a good deal and in jersey its hard to come by esp if you need to commute into NYC. I would LOVE maplewood but thank goodness there are places like Union and linden or else i would probably be forced into newark or someplace similar

[nobi]

Thats what i am saying and thats the reason it was part of BIG 100 (according to CNN) because its affordable with good location decent schools, low crime and most important its still affordable. Its like buying a BENTLEY and everybody will say its better then Cadillac but when you look at it how much you have to pay for Bentley Cadillac then looks very good, just like the towns we are talking about.

[azwildcats70]

Originally Posted by nobi

Thats what i am saying and thats the reason it was part of BIG 100 (according to CNN) because its affordable with good location decent schools, low crime and most important its still affordable. Its like buying a BENTLEY and everybody will say its better then Cadillac but when you look at it how much you have to pay for Bentley Cadillac then looks very good, just like the towns we are talking about.

Odd car comparison.

[nobi]

Yea i know but you cant compare Union to towns like Livingston, i was just trying to make a point by giving a differnt example.

[azwildcats70]

To be frank, we live in Cranford now and don't really like the attitude of many of its' residents that we have encountered. What I have encountered routinely are people who act snobbish and snooty for seemingly no apparent reason. They are not wealthy, intelligent nor accomplished. My husband and I were in stitches after one party listening to everyone's self-aggrandizing conversations. (Many of which used words that were out of context or were pronounced incorrectly.)

[azwildcats70]

Originally Posted by nobi

Yea i know but you cant compare Union to towns like Livingston, i was just trying to make a point by giving a differnt example.

Comparing a Bentley to a Caddy is like... comparing a Pagani Zonda to a Pontiac Solstice

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

Originally Posted by nobi

Actually most of the people that are buying houses in Union are Portugese, all my neighbors are portugese and are bringing more friends and family into Union. And what are portugese they are caucasian from Europe, wherever they are real estate values go up because they really take care of places where they live. Union high school maybe is not the best and Burnet Middle school might not be best also but look at Kawamee middle school there is nothing bad about that school. Of course those 2 schools (high school and Burnet are affected by Vauxhall section of the town) but they arent horrible or bad. Overcrowded maybe but when it comes to education level they are not lowering it so kids would pass like they do in Irvington or other towns. I could argue about this whole day but everybody is free to have their own opinion.

The only reason the Portuguese (who are Spanish-speaking European) have the opportunity to buy in is because a lot of the American Caucasian residents have left ... and this has been going on for quite some time now. I'm not saying Union's a bad town, but it's a changing town. It is much more diverse than even, say, five years ago, and the middle schools and high school are in decline. To put it simply: It's not as nice a town as it was 5 or 10 years ago.

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

Originally Posted by spotlight114

i get the overall point youre making and I mostly agree. Union is not westfield summit or clark but not everyone could afford those towns. I know we certainly can not. I really like towns like linden (or at least while i was growing up) b/c it always felt like it was a place where hardworking (not rich) families could buy a home and give there children a nice/safe place to live and schools to attends w/out metal detectors...sure its not the top tier of towns but once again not everyone can afford those places...now that i am looking into buying a home (also being young, married, and with a small child) i have to find a place within my budget that offers starting out families a good deal and in jersey its hard to come by esp if you need to commute into NYC. I would LOVE maplewood but thank goodness there are places like Union and linden or else i would probably be forced into newark or someplace similar

Linden? Have you been to Linden lately?? It's quickly becoming a slum. When you see kids from Sunnyside (easily Linden's best section) catching the bus to private school, that should tell you something right there.

[nobi]

I really didnt know that Cranford was like that, i knew person that moved out of Union to Cranford and after that they were different people. They started acting like they are better then everybody. But i am surprised with Cranford i never encounted that in Union probably because people are more on the same level with neighbors.

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

Originally Posted by azwildcats70

To be frank, we live in Cranford now and don't really like the attitude of many of its' residents that we have encountered. What I have encountered routinely are people who act snobbish and snooty for seemingly no apparent reason. They are not wealthy, intelligent nor accomplished. My husband and I were in stitches after one party listening to everyone's self-aggrandizing conversations. (Many of which used words that were out of context or were pronounced incorrectly.)

Wow ... you found Cranford to be snooty. Well, that's a first. Most people say it's one of the nicest, friendliest towns in the state. I live next door and I kind of wish I had moved there instead. Oh well, to each his own.