Thoughts on Milltown (West Orange, Linden, Orange: house, neighborhood, buying)

[NYtoNJtoPA]

My parents are looking to downsize and my father likes Milltown. For a while they were considering 55+ communities in Monroe but are not happy with what they see as most seem rather "communal" and most of the units are attached, not to mention gated so you can't even get in there to see what they look like without a real-estate agent. Now my dad says it might be worth buying a smaller older house in a quaint neighborhood. He likes Milltown because of the main street and liked the look of it when driving through there years back on his way to visit me when I lived in North Brunswick. I like the look of the place too personally. It's relatively well kept and has a lot of beautiful old homes with character and also some smaller fixer-uppers and ranches that would be what my parents would be looking for. But the place always had kind of an insular rep. Whether or not it is deserved I don't know. I did a lot of shopping in the Ryders Crossing shopping center for the years I lived in that immediate area and it never seemed backwards or standoffish compared to some other parts of NJ. I actually only met one person from this town in college. So what does everyone think of this town? Is it a good place for empty-nesters to downsize? I know it has a municipal pool as well as a private pool club called Brookside. I know my mother would prefer her own pool, but it wouldn't be so bad to be within walking distance of the municipal pool. Are these good pools?

My parents are looking primarily in the Middlesex County area close to the NJ Turnpike to find some place equidistant from my sisters in Clark and West Orange and me in Levittown, PA, and Dad's job in Linden which he will plan to retire from in another year or two.