Perth Amboy, NJ (Newark, Jersey City, New Brunswick: crime, houses, employment)

[allegany]

My husband and I are looking to move from NY to Perth Amboy, NJ. We are going off of info from my husbands co-worker about how nice it is. Is there anyone on here that actually knows first hand info about taxes or crime rate. We are both in law enforcement and can do without the criminal element. I know that no neighborhoods are crime free, and many are still livable if you just go to work and come home as we do. We also have two children, both girls, 15 and 2 years old. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

[Kracer]

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed

Some great areas, some bad. Spanish predominates and caters to that clientele on Smith Street the main road through town. Used to be the local shopping center/ "downtown" with a nice waterfront and lots of history. Lot of redevelopment going on focused on the waterfront. It will regain its glory as a waterfront town and jumping off point to NYC and the shore as it continues through a down cycle. Has a beach and upscale yacht club and recently updated marina. It is an old city with row houses and nice old 1920s style homes and beautiful victorian homes along mile wide High st and Sadowski prkway. East Jersey Governor's mansion used by Wm Franklin, first black to vote in the US, visited by Henry David Thoreau and the list of luminaries goes on.

Train to NYC on Smith st. quick access to all major roads. It is a town rather than a city. Had a large Polish population way back when. Good hospital. Great fishing in Raritan Bay. PA is eligible for a tax break on items purchased there.

[desertsun41]

While Kracer was pretty truthful, Perth Amboy is not as nice as his posts suggests. It's a dump. How can you be in law enforcement and not know about Perth Amboy?

Yea it's an old town, but translate that into how dumpy it is. Yea it is about 85% spanish speaking but combine that with the county welfare and employment offices just off Smith St and what does that tell you. Yea they have a beach but from what water? The name of that water is the Arthur Kill named after Fresh Kills Landfill in NY. Fresh Kills is also responsible for the human waste including needles and tampons which all land on NJ beaches. Thanks NY!

In addition it is all downhill river flow from Newark Bay and all the refineries of Chrome Carteret with their illegal dumping of toxic waste. Beaches? True things are improving greatly of late but just 25 years ago if you were to throw a rock into those waters it didn't even splash. It was more like a plop. Legend has it that the world's largest deposits of oil reserves are not in Saudi Arabia, it is all in Newark Bay and the upper reaches to Hackensack Rivers.

When I was a little boy we hung out at the docks of Seawaren just up the Arthur Kill from Perth Amboy. We were fasinated by the locals who were all Puerto Ricans and Cubans who would fish for Bunker. Bunker is a junk fish and considered unedible. Bunker is harvested for it's valuble oils which is used to make soaps, perfumes etc. Well these people would catch them and eat them raw right there on the docks and the Seagulls (now practicly extinct) would swarm the area eating the guts. This practice of eating raw bunker still exists today in Perth Amboy up to Seawaren. Today much of NJs Bunker run is stolen by the Japanese commercial fishermen who use spotters by air and sweep up hundreds of tons of our fish.

Enough or I could ramble on. Why in hell would you or anyone want to move to Perth Amboy? Have you thought about any other nearby towns? Any one of the surrounding towns provide easy access to NYC. Any town has easy access to any major highway.

Go drive down Convery Bld, Smith St, State St, Fayette St or around Washington Park and come back and tell us what you think. Oh and you better bring your police issue side arm with you.

[allegany]

I'm in law enforcement in Washington, DC.... Just because i'm in law enforcement should I know about every town that there is? The world is quite big you know. Also, you sound quite miffed. I am only in my beginning stages of research and I know I have a lot to learn. Hopefully I will get more insightful and less bias comments. Thanks anyway.

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

Anyone who says Perth Amboy is a dump obviously hasn't been there in quite some time. It's a city, and if you're coming from any borough in NYC, then you'll know what to expect. IMHO, Perth Amboy has improved as much or more than any city in NJ outside of maybe Jersey City and New Brunswick. The waterfront area is beautiful and is home to some million dollar houses. The downtown is more urban and not as aesthetically pleasing. The real issue here is that Perth Amboy is predominantly Hispanic (probably 90%). Now, if you don't feel comfortable living around Dominicans and Puerto Ricans, then this is not the place for you. If you do, however, then you'll find a city with really nice sections that's actually on the upswing. Good luck.

[desertsun41]

Originally Posted by allegany

I'm in law enforcement in Washington, DC.... Just because i'm in law enforcement should I know about every town that there is? The world is quite big you know. Also, you sound quite miffed. I am only in my beginning stages of research and I know I have a lot to learn. Hopefully I will get more insightful and less bias comments. Thanks anyway.

Washington DC huh? Well that's not what your spouse just said in her opening post. So from where your spouse seems to live without your knowledge yes I do expect him/her to know where Perth Amboy is and it's reputation too. I gave you a very insightful unbiased picture of what it is like there. If it is not what you want to hear then you should not ask. Or go look for yourself.

What happened to Somerset County? Talk about 2 opposite ends.