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I was in Garwood once and my wife and I (who were born and raised in northern NJ) never had been there nor have we really heard of the town before. It seemed pretty nice, lots of old houses which we love. Just another typical NJ town it seemed like.
My husband and I were initially looking for a house in Cranford- we loved the town, access to the train, as well as the high scoring schools. We happened to find an amazing house in Garwood that really gave us a lot more for our money and put in an offer…. We are now working through the sale of the home, but I am getting cold feet. Can someone PLEASE give me more info on this small little town?? The test scores for the schools are really low- though we don't have children just yet, we're hoping that will rise. Also- everywhere I look it sees, people are speaking of cranford, clark and westfield- what is the COMMUNITY like in gar wood?? Given that we have never lived in NJ, I really am going into this blind. We want a safe , convenient, FRIendly Community life in the suburbs…. any information on this little town, as far as living there- would be MUCH Appreciated
You get so many people talking about the surrounding towns because Garwood is so tiny. Garwood sends their kids to Clark's high school, which I attended and is a pretty solid school. I grew up in Clark and started hanging out with the Garwood kids at that point, and the town seemed very similar to Clark to me. If you found good value there, I would think property values would increase just by being next to Westfield, Scotch Plains, and Cranford.
You should really stop by for an afternoon and find out. I would consider it more "working-class" than Cranford or Westfield and by that I mean it's locals are more, well, local. They work local, they shop local, it's a nice little town that got passed by when the industrial base dropped out from underneath it. I wouldn't say the people are less educated or anything like that, just that there are fewer stockbrokers and more plumbers (not a bad thing in my mind, plumbers are generally more honest)
But like I said, park your car somewhere, walk around. Go to lunch, stop by downtown and browse the record store, get your car washed, do the things you'd do if you lived there. Go meet your neighbors, and talk with people who live there.
As for schools, don't worry if you don't have kids yet. A lot can change in five years and you might hear about some great Cranford home that you can swing when the time comes or the school district can change and you'll end up perfectly happy. If the direct train thing actually happens definitely expect home values along the line to rise, irregardless of which town you're next to.
I have lived in Cranford/Scotch Plains my whole life so know Garwood well. We jokingly referred to it as "Garhood," but to call it scummy or unsafe is pretty ridiculous.
Garwood is not anything like Westfield or the more upscale parts of Cranford/SP, but it's indiscernible from the section of the south side of Cranford that it borders.
Transportation to the city is good with RV train and 113 bus that goes along North Ave.
What primarily gives it the lesser reputation is the fact it's tiny, doesn't have its own HS, has remnants of an industrial past, lacks some charm, and serves as a thoroughfare between two of the nicer downtowns in NJ (Westfield/Cranford). It's really just a series of strip malls and the place people from those towns go to for chains (McDonald's, BK, Saladworks, Quick Chek, Shop Rite, etc.). It has made improvements in recent years with the new condo/retail property on North Ave. Rosie's Wine Bar is a popular spot. It has a bowling alley (a total dive), the Crossroads for live music (also divey, but can be fun), a couple newer restaurants, and a decent pizza place.
Anyway, wanted to share some thoughts as I feel like a number of posts in this thread are misleading. I'm happy to answer any specific questions.
I have lived in Cranford/Scotch Plains my whole life so know Garwood well. We jokingly referred to it as "Garhood," but to call it scummy or unsafe is pretty ridiculous.
Garwood is not anything like Westfield or the more upscale parts of Cranford/SP, but it's indiscernible from the section of the south side of Cranford that it borders.
Transportation to the city is good with RV train and 113 bus that goes along North Ave.
What primarily gives it the lesser reputation is the fact it's tiny, doesn't have its own HS, has remnants of an industrial past, lacks some charm, and serves as a thoroughfare between two of the nicer downtowns in NJ (Westfield/Cranford). It's really just a series of strip malls and the place people from those towns go to for chains (McDonald's, BK, Saladworks, Quick Chek, Shop Rite, etc.). It has made improvements in recent years with the new condo/retail property on North Ave. Rosie's Wine Bar is a popular spot. It has a bowling alley (a total dive), the Crossroads for live music (also divey, but can be fun), a couple newer restaurants, and a decent pizza place.
Anyway, wanted to share some thoughts as I feel like a number of posts in this thread are misleading. I'm happy to answer any specific questions.
Garwood is similar in look to that one bit of the south side of Cranford it borders, but the majority of the south side of Cranford actually has very nice homes with nice lots on tree lined streets. Sure, there are far fewer grand Victorians than on the north side but that's because the north side was built up way earlier than the south side and the housing stock on the south side is different. The whole north/south thing in Cranford is overstated and over-exaggerated. The difference is not as massive as people make it seem. Cranford on a whole, yes even most of the south side, is "ahead" of Garwood, if you will.
Last edited by JerseyGirl415; 11-20-2014 at 01:48 PM..
Garwood is similar in look to that one bit of the south side of Cranford it borders, but the majority of the south side of Cranford actually has very nice homes with nice lots on tree lined streets. Sure, there are far fewer grand Victorians than on the north side but that's because the north side was built up way earlier than the south side and the housing stock on the south side is different. The whole north/south thing in Cranford is overstated and over-exaggerated. The difference is not as massive as people make it seem. Cranford on a whole, yes even most of the south side, is "ahead" of Garwood, if you will.
Garwood is certainly drier than the north side though...
Garwood is certainly drier than the north side though...
Drier? As in floods? Nowhere in Union County floods like Cranford, either side of town!
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