Union county, NJ -anyone lives there?

[Lastblade]

We are thinking of moving there, any fellow NGer lives there?

 

[not sonic]

just like all parts of nj theres parts that are nice and parts that are less so.

union county is pretty small relative to other counties but its still real diverse. are you moving to say elizabeth or scotch plains? big difference.

im 5 mins away from rahway in woodbridge.

 

[The Drizzle]

sink nj lol

 

[OMFG]

We are thinking of moving there, any fellow NGer lives there?

I used to frequent the area as I have family there. Where are you looking to relocate to?

 

[IcBlUsCrN]

born and lived there for 17 years , that was 18 years to many. i go back time to time and sucks more now.
the nice suburbs are still nice but ,what was the mediocre cities , just suck now.

i lived in linden then colonia then kenilworth.

 

[abasuto]

Does the mob still have any public presence in parts of Jersey ?

ie....people actually seeing people and knowing "those are mobsters".

 

[DangerousK]

Does the mob still have any public presence in parts of Jersey ?

ie....people actually seeing people and knowing "those are mobsters".

The mob has sort of faded into the background.

They are still there, but you really have to be a local to a town to know the guys who are part of certain crime families. The government has been going after them heavily trying to put a lot of them away for things.

I had friends growing up who had relatives who were connected, but they didn't go around advertising it to everyone. You sort of just knew. A kid I played baseball with, his father was a big time hitman for either the Lucchese or Gambino family and wound up in witness protection because he flipped on them.

 

[abasuto]

I find it interesting how the Feds will still spend months on end and who knows how much money to bust a mobster running some small time gambling racket.

Meanwhile, there's ethnic street gangs a few blocks over selling crack and murdering people and the Feds have zero interest. They're the local cops problem.

I always wondered if one of my former bosses (the owner) was in the mob. Italian guy from Jersey. I was the GM, but it noticeable the guy had 2 sets of records for the company. The actual sales reports and "his" sales reports. He slipped up a few times and I'd even noticed shady shit. Like people on the payroll who didn't work for the company, invoices for shit we never received, altered sales reports I saw a few times...etc.

I guess the fact he was Italian and from Jersey just makes you stereotype him as a mobster, but he was certainly using the company to hide income.

 

[BigTinz]

Why would anyone move to New Jersey?

 

[wizkid007]

Why are the threads paired?

NM... seems to be every 8th one... wtf are the mods doing to the forum code?

 

[Daedalus]

Why would anyone move to New Jersey?

Born, raised, and lived most of my life in Union county. Its suburbia. As stated before there is a big difference between Elizabeth and Westfield.

To answer an ignorant question...people move to New Jersey for a few reasons:

1) people in new jersey don't sleep with their family members unlike some southern states *cough*

2) New Jersey has some of the best school systems in the country.

3) You have access to more things in a day trip than A LOT of other places ( Beach is less than an hour away, NYC ( Capital of the world ) is less than 2 hours away ) where else do you have so many of the best restaurants in the world, beaches, skiing snowboarding, all can be done in one day.

4) Taylor ham. Invented and for the most part solely sold out of the state.

 

[DangerousK]

I find it interesting how the Feds will still spend months on end and who knows how much money to bust a mobster running some small time gambling racket.

Meanwhile, there's ethnic street gangs a few blocks over selling crack and murdering people and the Feds have zero interest. They're the local cops problem.

I always wondered if one of my former bosses (the owner) was in the mob. Italian guy from Jersey. I was the GM, but it noticeable the guy had 2 sets of records for the company. The actual sales reports and "his" sales reports. He slipped up a few times and I'd even noticed shady shit. Like people on the payroll who didn't work for the company, invoices for shit we never received, altered sales reports I saw a few times...etc.

I guess the fact he was Italian and from Jersey just makes you stereotype him as a mobster, but he was certainly using the company to hide income.

A lot of what I see the feds going after here in NJ are things they can get RICO convictions on. Of course to me the running joke is that if you're a mob guy, you'll probably get less time in jail on a murder conviction than you will if you get a RICO conviction. But you do make a great point..the feds wasted god knows how much money trying to convicted the son of John Gotti and were unable to do so after multiple trials. There's a lot of more important things the money could go for. Plus I don't hear much about the feds going after Russian organized crime the way they do after Italian organized crime.

As for the street gang thing, I think it depends on whether or not it it is the trafficking issue they are more interested in. Locking up a small time dealer who will be out in a few years isn't worth their time. If said dealer can give them a major drug distributor that's another story, otherwise it's a local issue.

The mob has gotten more into white collar crime so I'm sure the guy probably had some connections. No-show jobs are one of the things that get them in deep shit here in NJ because they start throwing their weight around with the local unions who inevitably wind up under the fed microscope. Convictions all around.

 

[DangerousK]

Born, raised, and lived most of my life in Union county. Its suburbia. As stated before there is a big difference between Elizabeth and Westfield.

To answer an ignorant question...people move to New Jersey for a few reasons:

1) people in new jersey don't sleep with their family members unlike some southern states *cough*

2) New Jersey has some of the best school systems in the country.

3) You have access to more things in a day trip than A LOT of other places ( Beach is less than an hour away, NYC ( Capital of the world ) is less than 2 hours away ) where else do you have so many of the best restaurants in the world, beaches, skiing snowboarding, all can be done in one day.

4) Taylor ham. Invented and for the most part solely sold out of the state.

All valid points.

The biggest downside to NJ is the cost of living, which for a supposed shitty state as many here like to believe is extremely high. North Jersey can be brutal with rent costs, taxes if you are a homeowner, and auto insurance blows.

As far as the corruption in the state goes, I would still say Illinois is even worse.

Then on the subject of the financial problems the state has, California is still infinitely worse.

Every state has its pluses and minuses, but a lot of people will put up with the minuses Jersey has because it has a ton to offer.

Going through the state on I-95 doesn't make you qualified to say anything about this state. If that was the only way I saw the state, I'd think it was pretty shitty too.

 

[Daedalus]

All valid points.

The biggest downside to NJ is the cost of living, which for a supposed shitty state as many here like to believe is extremely high. North Jersey can be brutal with rent costs, taxes if you are a homeowner, and auto insurance blows.

As far as the corruption in the state goes, I would still say Illinois is even worse.

Then on the subject of the financial problems the state has, California is still infinitely worse.

Every state has its pluses and minuses, but a lot of people will put up with the minuses Jersey has because it has a ton to offer.

Going through the state on I-95 doesn't make you qualified to say anything about this state. If that was the only way I saw the state, I'd think it was pretty shitty too.

/Agreed.

I do not like when people stereotype the state and know little about it. The taxes are definitely too high, that is the ONLY reason I moved from there. It is also overcrowded, these two things I do not miss at all. It is still a great state, and doesn't deserve the stereotypical bashes it gets all the time.

Full Metal Jacket states that the only thing that comes from Texas is steers and queers, does that mean everyone in Texas is gay or a bull?

 

[OMFG]

The state was home to me for many years. After my deployment overseas I just wanted to get out and move to a much more quieter, less crowded area. NJ has its ups and downs, but overall the state has some very nice areas with always something to do.

As for the mobster thing in NJ... it doesn't exist.

 

[Lastblade]

We visited Cranford and Westfield yesterday. Cranford is beautiful with the river and canoe club, but I prefer not to be so close to the flood zone. Westfield has the cutest downtown in any suburb I have seen (I have been looking to relocate to a suburb from Brooklyn for over a year, anywhere from Long Island, to Upstate NY to all different counties in NJ). Plus, it has an express train to the Newark Penn.

But the most important thing for us is the school system. Both towns will have top notch public schools. I know WF has a reputation of being a rich town but with the housing market in the shithole, we can actually afford a decent 3/4 bedroom house there. We are very excited about it.

And I never thought I would *want* to live in NJ, but WF fits all my criteria for a suburb that's commutable to NYC (school->1 to1.5 hr commute->great community/facility->"reasonable" property tax).

 

[Nesagwa]

/Agreed.

I do not like when people stereotype the state and know little about it.

1) people in new jersey don't sleep with their family members unlike some southern states *cough*

Sure thing buddy.

 

[DangerousK]

We visited Cranford and Westfield yesterday. Cranford is beautiful with the river and canoe club, but I prefer not to be so close to the flood zone. Westfield has the cutest downtown in any suburb I have seen (I have been looking to relocate to a suburb from Brooklyn for over a year, anywhere from Long Island, to Upstate NY to all different counties in NJ). Plus, it has an express train to the Newark Penn.

But the most important thing for us is the school system. Both towns will have top notch public schools. I know WF has a reputation of being a rich town but with the housing market in the shithole, we can actually afford a decent 3/4 bedroom house there. We are very excited about it.

And I never thought I would *want* to live in NJ, but WF fits all my criteria for a suburb that's commutable to NYC (school->1 to1.5 hr commute->great community/facility->"reasonable" property tax).

I would move to Westfield in a heartbeat.

A friend of mine lives there. It's an excellent town that has a great shopping area, and you have access to the major highways that will get you anywhere else in the state within a good driving distance.

I highly recommend moving to that town.

 

[IcBlUsCrN]

We visited Cranford and Westfield yesterday. Cranford is beautiful with the river and canoe club, but I prefer not to be so close to the flood zone. Westfield has the cutest downtown in any suburb I have seen (I have been looking to relocate to a suburb from Brooklyn for over a year, anywhere from Long Island, to Upstate NY to all different counties in NJ). Plus, it has an express train to the Newark Penn.



And I never thought I would *want* to live in NJ, but WF fits all my criteria for a suburb that's commutable to NYC (school->1 to1.5 hr commute->great community/facility->"reasonable" property tax).

Westfield would not be a bad place to move to scotch plains would be more of the suburbs.
I dont know if i'd put up with 1.5hr commute though. I took the NJT express to the path train and it was only like .5 hour to WTC. Much better then driving

 

[andsuchisdeath]

I had to buy engine coolant at a Wal-Mart in Kearny, NJ about a month ago. Now I'm not a regular Wal Mart shopper buy any means...but that store made any Wal Mart in Massachusetts look like Buckingham palace. And Kearny/Harisson smelled bad.

However, people do unfairly bash NJ. I'm sure it's a fine state to grow up in.

 

[BigTinz]

ignorant

 

[not sonic]

that dude probably lives in staten island. ive honestly never seen anyone like that in central or north jersey.

 

[OMFG]

I had to buy engine coolant at a Wal-Mart in Kearny, NJ about a month ago. Now I'm not a regular Wal Mart shopper buy any means...but that store made any Wal Mart in Massachusetts look like Buckingham palace. And Kearny/Harisson smelled bad.

However, people do unfairly bash NJ. I'm sure it's a fine state to grow up in.

That area's pretty industrial by the East Newark bridge and the smell could be a combination of the Passaic river and the rock salt plant nearby. The Wal-Mart crowd's always a sight to see over there. But if you drive up that hill into the main part of Kearny, it's pretty nice. I used to live next door in North Arlington with a great view of NYC. Since property's at a premium there, every house is so damn close to each other.


To Lastblade: A mid ground between Cranford and Westfield is Fanwood. The schools are great and you're local to everything. The taxes should be much lower than Scotch Plains. If I stayed in Northern NJ, I would've moved over there. The only thing that's a pro and con at the same time near the area is RT-22. The traffic congestion and accidents on that road are a daily occurance.

 

[andsuchisdeath]

I used to live next door in North Arlington with a great view of NYC. Since property's at a premium there, every house is so damn close to each other.

.

Yes the North Arlington NYC view is nice. I killed sometime at the North Arlington bowling alley.

 

[OMFG]

Yes the North Arlington NYC view is nice. I killed sometime at the North Arlington bowling alley.

I lived three blocks from there. Good times.