Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We love the look and feel of South Orange and Maplewood and think we can find something in our budget here.
However the biggest issue for us is schools. We're seeing a ton of people moving there from NYC, especially people who are priced out of Montclair.
Do you think given the strong interest in SOMA, the schools are likely to improve? Can anyone speak to the current quality of SOMA schools (firsthand or friends of people from SOMA)?
I went to Maplewood Jr and at that time the schools were rated at least decent. Though it was a long time ago unless the demographic has changed a lot I don't see them as terrible. I think any problem in South Orange and Maplewood would be the same as any other public school in NJ. If you understand my meaning.
I went to Maplewood Jr and at that time the schools were rated at least decent. Though it was a long time ago unless the demographic has changed a lot I don't see them as terrible. I think any problem in South Orange and Maplewood would be the same as any other public school in NJ. If you understand my meaning.
Not an expert in those towns, but I think it's more likely that "they are what they are". Those towns have been hot for the entirety of my 10 years in NJ, and have been targeted by the Brooklyn crowd during that whole time (and I know many people from here that have moved there as well). I don't think now is any different. The schools are solid, and a notch or two below the usual highly ranked districts, and I don't think the rankings have budged much. My personal opinion, with high parent involvement "solid" schools should be perfectly fine, it just won't have the omnipresent peer pressure to succeed.
Usually, the people that move there are less concerned with those list & rankings anyway. At the end of the day, once you factor in the exorbitant property taxes (and the $$$ over ask), your monthly carrying cost for SOMA isn't much different than some of the surrounding towns with higher ranked schools at this point anyway. So the people targeting top school rankings will inevitably sort themselves into Westfield/Summit/Millburn/etc. anyway.
i wonder what makes a good school. parental involvement? you get what you put into your child’s education unless the school is not conducive to learning due to over crowding, violence, so forth
i wonder what makes a good school. parental involvement? you get what you put into your child’s education unless the school is not conducive to learning due to over crowding, violence, so forth
Good Teachers, Good Administration, a Board of Ed that backs it's employees and Parents that let Teachers do their job and Parents that do parenting.
Usually, the people that move there are less concerned with those list & rankings anyway. At the end of the day, once you factor in the exorbitant property taxes (and the $$$ over ask), your monthly carrying cost for SOMA isn't much different than some of the surrounding towns with higher ranked schools at this point anyway. So the people targeting top school rankings will inevitably sort themselves into Westfield/Summit/Millburn/etc. anyway.
Completely agree that the taxes are exorbitant. We both need to commute to NYC, so Westfield is a no-go given how tough the commute is. We're looking in Summit, but most of the homes we like are well above our budget, but definitely lower taxes. If we can find something in our budget in Summit, we'll pick that over SOMA.
Millburn I've heard is a pressure-cooker in terms of schools. I think Summit seems a little bit better. I went to college with plenty of people from the Short Hills area, and the level of wealth would make me a little uncomfortable. HS girls wearing Chanel handbags, driving around in luxury cars, grew up with bowling alleys in their basement (not kidding!). I recognize Summit is affluent but I don't think it's that extreme...
I'm trying to get into the SOMA facebook groups to get an understanding of the schools but they won't let me in as I'm not a resident.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
