Raritan, NJ

Raritan is a Somerset County borough along the Raritan River, close to Somerville and Bridgewater. It has a compact downtown, older neighborhoods, rail access, and one especially strong civic memory: Marine Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone grew up here, and the borough honors him with memorials and an annual parade on Somerset Street. That gives Raritan a sharper local profile than many small New Jersey boroughs. It feels blue-collar, historic, and compact in a very central Jersey way.