Jersey City,Elizabeth,Paterson,Linden,Irvington, and Union City. Are they really as bad as people say? (Newark: rental, crime rate)
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I also heard that Union County is taking over something (forgive me only caught the tail end of it on News12) for Elizabeth because "so many of their murders are doing unsolved" and that they were the ONLY city in NJ where the town refused to compy with the states Gang Task force questionaire, so now that county has to do it for them.
its obvious that a lot of you guys that make comments about Union City have never even been here and are just going off of what you read online...in fact i think that applies to much of the discussion on this forum about any city...if one more person says Union City is full of Cubans i'm gonna puke...
i live here, i'm from these streets, if you don't believe me, maybe the times will convince you
because inncidents in crime reported could be A LOT of little things but very few murders.. but some places are murderous but have less incidents then others
I KNOW that many people will disagree, but this is how I PERSONALLY would rank NJ's urban cities (the ones I've visited; from worst to best) based on what I've seen.
1.) Camden
2.) Irvington
3.) Newark
4.) East Orange
5.) Trenton
6.) Jersey City
7.) Paterson
8.) Elizabeth
9.) Passaic
10.) Union City
11.) Perth Amboy
12.) West New York
13.) New Brunswick
14.) Hoboken
I can say I agree with the first half of this list.. after that theres a bunch of towns big and small in the same ballpark.. ewing, ac, mt holly, lindenwold etc
I went to college in Union, and it had some beautiful places. Nothing compared to my area in South Jersey though. Elizabeth wasn't too bad. But NEWARK on the other hand, I've never been so afraid in my life. There is too much crime and traffic in Union County. I hope I never have to go back up there. Jersey Gardens Mall though is amazing and worth the 90 minute trip.
Linden really isn't bad at all. We lived there for several years. There's alot of nice areas in Linden. However the school systems are on the bottom of the list.
The other towns you listed, in my opinion, I wouldn't move there if a house was free. I know those towns, have been there, and have had family or friends live there. no thank you. I also use to work in Elizabeth. No thank you. I'm more of a girl who likes a little bit more land than the plots you get up north anyway. Anytime you have really big cities like that, there's going to be "problems" and the statistics of things compared to other towns won't look too good.
There's so many other nicer towns you can check out. Why those? Unless you really like the city livin' like that.
Is there anybody on this forum who live in the "bad" areas of these towns that either think it is over hype or feel completley safe? Also, is there anybody on here that live in these "bad" areas and feel it lives up to the hype and feel unsafe? Or anybody live in so called "good" areas and feel like it is very similar to those bad areas or that it is over hyped as a good area when it is just as safe or as dangerous as the bad areas?
It's all relative and really more about what you are accustomed to.
I lived in Newark for years..when I would tell colleagues at work they would turn up their noses and talk about the crime etc. I could never understand what they thought was so bad.
Someone else mentioned..that if you don't hang around criminals or argue with them you will rarely find trouble. I've never been mugged or felt in any danger.
I will concede that my car was stolen about 5 times. (I got it back each time). I had two motorcycles stolen...I never drove through a green light without looking first after midnight..It was just life as I knew it.
I only realized how f-ed up Newark was when I moved. I swear I couldn't have been gone more than 2 months. I drove back and got off 78 at Clinton Ave.....I looked around....made sure my doors were locked..said "wow..now I know what people mean"
I think the hope is that gentrification that took place in JC and Hoboken will follow to UC by the development of these properties. It is possible, but not highly likely given the current economic climate.
I know UC has always been the "next big thing." I don't know if any of you know this, but back in the 1980's there was an article, I think it was in GQ, but don't quote me on this... but I am thinking it was GQ about how UC was the next chic city of the US. Well, 20 yrs later, it never happend. It must have been in 1980-82 because Musto was still mayor and his wife was quoted in the magazine saying the city stunk and she had no idea why they picked it. LOL Only in Hudson County.
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