Rahway is a small city in Union County, New Jersey, situated west of Staten Island and roughly midway between Newark and New Brunswick. It sits on the Northeast Corridor, one of the busiest rail lines in the country, and its NJ Transit station gives residents direct train service to Newark and Manhattan — a fact that has long defined the city's identity as a commuter town. Rahway's history is industrial. For two centuries the city was a manufacturing center, and it became home to some of the twentieth century's industrial giants, most famously the pharmaceutical company Merck, which was founded in Rahway, along with firms such as Wheatena, Purolator, and Regina. That working-class, industrial legacy shaped the city's dense, walkable neighborhoods and its close-in, no-nonsense character. In recent decades, Rahway has reinvented its center around the arts. The Union County Performing Arts Center, housed in the restored 1928 Rahway Theatre, anchors a downtown arts district that has drawn restaurants, galleries, and residential investment. The city has been recognized nationally for the strength of its small-town arts scene, and the station area has been the focus of sustained revitalization. Today Rahway's housing spans renovated Victorian homes, mid-century ranches, and newer townhomes, appealing to a broad mix of long-time residents and New York commuters drawn by the rail access and the walkable downtown. Public schools are provided by the Rahway Public Schools district. For those seeking a transit-connected city with real character and a growing arts identity, Rahway offers an increasingly compelling option within the New York region.