Sleepy Hollow in Plainfield

[BK_Born_Jahsee]

Originally Posted by Ashesc21

Hello, I have lived in the Netherwood Heights/Sleepy Hollow section of Plainfield for almost 10 years. As a background about myself, I grew up in very rural, mountainous western Massachusetts and then moved to Brooklyn for a while. From there I bought a house with my husband in Plainfield.

I have fallen in love with Plainfield. I am selling my first home which is walking distance to the Netherwood train station and I will be buying a larger house in Plainfield. I like it enough to stay here even though I grew up in a place with no crime and basically no people lol.

I have not had any issues with crime during my time here. I frequently take very long walks around the neighborhood, going from the East side over to the Hillside Historic district. I have walked both during the day and night without issue. In my opinion, the safest area would be if you were to stay East of Cedarbrook road and south of the train line. Hillside Avenue has some of my favorite houses even though it is outside of Netherwood and Sleepy Hollow.

The historical homes here are truly beautiful but yes, there are high taxes to go with some of them. These would be million dollar homes in other neighborhoods that are more popular like Summit. You are getting architecture and high-quality craftsmanship from the early 1900s and 1920s that is hard to find these days. I have been in several of the $600K+ homes in the neighborhood that are very large. They typically run you about $20K in taxes. If you are willing to go for a smaller house like mine (3 bedroom, 1.5 bath 1930s colonial in Netherwood Heights with .26 acres), it's going to run you about $9K in taxes. I believe that taxes are high right now due to low business ratables. Hopefully that will improve in the future as well (see below).

I am not sure what house the OP is talking about so I can't determine why the taxes are so high. Some of these houses need renovation and are listed lower because of that. Once renovated they would be $600K+ and therefore the taxes are in line with the other houses mentioned above.

Plainfield is undergoing a trend of new development. There is a city project underway to develop South Avenue near the Netherwood Train Station. Also, I have noticed a lot of houses being gut renovated. Some trendy new local businesses are starting to open up as well. Check out The Coffee Box in Plainfield. My husband spoke with the owner who said that people are even coming from Westfield to go to this shop because they sell this fancy Intelligentsia coffee brand. I believe that Plainfield is the next city on the Raritan Valley train line to become very hot since the prices in Fanwood/Scotch Plains and Westfield are so high. I think it will take a while for that effect to reach the inner parts of the city but I believe that houses near the Netherwood train line will become very desirable.

Regarding the school system, it sucks. Most people I know with kids either home school them or send them to private school.

I am not going to lie, the center of Plainfield is scary right now. I really don't go there unless I am craving enchiladas de pollos (what chicken tostodas are called by salvadorians) from Mi Ranchito Viejo. Most of the violent crime occurs around West 2nd and West 4th. There is some gang activity in that area as well. However, living in the sections that I mentioned above is like living in a different world. You wouldn't even know that you are affiliated with the city center.

Plainfield is very diverse with many different racial and socio-economic groups. On my particular block there are whites, blacks, latinos, and asians. I love that fact!

I just want to say that I think Plainfield is a great place to live if you stay in the right sections. I do believe Plainfield will have a great future and will become more desirable over time.

Awesome reply. I'm under contract for a home in Plainfield, myself [Muhlenberg area, near Hillside Ave]. Thanks for the detailed info.