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You have not posted any stats at all, save for something the mayor wrote. Show me excellent sat scores, proficiency rates...anything.
Listen if you are happy with the education you will get at WO HS then great. Like I said before, each to his own.
so you're allowed to post that only 66% in 2009 went to a 4 yr college (conveniently leaving out the remaining number that went to a 2 yr), but i'm not allowed to state that 95% of the 2010 class are going to college?
SAT scores are overrated. it's really not worth my time and effort. i wasn't trying to prove that WO is a great school, just was pointing out that it's not a "crappy" school, as was stated.
Take a look at listings in Ardmore, Narberth and Belmont Hills. Plenty of places in the low 200s. Of course these are very small, but you do get to go to Lower Merion schools, and we're talking about a mortgage payment lower than your Millburn property tax bill.
Housing prices look about 1/3 lower to me than similar places in New York, and there is more available on the lower end (e.g. twins, row houses, and smaller houses).
Likewise, there are places in Havertown (Haverford school district) in that price range.
Quite a bit cheaper than NJ ! I don't drive into the city, but unlike Manhattan it is possible.
I got a slight bump in compensation after I moved, and with housing costs about 2/3 of what they are in North Jersey, that's not a bad deal.
I guess I never got to enjoy this "NY salary" thing (even with a "Wall Street" job -- with all those state workers making 200k+, you really need to rake it in to live in the nicer towns. My understanding is that the rank and file on Wall St are largely making under 150k, though there are some (traders and bankers) who may make much more than that.
well, we're not comparing apples to apples. you're selecting basically some of the very best public schools in the state of PA. i'm simply saying, overall, public schools in PA suck. and for many many many people - living in LM school district is pretty tough. the houses you are talking about are so small, that you're not gonna live there and have kids to send to LM anyways. hahaha. jk - slightly.
i've done comparisons, i would come out slightly ahead by moving to philly area. but then i'd have to deal with Philadelphia sports fans, and you can't put a price on that!
one of the key things, from a bottom line perspective, is what is the payment per month, which of course is mortgage payment + taxes/12 = monthly payment. As such, if Montclair & West Orange were being compared, if similar homes were available in each town for the same monthly payment, then 95% of the buyers choose the Montclair property. However, that is not the case. West Orange properties have bigger lots and are more significantly improved than Montclair homes when based on the payment created by purchase price and taxes. Bottom line, Montclair similar homes are far more expensive with somewhat higher taxes.
Crappy schools? We got our town newsletter in the mail back in June. It listed every college/university that students from WOHS were accepted to this year. Among the schools were Harvard, Princeton, and Cornell. Not sure how anyone could think the schools are crappy when students are being accepted into Ivy League universities.
Well said!... and that the truth. west orange schools are an excellent place to send your kids.
In our state (vermont) rather than capping the tax rate they cap the amount of municipal property tax you owe, depending on income. If your household income is below $90,000 your property tax bill can't exceed 2 percent of your adjusted income.
If you make more than $90,000 or own a second home here you are out of luck. Still, most towns have been very frugal in recent years and have worked to keep their proposed yearly budgets within the annual COL adjustment (1.5 percent currently).
Also, the town budget must be presented at an annual public meeting where everyone approves it/defeats it with a voice vote. If it's defeated, the town officials must go back to the drawing board and re-present it.
I wouldn't be able to afford my old house if I moved back to NJ. Property taxes on the 1,000-square-foot fixer upper on a small lot were up to $8,000 last time I checked.
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