Author: Brett

Andrew and I have employed a couple of methods over the years in order to pinpoint the town that is right for us. Some of them are zany, like looking up the area where a certain film was shot because we liked the street or studying the train map and researching the towns within an hour’s ride from Manhattan. Then there are the times when we hear about a place through word of mouth. That’s how we discovered Cranford, NJ.

One day, I was complaining to a coworker about how long we have been looking for a house in a town with a vibrant downtown area and that we would like said house to be no more than a 20-minute walk to the train station. She mentioned that her best friend lived in Cranford in Union county, New Jersey and that it seemed to have what we were looking for.

Downtown Cranford has a varied selection of independent shops. The Rockn’ Joe Coffeehouse and Bistro is a popular place for locals seeking a caffeine fix and there’s also a chocolate shop, a stationary store, several restaurants and pub-type places in addition to other businesses.

A key feature of Cranford’s footprint is the Rahway river, which cuts through the town at several points, justifying the need for picturesque footbridges. The town boasts a bike path, which makes getting to the downtown area and its key buildings—schools, the library, and municipal buildings—easy to do on two wheels. The day we visited, we walked along the bike path.

Cranford’s housing stock includes Victorians, Cape Cods, and other post-war properties. Best of all, the prices are much more reasonable than in neighboring townships.

There is a reason, after all, why Cranford is a good bet. Although there are shops a plenty, Cranford lacks the verve of neighboring Westfield, the area’s shopping and dining destination. While it has a reputation in the county for being a quiet presence, Cranford is also a transit village, which has been working to improve the downtown area since the 1980s when they revamped the streets to restore the vestiges of its Victorian past. Up went a clock tower and period street lamps. Still, we normally make it a point to have a meal in every town we visit, but on the day we visited during Memorial Day weekend, every shop and every restaurant was closed (We visited Westfield the same day and found the opposite). Also, the same river that has given Cranford the nickname, “Venice of New Jersey” can lead to flooding problems in certain properties. Most of the town is actually in a designated flood zone. Then again, so is Manhattan.

We decided to pass on Cranford (more on that another day), but if you’re looking for more house than you can get in the five boros and you don’t mind the transfer in Newark (it’s an otherwise quick, 40 minute ride into NY Penn), then Cranford is worth a look.

Cranford Chamber of Commerce
Village Profile
Star Ledger on Cranford