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I look at a house recently in Cranford. It was perfect and priced just right, but I wasn't too sure about the neighborhood. As far as I've ever known all of Cranford is very safe but the area this house was in looked very run down. Can someone share any information on this area with me? Is it safe? Would you purchase a home here if the house was everything else you wanted? Any help would be really appreciated.
I look at a house recently in Cranford. It was perfect and priced just right, but I wasn't too sure about the neighborhood. As far as I've ever known all of Cranford is very safe but the area this house was in looked very run down. Can someone share any information on this area with me? Is it safe? Would you purchase a home here if the house was everything else you wanted? Any help would be really appreciated.
That area is actually right next to the border of Garwood, AND near south avenue and all the businesses lining that street.
My wife and I once in awhile walk to the nearby Pathmark, and I believe we pass through some streets very close to that, specifically Elise Street on the way to the store and back. This was at night, maybe 8 pm or so, and we had no problems at all. All was quiet, no blasting radios, no people loitering in the streets, etc. So, i think the area is fairly safe.
PROS:
1. Walkable distance to pathmark and the cranford downtown, so you have ready access to grocery, eats, trains, blockbuster, etc.
CONS:
1. Too close (as in, right next) to the border with garwood. Nothing against garwood, it's just that being too close to all the shuttered busineses that litter garwood at night is kinda creepy and makes the whole place look abandoned.
2. Too close to south avenue AND the train tracks - i think you're around 100-200 m from the tracks? Not sure how noisy that would be at night.
Walking along the rather empty South Avenue between pathmark and blockbuster at night, with all the dark shadows of closed businesses and construction is again, kinda creepy. I doubt it's dangerous though.
3. "rundown" look...i think this is basically because the area is so close to a border, a main avenue and all the businesses and empty construction sites. I don't know the crime stats of garwood, but cranford is fairly safe:
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed
4. You're also on the "wrong side of the cranford track", if that matters to you ;-)
There is not an unsafe area in Cranford to walk!!!
To see pictures of the area. Go to Google maps and type in Cranford, zoom in on the South Ave area and then hit the "satellite" link at the top right. Then drag the little gold man from the top left corner to the area that you want to see and then you can look at street photos of the area you're interested in.
South Avenue is a main through road and can be busy at times.
The RR tracks are between North and South Ave's; passenger trains stop at about 11/12 mid-night and start about 6 AM. A freight is a rarity on that line.
Garwood is a great town. Some describe it as "blue collar" but I don't see why. It's clean, safe and has good schools. Cranford is a little better in MHO, but there is nothing wrong with living on the border of these two towns.
If you're happy with the house and have a home inspector's blessing - go for it.
There is not an unsafe area in Cranford to walk!!!
To see pictures of the area. Go to Google maps and type in Cranford, zoom in on the South Ave area and then hit the "satellite" link at the top right. Then drag the little gold man from the top left corner to the area that you want to see and then you can look at street photos of the area you're interested in.
South Avenue is a main through road and can be busy at times.
The RR tracks are between North and South Ave's; passenger trains stop at about 11/12 mid-night and start about 6 AM. A freight is a rarity on that line.
Garwood is a great town. Some describe it as "blue collar" but I don't see why. It's clean, safe and has good schools. Cranford is a little better in MHO, but there is nothing wrong with living on the border of these two towns.
If you're happy with the house and have a home inspector's blessing - go for it.
Yah, you can see south ave (and pathmarK) on google street view, but the small streets he mentions are still not in that system.
I agree about the crime thing. It's spooky at night, but I'm sure it's pretty safe in that area.
The OP is right in that that border area is kinda "dilapidated" compared to other places in the town. I think it's mainly because of proximity to south avenue, not a reflection on garwood per se. I don't wanna start a border war
There are a few streets in different parts of Cranford that offer diversity, Johnson Ave. is one of them. Absolutely safe as can be, that street is slowly being redeveloped, as some of the older homes sell, builders buy them up and usually tear them down, or renovate them. There is some rowhowses that are of particular concern, that give it that *look*. It will be hard for an investor to aquire that whole piece.
Last edited by Sergio M; 02-06-2009 at 03:38 PM..
Reason: edit
Holy crap, it's Cranford...it's as safe as can be. That being said, Johnson Avenue is really the only street in Cranford where there are people of color. It's not unsafe in the least...it's just not the ritziest part of Cranford.
Holy crap, it's Cranford...it's as safe as can be. That being said, Johnson Avenue is really the only street in Cranford where there are people of color. It's not unsafe in the least...it's just not the ritziest part of Cranford.
Geeze people...a little diversity won't kill you! Hello! It's 2009...time to realize that our world is made up of all sorts of people....not just ones that look most like us. (regardless of what you look like)
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