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Old 12-27-2013, 07:02 PM
 
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Currently living in Colonia and would prefer to stay there but the taxes are just to high. I'm interested in looking into Piscataway and South Plainfield since they were recommended to me by my realtor. The obvious basics....how are the schools, how's the crime, how's the diversity, what parts are the nice parts, etc. All replies welcome and advice is much appreciated.
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Old 12-27-2013, 07:10 PM
 
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Colonia to Piscataway is probably a lateral move at best. To South Plainfield, a slight downgrade probably.
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Old 12-27-2013, 11:05 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyStarksNJ View Post
Colonia to Piscataway is probably a lateral move at best. To South Plainfield, a slight downgrade probably.
I would consider both a downgrade from Colonia and most of Woodbridge Township as well (except of course areas like Hopelawn and Keasbey), with South Plainfield being more of a downgrade than Piscataway.

Have you looked into some parts of Edison?
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Old 12-28-2013, 09:35 AM
 
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yea....most of Edison is also very expensive

I know both SP and Piscataway are downgrades from Woodbridge Twp, but I just want to make sure I'm not moving to Irvington or something (obviously those 2 towns aren't that bad lol). I guess I'll just have to drive around the area and see how everything looks in general.
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Old 12-28-2013, 11:02 AM
 
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Originally Posted by dfab86 View Post
yea....most of Edison is also very expensive

I know both SP and Piscataway are downgrades from Woodbridge Twp, but I just want to make sure I'm not moving to Irvington or something (obviously those 2 towns aren't that bad lol). I guess I'll just have to drive around the area and see how everything looks in general.
South Edison has some old capes in Lincoln and Washington Villages that might work, although I personally think they all look as though they are in desperate need of an update. There are also a few pockets off Old Post Rd and Vineyard Rd of mid-1960s splits and colonials.

SP and P-way are nothing like Irvington. Piscataway, while not as large as Edison and Woodbridge, is a decidedly lower middle class town, with some pockets of very desirable areas mostly along River Rd and a few other areas on the south side of town. Stay away from the Plainfield border with Rock Ave. The schools are pretty good, though the high school has had lots of "phantom" residents who really live in Plainfield but claim a Piscataway address and sneak in. Then again, I have heard this happens in Scotch Plains/Fanwood too.

South Plainfield is much smaller, but it was never a very well to do area to begin with. Mostly blue collar, though it is safe and tight-knit. I know the cops there keep a very tight lid on things, so I do not think there is as much of a spillover effect as there is in Piscataway. The schools from what I heard are decent.
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Old 12-28-2013, 12:42 PM
 
Location: New Jersey
550 posts, read 1,182,200 times
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I am looking at a home on
10th St in Piscataway, is that considered safe/desireable area?
How is Piscataway in terms of crime?


Thanks all! and OP we're in same boat
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Old 12-29-2013, 12:35 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SonorityGenius View Post
I am looking at a home on
10th St in Piscataway, is that considered safe/desireable area?
How is Piscataway in terms of crime?


Thanks all! and OP we're in same boat
Well, it's not right on the Plainfield border, but it's still pretty close. IMO it's not anywhere I'd call dangerous or something, but it's certainly a decidedly less wealthy area in town. Additionally, I'm not sure how school assignment works in Piscataway, but if it isn't random, that's probably in Arbor, which is the worst part of their already mediocre schools.

Piscataway is a huge town. This specific part is again, near the "worst". I'd be concerned with minor property crime, if you leave something expensive sitting out front, I'd expect it might disappear. On the other hand, I wouldn't be worried about serious/violent crime or something.
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Old 12-29-2013, 07:49 AM
PDD
 
Location: The Sand Hills of NC
8,773 posts, read 18,309,262 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dfab86 View Post
yea....most of Edison is also very expensive

I know both SP and Piscataway are downgrades from Woodbridge Twp, but I just want to make sure I'm not moving to Irvington or something (obviously those 2 towns aren't that bad lol). I guess I'll just have to drive around the area and see how everything looks in general.
I don't know how SP and Piscataway are downgrades from Woodbridge Twp. unless not having a smelly oil refinery in your town is a downgrade.
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Old 12-29-2013, 07:58 AM
 
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I would agree. I would not say the are better towns but they are not downgrades either.
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Old 12-29-2013, 09:13 AM
 
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I grew up in South Plainfield and still live there. All in all, SP is not a bad town. Certainly not a dangerous area like Irvington or East Orange. Like others have said it's primarily a working class town.

In my opinion the following are the major problems with the town. One, the schools are not the greatest. The budget rarely passes (there's a rather large senior citizen population that doesn't support it because it doesn't "benefit" them). This keeps property taxes relatively low but also means students here don't enjoy a lot of the benefits that students elsewhere do. Additionally there is a lot of turnover within the school administration, especially among the curriculum coordinators, meaning the learning programs change every couple of years and there is little consistency with regard to instruction methodology. Lastly, there isn't much of a downtown area. There's a small area along Front St and South Plainfield Ave that isn't all that great. There are quite a few hair and nail salons there (a comical amount considering how small it is), a small sporting goods store that's been there forever, and not much else. Quite frequently stores there go out of business even though they recently built a new little plaza down there. There are still plenty of strip mall like shopping centers in town though so it's not like it's devoid of shopping areas, it's just that the downtown area doesn't compare to that of say Metuchen, for example. There also aren't a ton of nice dining restaurants around. There are a plethora of pizzerias, a couple hotdog places, fast food restaurants, a great bagel place (The Bagel Pantry), but the sit down dining options are somewhat lacking in town. Paulo's (a Portuguese and Brazilian restaurant) is very good though, and there are larger chain restaurants (Friday's, Chili's, etc) nearby in Piscataway and Edison.

As far as neighborhoods go, it really depends on what you want. The Southside of town has many relatively new constructions of the "McMansion" variety whereas the Northside has more older, traditional style homes. There really isn't a "dangerous" part of town, and certainly nowhere were you would have to fear walking around even after dark. That being said, I'd try an avoid the areas near the Plainfield border, particularly near West 7th St in Plainfield, as there have been a number of break-ins around there. In general though the cops (both South Plainfield and Plainfield) do a pretty good job of keeping the problems of Plainfield in Plainfield.

Hopefully that was helpful. Good luck!
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