How is Rahway City to buy a house? (Elizabeth, Linden: insurance, first time home buyer)

[ramram]

Hi All,

Does any one know how is rahway city to buy a house. Also, I have checked few properties in Whittier Street. Does anyone know how is tha0t part of the city? I am a first time home buyer and looking for a safe and quiet city. How is the commute to New York from Rahway(Whittier Street). My upper limit is 300K. Does anyone have any recommendations for any other cities that are good and in around 1.5 hrs of commute(public transport) distance from newYork?

[Marc Paolella]

Originally Posted by ramram

Hi All,

Does any one know how is rahway city to buy a house. Also, I have checked few properties in Whittier Street. Does anyone know how is tha0t part of the city? I am a first time home buyer and looking for a safe and quiet city. How is the commute to New York from Rahway(Whittier Street). My upper limit is 300K. Does anyone have any recommendations for any other cities that are good and in around 1.5 hrs of commute(public transport) distance from newYork?

Rahway has come a long way. I used to think of it negatively, but the downtown has been really revitalized and now I think it's actually quite nice. You can definitely get something for $275,000-$300,000. A Cape or a 3BR Colonial. Not a dream house or anything, but certainly a nice starter house. You can also check Linden and Carteret also but you have to be careful about proximity to industrial uses and Superfund sites. Those areas have lots of industrial land uses.

Whittier St itself is OK, but it is on the busy side. I'd look for something on an interior street. Watch your flood zones also.

Good luck!

[alexander747]

Rahway has become less urbanized, and another good area to look is in Cranford/Clark. They are neighboring to Rahway and have good school districts and proximity to multiple places. If you want to go for a more suburban feel, try Westfield or Metuchen, both towns with great school districts and nice downtowns.

[ramram]

Thanks Marc. I actually checked few properties in Carteret around Johnson Street. Do you know how is that area? I am looking for safe place and good neighbourhood. Any idea how is it?

[Eric S]

Originally Posted by ramram

Hi All,

Does any one know how is rahway city to buy a house. Also, I have checked few properties in Whittier Street. Does anyone know how is tha0t part of the city? I am a first time home buyer and looking for a safe and quiet city. How is the commute to New York from Rahway(Whittier Street). My upper limit is 300K. Does anyone have any recommendations for any other cities that are good and in around 1.5 hrs of commute(public transport) distance from newYork?

I owned in Rahway for 11 years and it was a good situation for me. There is great housing stock in Rahway. If I had to do it all over again, I'd find a split level in the Inman Heights area or one of the big Victorian homes near the train station or even a nice Dutch Colonial around Pierpont Street.

For a commuter town for someone who cares little about the schools, it is an ideal place to be. I walked to the train station for 11 years from N. Rahway on W. Lincoln Avenue.

I would heed the advice on avoiding flood zones. It flooded only once during my time in Rahway, but it was a really bad flood due to Hurricane Floyd. That's when we lost our original library. It flooded really bad on W. Scott and River Road, but W. Lincoln was bone dry - relatively speaking.

Even though I lived on the north side and walked to the train station... it did become a drag after ten years or so.

All things considered, Rahway isn't a terrible choice, but there are much better investments. I tell people to consider Metuchen as a lower cost alternative to S. Orange, Maplewood or Montclair. The simple truth is that you'd be better off with a better school district. The good people of Rahway don't invest their money or their own kids in the school district. I found that to be a HUGE disappointment.

Good luck.

-Eric

[Marc Paolella]

Johnson is OK except it is in a very mild flood zone. It's an X500 which means it floods very very rarely, but there is a small chance. Flood insurance is usually not required in an X500.

Also check the school ratings if that is a concern to you. Carteret High School ranked 272 out of 315 and Linden ranked 299.

These are very similar towns pricewise, with the median single family home price in the $240,000-$250,000 range over the past year.

I do like the new exits for the Turnpike that were just built in Carteret. Very convenient.

[Eric S]

I have some rules of thumb for you: Stay west of Rte. 1 at all costs. You are better off living west of Elizabeth Avenue, too, all things considered. The very best parts of Rahway are even further west: West of Rte. 27. However, I tend to like the sweet spot between Irving/Main/Whittier and Rte. 27 (St. Georges Avenue). If you look at a map of Rahway, it'll begin to make sense.

-Eric

[BobKovacs]

I'd pass on Carteret if you can. There's big plans for redevelopment there, but I don't see anything happening for some time with this economy. Throw in the industrial areas, the rougher areas like Chrome, and the low-rated schools, and it's not a great choice. My parents grew up in Carteret in the 50's/60's, and it was a solid, blue-collar town full of Polish, Hungarian and other immigrants. Nowadays it's about 10% black, 25% hispanic, 20% Indian/Asian, and the balance white. It's lost much of its retail on Roosevelt Ave (which looks like an abandoned ghost town) and alot of its industry.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by ramram

Hi All,

Does any one know how is rahway city to buy a house. Also, I have checked few properties in Whittier Street. Does anyone know how is tha0t part of the city? I am a first time home buyer and looking for a safe and quiet city. How is the commute to New York from Rahway(Whittier Street). My upper limit is 300K. Does anyone have any recommendations for any other cities that are good and in around 1.5 hrs of commute(public transport) distance from newYork?

If you read some of my post's you will see i love being in Rahway
with that said
whittier is not bad but it is a busy street
There are a few listings in your range in the inman hgts section which to me is the best part of Rahway (but thats because i live there) there are also a few nice ones around the Milton lake section and near the Clark border

Good luck with your search
and if you wind up in Rahway
i will see you at the waiting room

[Sergio M]

Try looking at homes priced a little higher (5%) you will be surprised what sellers are willing to negotiate. There is a fantastic home on Stone St. Very well maintained and ready to move in. This is actually the best part of Rahway, (Clark border).