Fords, NJ 08863 - Please help

[Ellielove_1979]

I’m here to defend my hometown. IMO Fords is great, especially if you have kids. So, it depends on what you are looking for. I feel you can’t beat Fords if you are a commuter with young family. I thought we’d have issue with the schools – they get a bad rap. We’ve been here 6 years and ended up loving School 14 and Fords Middle. Very engaged parents, busy PTO. Old buildings? Yes, but we haven’t had a bad teacher yet. They love their school (they don’t even notice the building is old) They’re both doing very well – one’s special needs and the other is a top student. I don’t think we’ve comprised anything in terms of the quality of their education. As for the real estate values, I feel there’s a resurgence starting – lots of remodeling lately, young families moving in. I feel, the new construction looks great, good for you if you can afford it. The older houses are really great bargains for the Young House Love addicts out there, and I like that my neighborhood has substantial yardage. Can’t beat the commute – I drive to Newark w/i 35 minutes, and when I have to commute to NYC last minute, there are 3 trains within five minutes of Fords –Woodbridge, MetroPark (Iselin) and Avenel Stations and definitely a train will be leaving in the next 15 minutes somewhere. I never have trouble getting a taxi in a jiffy here, getting to the train stations is $8 in the AM, and taxi to EWR is $30 and 20 minutes or less. I recommend, if you’re considering moving here – go to a town sponsored event to feel the vibe. The YMCA Halloween Trick or Trunk a great one coming up --it’s awesome, huge turnout and you can scope out the parents and kids. Here’s what my kids love about Fords: their friends, the soccer program; the new YMCA; Kids Village (google it, it’s pretty awesome); the tennis program; the Wegman’s; the European school of dance; Frannies Kids Hair in downtown Fords; their very cool rocker piano teacher (also from Fords!); the YMCA’s roller and ice skate rinks; and our street where kids gather after school for street hockey. Oh, lest I forget that we drive 5 minutes to the Raritan Center Expo a few Saturdays a year – my kids never miss the annual Fossil, Gem & Dinosaur expo. What I love about Woodbridge – the shopping convenience (2 malls 5 minutes away); access to Parkway, Turnpike, 1,9 &35; the Woodbridge library; Wegman’s; Vito Mazza spa, Mie Thai and my neighbor’s summer yard parties. What my husband loves: The Club, and coaching ice hockey. Seriously, what’s not to love here?

[HubCityMadMan]

Fords is just fine. Very convenient location in the older areas in terms of access to major highways and amenities. I personally think there are nicer areas of Woodbridge Township that would be better for resale value as one of the above people have said, but it would not be a bad investment either. Just like some of the more undesirable areas of the town like Hopelawn and Keasbey, it shares a border with Perth Amboy. It is nicer than either of those two areas though still by Woodbridge standards it is one of the not as nice areas, by Amboy standards it is one of the better areas.

I would focus on Woodbridge proper/downtown, Iselin or Colonia, where the housing is a little more desirable.

[Kracer]

'Undesirable" is subjective.

Sure you have fancy houses in some sections of woodbridge but the Fords section bounded by rt 514/main st, Amboy ave and New brunswick ave does not have the crowded co-joined housing found in some sections of PA, a very tiny section of Keasbey and downtown Woodbridge, nor does it have the fancy dancy houses in Colonia. This section is older homes with settled development. Occassionally an old house is torn down and a fancy house built that is taxed to the tune of 15k.

Unless you are status oriented the homes in Fords along New Brunswick ave, King George rd and Ford Ave are fine settled neighborhoods with a downtown, main st and everything you'd expect on a main st and more extrordinary recreation opportunites minutes away..... do not discount the easy access to all major roads. You become more 'landlocked' the deeper you go into Iselin and Colonia.

[RobRiguez]

Considering the original post is now 6 years old and was created near the start of the housing bubble burst, paying over 500k for a new house in Fords would not have been a wise choice.