West Orange, NJ (Montclair, Nutley, Colonia: condo, homes, new construction)

[mumra]

Originally Posted by E-TOWN-R.I.P.

If we’re being honest, the town has been in a bit of a decline. Insane taxes, bad schools and an influx of illegals has dropped it a peg in the last few years. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still mostly a nice place, but it’s not at the level it was in the 80’s and 90’s.

I agree i grew up in WO and my parents still live there, it is not the same town as it use to be. I can wait till my parents finally get out of there. I just looked at the public school system information nces.ed.gov and cannot believe that more than 2/3 of the High School polulation is non white. Definately a big change from when I went to school in the late 80's early 90's

[nykstevenyg]

I don't think West Orange has dropped at all. Yeah 2/3 of the school is minority but it is not a reflection of the town. Many Orthodox Jews live there who go to private school and many people go to other private schools. Except for the valley, it is expensive to live in the town so the minorities are not poor. The graduation and college rate is as high as mostly all "White" towns so it does not really matter that the school system is 2/3 non white.

[E-TOWN-R.I.P.]

Anyone who tries to tell you that West Orange 2009 is as pleasant or affluent as it was in 1989, or even 1999, is either delusional or a real estate agent.

[sdweisman]

i lived in west orange when i got married about 10 years ago and still have many friends and family there. i think it's got some really beautiful areas, nice old homes with character, great proximity to shopping and entertainment but also high taxes. i agree that the taxes are high all along the trainline and you may get a little more bang for your buck in other towns but i think WO has a lot to offer and it's a very convenient place to live.
good luck.

[mumra]

Sure there are areas that are nice like near the Livingston border where I grew up but I just don't believe that the decline will stop. There is so much available housing less than 300k that weighs down the whole area. The older money are leaving due to retirement/ fed up with insane taxes/ or noticed that the neighborhood has changed. In my parents case a few of our neighbors left several years ago due to retirement 2 houses to the left and 3 to the right and one across the street. Minorities moved in to 4 out of the 6. One of the 4 has already foreclosed, the other two families are fine but one family has changed the neighborhood. It was much more noticeable when they first moved in. We never had double parking before they came since every one parks in their driveways and the street is empty, but we have noticed that if someone is parked in front of their house and someone else comes over but doesn’t intend to stay long they wouldn’t hesitate to double park. The friggin street is empty; they can easily park in front of the next house. Also some of the guest that come to their parties are very undesirable/ loud / peal off when leaving ect.. What I'm trying to say is when the old folks use to live there it was much more peaceful.
Newark/Irvington use to be nice as well and once the undesirables started moving in, the responsible moved out. Now I'm not saying that WO is going to be like that but to get to that status there has to be a progression it doesn’t happen over night.

[nykstevenyg]

What I do not understand is how West Orange is not as good or better then it was in 1999/1989. 2009 West Orange is just as nice. Crime as of 2006 is much lower then it was in 1999 you can check that out on the city-data site. Also, with taxes being as high as they are undesirables would not even be able to afford West Orange, so for the most part the minorities are not causing problems. Recently, with many people being priced out of South Orange, Maplewood, Montclair, people have moved into West Orange because of the bus line into the city or jitney in the Gregory section to South Orange station. I would expect to see the schools gain whites. Also, the township has begun a huge redevelopment project for main street and the valley which will make the bad area better and strengthen the whole town. The only problem is if people get a perception that the town is going downhill then it will. It is important people accept diversity because thats the 21st century. If people leave in fear then WO will become bad, and then Livingston will be next as minorities will keep moving up the hill. It is important to stay put and let West Orange thrive as a diverse, safe, town.

[nykstevenyg]

Pealing off? I live in Fair Lawn and my friends and I are all white and some of them peal off when leaving and make plenty of noise. My grandparents live in West Orange, have 2 african american neighbors and last time I checked when they have people over they dont double park lol. I think that is just an isolated incident. Also, to E-town RIP, I am not delusional plenty of towns have gone hill, Belleville and Bloomfield just to name a few. I just think West Orange is a very nice town that represents what the 21st Century is all about, diversity. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/re...0orange&st=cse That is an article written in December about West Orange.

[mumra]

pealing off and high school age is acceptable but its totally different when is a friggin adult and acting like a moron to impress thug friends. That article is bunk talks about the rich neighborhoods, llewelyn park gated townhouse communities lol and a realtor was being quoted. Having a diverse community is one thing but I can guarantee they don’t play together and the town is still very cliquey. I had conversations with recent WOHS grads and they were telling me that the HighSchool kids pretty much stayed within their races. My parents moved to WO in the 80’s due to the great school system at that time and now the school system is mediocre and decline every year. My parents sent my youngest sister to Private school to get away from the WO public school system unfortunately I didn’t get the same treatment. Now we look back and talk about the wrong decision they made to buy a house in WO instead of a house in Livingston, back then the two houses were priced almost equally and the schools were ranked very similarly the big thing was that my mom was taking the bus to work and WO had an easier commute.
[SIZE=3]Anyway it is pointless to argue much further, cause its al relative anyway. If you are coming from Bellville of course you will think WO is great but someone coming from Short Hills will have less of an opinion.[/SIZE]

[nykstevenyg]

I dont come from Bellville or Short Hills. I live in Fair Lawn which is a middle-class white town and besides Llewelyn Park I find west orange to be nicer as a whole, Fair Lawn is a great town but it has less character. I am just saying incomes are still high and crime is going down. It probably is very cliquey but as a whole it is a nice town thats what I am saying. Give it time and Livingston will be no different then West Orange which isnt a bad thing, its the 21st century.

[E-TOWN-R.I.P.]

Originally Posted by nykstevenyg

Pealing off? I live in Fair Lawn and my friends and I are all white and some of them peal off when leaving and make plenty of noise. My grandparents live in West Orange, have 2 african american neighbors and last time I checked when they have people over they dont double park lol. I think that is just an isolated incident. Also, to E-town RIP, I am not delusional plenty of towns have gone hill, Belleville and Bloomfield just to name a few. I just think West Orange is a very nice town that represents what the 21st Century is all about, diversity. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/re...0orange&st=cse That is an article written in December about West Orange.

Please show me a stat saying West Orange had a higher crime rate in 1999 than now. There is NO way that's true. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with diversity, nor am I saying that West Orange is bad town. It's not. What I am saying is the West Orange was once an ELITE town, and it's absolutely not anymore.