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Keep reading in realtor websites about the "desirable" section of Newark called Upper Vailsburg. Anyone know anything about it? Is it really a good(safe) section of Newark or just a lot of realtor hype?
There is definitely hype involved. Buying in that area would still be considered a high risk investment. If you are already part of a Newark community that might be a reason for your interest. If not there are very few takers, so the hype would be necessary to generate responses. People who buy and then rent out the homes in these areas are not too popular with the locals. People looking at this area might have very different motivations when it comes to buying. People would not buy there on a whim or w/o much consideration.
There is definitely hype involved. Buying in that area would still be considered a high risk investment. If you are already part of a Newark community that might be a reason for your interest. If not there are very few takers, so the hype would be necessary to generate responses. People who buy and then rent out the homes in these areas are not too popular with the locals. People looking at this area might have very different motivations when it comes to buying. People would not buy there on a whim or w/o much consideration.
Thanks for your thoughtful response. Just to be clear, not looking for an investment, looking for a home for my family. We currently rent in Jersey City. The realtor websites would have you believe that upper Vailsburg is some kind of suburban oasis. Based on the responses from you and Mead, that's clearly not the case and I thank you for the reality check.
If you live in JC already you should spend some time in Newark. It is kind of shocking that a local resident would think of anywhere in Newark as suburban like-regardless of advertising. You should not rely on city-data for this info if you can visit the area in question. Are you looking for community? It sounds like it. You would look down there from that vantage first and because you live so close it should be very easy to get a feel.
That section of newark borders on south orange and maplewood. The neighborhood is certainly more suburban than the rest of newark - older homes on reasonable sized lots. But you have to consider that it's still within the newark city limits, and therefore, zoned for newark schools. I'll let you draw your own conclusions about that...
Your best resource would not be city-data forums when you live next door to the area in question and can visit at any time. The pacing and time line for progress in this community is dependent on many different factors- many of them unpredictable. These proactive residents are not new arrivals to Newark and they are still facing an uphill battle which may be only slightly different than the one they were facing 20 years ago. The vibe of wanting to see changes is nothing new. People who don't live in the area may think that but they have no clue. It makes sense to look at Newark in terms of the sense of community you may find there. When improvements do not materialize where you would wish them to you will still be able to benefit from the sense of community at least.
If you do decide on moving to Vailsburg just make sure to stay very far away from the neighborhood to the south of Fairmount cemetary and around West Side Park. If you drive down the side streets off of South Orange ave, drug dealers operate in a very open and brazen manner and strung out junkies walk the streets.
If I were to live in Newark, Valisburg would not be on my list of preferences. And I'm not a Newark hater. But the drug traffic going through this area during the summertime on a Friday evening ... forget it.
Like JY said, your still going to send your kids to Newark Schools. Ive passed through the area that someone claimed to be Vailsburg. It looks alot nicer but still has boarded up houses on some blocks. The thing about Vailsburg is that it was originally a suburb of Newark then got Annexed into Newark when Newark was a thriving city and expanding. This area only got half of what other parts of Newark got in urbanization because it was brand new and then when Newark was passed its hey-day it stopped getting built up. So you can still see a suburban feel to it, but you still have to be carefull.
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