The Swamp

Those who are knowledgable, fire away. Right now inventory is painfully low in our range so we're considering either reopening some search areas or looking into new areas.

Wants: Access to a nice downtown, really good public schools, proximity to train.

Don't Cares: We're backwards on house size, land and proximity to neighbors ... even 2,000 sq ft would be daunting, anything more than a small to midsize backyard would be a big negative, don't want to be isolated by any means from neighbors. If some weirdo is in our yard, we want people on both sides and behind us to know it.

We like Westfield but its tough finding something that fits. Summit is nice too. Have been through Madison, Chatham, New Providence, Berkeley Heights and Cranford too. Ridgewood and that area has been ruled out. Maplewood and Montclair (taxes and school concerns) are out too but we liked them.

I think you hit all the ones I would suggest. A couple more might be Millburn (Essex Co. so the taxes will be higher) and Scotch Plains (not as much of a downtown, but good schools, and depending on where you land you can walk to Westfield).

I left that part off; we're checking out those two this weekend. Any Scotch Plains areas to avoid? Don't have much of a feel for there.

Oh, housing market. I wanted to post about the dude hiring a hit man to murder the owner the Tick Tock Diner in Clifton.

I guess now I have to.

Diner Manager Accused of Trying to Have Uncle Killed

We have family (my wife's sister and her husband's entire family) in SP, and I don't know that there is a bad section of town, but I guess I can't say that for sure. Stay away from rt 22? If you have any specific questions about the town after checking it out, I'm sure I can get an answer.

howard wrote:Oh, housing market. I wanted to post about the dude hiring a hit man to murder the owner the Tick Tock Diner in Clifton.

I guess now I have to.

Diner Manager Accused of Trying to Have Uncle Killed

My wife works in the Clifton Health Dept (I think I've mentioned that). All the inspectors hate that guy. Don't eat there.

*obligatory North Jersey dig here*

The First Lady of Little Ferry used to work for us. The Mayor is a really nice guy.

The "little" part of the Little Ferry mention reminders me of another place you can try Mr D, if you completely strike out with your current list. Little Falls is a smaller town, but it has a downtown, a couple of train stations, and is a college town (with a minor league baseball stadium). My wife deals with the township through work and really likes it there. I'm not sure about the schools or taxes, but it's Passaic Co, not Essex. Like Cranford, there was an issue with flooding in certain parts of town when Irene came through a couple of years ago.



Also, apparently "hate" was a little strong when describing my wife's co-worker's feelings about the Tick Tock Diner guy. I still wouldn't eat there.

Hodor

Somehow I missed this thread. I thought about pasting my PM'd response for others to critique, but I can't see anyone disagreeing with my assessments. Rass, I added Florham Park, Springfield, Union and Morristown to the list, thought you'd know those towns better than me. Have you looked at Livingston? That could be a great town, as long as you don't mind Jews and Asians, because you'd be about the only person in town not falling into one of those categories. Glen Ridge is nice and borders Montclair. Great school, cheaper, next to the downtown area.

ETA: And of course Hodor is a lovely town with a great school district and thriving downtown.

The Sybian wrote:Somehow I missed this thread. I thought about pasting my PM'd response for others to critique, but I can't see anyone disagreeing with my assessments. Rass, I added Florham Park, Springfield, Union and Morristown to the list, thought you'd know those towns better than me. Have you looked at Livingston? That could be a great town, as long as you don't mind Jews and Asians, because you'd be about the only person in town not falling into one of those categories. Glen Ridge is nice and borders Montclair. Great school, cheaper, next to the downtown area.

I work in Florham Park, and it's a nice town, supposed to be relatively reasonable as far as taxes go, but there is no downtown and no train station, though both can be found in neighboring towns. Others could speak more about Springfield if they want to. We were drawn to Union because it fit some needs, was a decent enough town, and reasonably priced in terms of the houses and taxes. I really like some of the shops (restaurants, bakeries, the butcher!) downtown, but you would never confuse it with some of the places DE mentioned he had looked at. Plus the HS is dicey, and it's sort of hanging over our head as we decide whether we want to stay in town before the kids get too attached (we are happy with the elementary school so far, for what it's worth).

rass wrote:

The Sybian wrote:Somehow I missed this thread. I thought about pasting my PM'd response for others to critique, but I can't see anyone disagreeing with my assessments. Rass, I added Florham Park, Springfield, Union and Morristown to the list, thought you'd know those towns better than me. Have you looked at Livingston? That could be a great town, as long as you don't mind Jews and Asians, because you'd be about the only person in town not falling into one of those categories. Glen Ridge is nice and borders Montclair. Great school, cheaper, next to the downtown area.

I work in Florham Park, and it's a nice town, supposed to be relatively reasonable as far as taxes go, but there is no downtown and no train station, though both can be found in neighboring towns. Others could speak more about Springfield if they want to. We were drawn to Union because it fit some needs, was a decent enough town, and reasonably priced in terms of the houses and taxes. I really like some of the shops (restaurants, bakeries, the butcher!) downtown, but you would never confuse it with some of the places DE mentioned he had looked at. Plus the HS is dicey, and it's sort of hanging over our head as we decide whether we want to stay in town before the kids get too attached (we are happy with the elementary school so far, for what it's worth).

Artie Lange is from Union and a graduate from the High School, so how bad could it be? Springfield, Springfield it's a hell of a town! The School yard is up and the shopping mall's down! I vouch for the town, and it is home to the Wine Library, FFS!

i find you alls tepid acceptance of the implied definition for north jersey troubling.

elflaco wrote:i find you alls tepid acceptance of the implied definition for north jersey troubling.

North Jersey - "Anyplace in the state of New Jersey geographically north of the northernmost point in Burlington County. Typically inhabited by New York sports fans, and with a high percentage of aspirants to the GTL lifestyle."

devilfluff wrote:

elflaco wrote:i find you alls tepid acceptance of the implied definition for north jersey troubling.

North Jersey - "Anyplace in the state of New Jersey geographically north of the northernmost point in Burlington County. Typically inhabited by New York sports fans, and with a high percentage of aspirants to the GTL lifestyle."

yeah. don't agree.
i'd say warren, morris, essex and points north =north jersey and south of mercer+monmouth is south jersey. all points in between central jersey. the best and worst of both of youse.

from the wiki

Lacking any official definition, there are varying descriptions as to what comprises Central Jersey. All tend to include Middlessex and the region radiating from New Brunswick including much of Monmouth, Mercer, and Somerset counties. Inclusion of adjacent areas of Hunterdon, Union, and Ocean counties is subjective and a source of debate.[1][2][3][4]

New Jersey's geographic center is located in Hamilton Township The population center of the state is alongside Nenninger Lane in the western portion of East Brunswick Township[5] which is also known as the 'Heart of Middlesex County".

elflaco wrote:

devilfluff wrote:

elflaco wrote:i find you alls tepid acceptance of the implied definition for north jersey troubling.

North Jersey - "Anyplace in the state of New Jersey geographically north of the northernmost point in Burlington County. Typically inhabited by New York sports fans, and with a high percentage of aspirants to the GTL lifestyle."

yeah. don't agree.
i'd say warren, morris, essex and points north =north jersey and south of mercer+monmouth is south jersey. all points in between central jersey. the best and worst of both of youse.

There is no such place as Central Jersey. Never was. The state was internally divided by area code for years: North was 201, South was 609. The addition of so many new area codes made that less efficient. Now South Jersey is 609 & 856.

I was being generous by adding most of Ocean County to South Jersey. I usually don't. I must be softening in my old age.

accept change old man.

elflaco wrote:accept change old man.

Change for change's sake is unnecessary. And usually, counterproductive

Central Jersey is just a bunch of North Jerseyans trying to avoid the stigma of the swampy New York 'burb they created.

hmm. well i did live in essex county for 6 years before moving to middlesex.
damn you.

That reminds me, I'd add Metuchen to the list of towns. Cute downtown with some nice restaurants and a NYC direct train. Plus, you can come up with some great puns for your Fantasy Football teams based on your town names. Metuchen Alter Boys would have been my choice.

Another North Jersey mainstay is closing.

I had a beer there once (or twice, hard to keep track of yourself sometimes in Hoboken), but never saw a show. At the very least Howard must have been there a couple of times, right?

Maxwells, I'll guess before clicking the link. Yeah, once or twice. I've seen GP there at least twice, have a photo to prove one visit.

ETA: The wails of 'lost forever' or 'destabilizes Jersey music' mean little to me. If the people and the bands demand it, a new venue will rise, somewhere else. A new bar with live music in an affordable place in Newark. CBGBs closes, another will replace it in Willimsburg, if the kids want it. That is how it works.

howard wrote:Maxwells, I'll guess before clicking the link. Yeah, once or twice. I've seen GP there at least twice, have a photo to prove one visit.

ETA: The wails of 'lost forever' or 'destabilizes Jersey music' mean little to me. If the people and the bands demand it, a new venue will rise, somewhere else. A new bar with live music in an affordable place in Newark. CBGBs closes, another will replace it in Willimsburg, if the kids want it. That is how it works.

I lived in the Boke for 3 years, went out on average 3 nights a week. Stumbled into Maxwell's once and wasn't impressed. I guess it was a cool place in the 1980s though.

Took the kids here (NJ location). Just a little shack in a residential neighborhood. Four (rotating) flavors, covered barrels sitting out on the sidewalk, no samples, no cell phones. Good stuff. I got pineapple.

Is "italian ice sucks" a controversial take?

I can't see getting that worked up about it either way. I've definitely had some "meh" ice (hello Rita's up the street!). "Meh" ice can easily be salvaged by the addition of vanilla soft serve (hello Magic Fountain up the street!).

This was pretty damn good on its own.

rass wrote:I can't see getting that worked up about it either way. I've definitely had some "meh" ice (hello Rita's up the street!). "Meh" ice can easily be salvaged by the addition of vanilla soft serve (hello Magic Fountain up the street!).

This was pretty damn good on its own.

Rita's sucks. I have never been a big fan of Italian ices. They are OK, unless it is Rita's.

So let's plan a trip to Trap Rock. I could go almost any evening next week. Who's with me?

This Thursday happens to work great for me. Just saying.

not a good week for me at all. In laws in town tomorrow..only through saturday, at which point the boy and missus will be away through monday starting mid-saturday, so i got that going for me.

just hit me up, yo.

I think I'm bad the 13th and 14th which I think are next week.

elflaco wrote:not a good week for me at all. In laws in town tomorrow..only through saturday, at which point the boy and missus will be away through monday starting mid-saturday, so i got that going for me.

Based on your twittering, you're sure to be late no matter what/where/when is planned.

cerrano wrote:just hit me up, yo.

Screw these guys. Quicky at the LT tomorrow, 5-ish? /privatemessage

only if New Jersey Transit is involved and i'm headed to/from work.

otherwise, i'm usually early. definitely early when it comes to bars.

rass wrote:This Thursday happens to work great for me. Just saying.

Thursday this week should work for me.

I have to run an errand out in Mt. Arlington, (a good medical device repair guy is worth driving almost to Pennsylvania). I might as well do it tomorrow. I can meet you guys at Trap Rock. 5-ish.

ETA: holey moley, is that a good dinner looking menu. White people do chicken and waffles--who knew? Hopefully I can get a plate in the bar if you guys are just drinking. Great looking beer and wine selection too (hey, I can still look.)

howard wrote:I have to run an errand out in Mt. Arlington, (a good medical device repair guy is worth driving almost to Pennsylvania). I might as well do it tomorrow. I can meet you guys at Trap Rock. 5-ish.

ETA: holey moley, is that a good dinner looking menu. White people do chicken and waffles--who knew? Hopefully I can get a plate in the bar if you guys are just drinking. Great looking beer and wine selection too (hey, I can still look.)

I was thinking closer to 8. Food is really good, beer is hit or miss. Great place, but the prices for meals is a bit steep. They try to source local and get better quality ingredients, which probably explains the prices. You can definitely get food at the bar.

ok, 8-ish. hit me up on the text.