Belleville or Nutley? (Newark, Passaic, Kearny: to rent, crime, houses)

[RJL0206]

If one were to Buy a home nowadays, $250-$350K which town would give the most bang for the buck? I heard Taxes in Nutley are likely to skyrocket once Roche is fully gone. Been renting in Belleville for the past few years and would like to stay around the area. Thanks all.


R

[astroia 34567]

Hmm, Belleville in the area near the Forest Hills Country Club further down Belleville Ave and areas further north on Washington. Only area I would not invest in unless you really want to wait for the long haul is the area by the Passaic River around the old Church and Rt 21 - housing quality not so good and the mix of older industrial and residential never has made it that attractive (except for the old church). People tend to pooh poooh the area near the Newark Border but really isn't that large of an area, once you are around the town hall and north the areas get better and better.

Nutley can be very nice overall but not sure about the tax situation.

Also consider some parts of Kearny - Arlington Section (bordered by the Passaic River, Belleville Pike, Kearny Ave, and Midland Ave) over the bridge offers good to excellent houses with nice size lots, on Belgrove off Midland has some nice large houses and some areas east of Kearny Ave are pretty good with some charming craftsman and two families - the lots though will be smaller overall. Some areas around West Hudson Park are good and near the old Boystown (but north of the public housing and the Harrison/East Newark border, though if you don't mind a more urban feel and a property to rent there are possibilities there) . Crime in Kearny is equivalent to North Arlington - just a tiny bit higher.