Reserve at Bel Air, West Orange (East Orange, Livingston: rent, low crime, houses)

[taruny]

I am planning to buy a home in community 'Reserve at Bel Air', West Orange.
Wanted to know more details about the community, the schooling system and the town itself.


Where are you coming from? Queens, NYC
Why are you moving? Need a bigger place and open space
Where will you be working ? If NYC, what part of NYC? Myself: Midtown, Wife: Downtown

Will you buy or rent ? Buy
What is your budget ? 400-800K
What kind of place are you looking for ? Single-Family more than 3K sq ft.

Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you ? Spouse
Do you need/want good public schools? Yes, but not a deal breaker

Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in
(examples: families with young children, young, mature, artsy, diverse, safe, close-knit, block parties, etc)
Safe and family oriented with nice surrounding (suburbs)

List three things that are important to you in order of importance.(examples: nightlife, outdoor activities, rural/urban, safety, downtown area, charming, new construction, proximity to XYZ, family oriented, easy parking, short commute, etc)
Good resale value, low crime rate ,newer construction

[bradykp]

downside is we have little retail, so the local tax burden falls on the property owners. don't count on taxes decreasing any time soon, but we can hope that they stay relatively flat. community is great. location is nice. i live on the side that borders south orange, so i use south orange and millburn for my "downtown" experiences. but west orange has a lot to offer, despite not having a real "main street". they are working on reviving main street, but haven't made much progress.

i really like the area. but i can't speak to the neighborhood you'd be living in. i'm guessing livingston would become your "downtown" - which is also pretty nice.

[Magic78]

Bel aire is nice but I would never, ever live in West Orange. Taxes are high. The area isn't great. Some areas are not nice at all. Just matter of time before it becomes like East Orange/orange.

[bradykp]

lol. what areas are not great? i have awesome neighbors, lots of gorgeous old homes, and there's not a lot of traffic in town because it's virtually all residential. orange and east orange are both improving (though i wouldn't live in either), and west orange is certainly not declining.

tax rates are about 2.9% which is high, but it's not as insanely high as people perceive when you compare to other towns. also - prices of houses are lower because of the tax rates - so it often evens out in the end.

it's not for everyone, but you make it sound like it's a horrible town.

[Magic78]

Several of our neighbors in Livingston (we just moved out of Livingston this year) left West Orange because it is going downhill. Yes, there are fine parts of WO. But there are areas that are sketchy. WO is hanging on by a thread.

[Magic78]

I wouldn't spend $$$$$$$ that bel aire requires to live there. Just my opinion. Don't have to agree. OP is looking for opinions. It is good for him to get varying view points on the area. It will help him/her mke an informed decision.

[nybbler]

Originally Posted by Magic78

Bel aire is nice but I would never, ever live in West Orange. Taxes are high. The area isn't great. Some areas are not nice at all. Just matter of time before it becomes like East Orange/orange.

Taxes are very high (3.4, not 2.9). But it seems unlikely at this point that it will become like E.O. or Orange. First of all, E.O. and Orange are slowly improving, at least the areas north of the tracks and closer to W.O. The only really not-nice area in West Orange is the section near the cemetery abutting Orange, and the Reserve at Bel Air is nowhere near there.

I live in St. Cloud, not too far from Bel Air (just east on Northfield or Mt Pleasant, depending on the entrance). Family oriented -- St Cloud is, there's even a yearly block party, but Bel Air is a new development and is probably less so. I don't know about the larger Mt. Pleasant neighborhood -- West Orange is big enough that a lot of things are structured around neighborhoods, which correspond to elementary schools, rather than the town as a whole. Safe, certainly; you're nowhere near any place unsafe; Bel Air is next to Short Hills, St Cloud, and Livingston. Obviously everything in Bel Air is relatively new construction... resale value requires a crystal ball, however.

Transportation to NYC (midtown or downtown) is good provided you can get a parking permit at one of the nearby train stations; South Orange is impossible (5+ year wait) but Orange, Highland, and Mountain have more reasonable waiting periods (of those, Orange has the best service). Driving to the PATH in Harrison is also a possibility but traffic and parking have been getting worse. Of course it will be much easier if you have flexible hours. There's also a bus to Port Authority which stops on Northfield.

The high school and middle schools are consistently rated just average for NJ, but some of the elementary schools are rated better, including the Mt. Pleasant elementary school.

[taruny]

Thank you all, Its a great feedback.

[Anon-Hate]

I agree with Bradyp and nybbler...taxes are high, but it is a nice town. My experience with the "West Orange is going to hell in a hand basket" crowd is usually from the old timers that bristle at the fact that there is more diversity in town than a decade or two ago. I have been here nearly 3 years and have never felt unsafe. The only part of the area I don't like is the K-Mart shopping center...the owners have allowed it to deteriorate and the access off 280 lends itself to crimes of opportunity the way most shopping areas right off of interstates do. Essex Green Plaza, which is a half mile down Prospect Avenue, is nicer.

[Magic78]

Bottom line is that people are leaving West Orange for better areas, including Livingston, Millburn, Short Hills, etc. There really isn't anyway around it. Call a realtor. They will tell you the same thing.