Walkable Downtown ??? (Newark, Trenton, Westfield: for sale, job, homes)

[ScranBarre]

This is such a fascinating thread---thanks for the inquiry, MBK! I, too, find our nation's autocentric patterns to be abhorrent, and no phrases cut into my heart more than "urban sprawl" or "make way for progress." I think more and more Americans are realizing that living in a nation where each town has scores of acres marred for the same Best Buys, Wal-Marts, Home Depots, Targets, McMansions, etc. that we're losing our individual identities. A sociology professor I had last semester here at King's referenced some sort of movie that highlighted the Communist Era in which a man from the Soviet Union got onto a plane in one city, fell asleep on the flight, and woke up at his destination only to find that his new city was exactly the same as the one he had left. He went on living his life as if he had never reached his final destination, even though he truly was in a different city---it was just so identical that he couldn't tell one city apart from the next (perhaps this sounds familiar to an episode of the Twilight Zone?)

How can one truly tell Dickson City (Scranton's chain district) apart from Wilkes-Barre Township (Wilkes-Barre's chain district) here in PA? They both have the exact same big-box stores that line congested arteries with feeble attempts at aesthetic improvements with poorly-landscaped medians. They both have malls. They both have parking lots dominated by higher-end vehicles. You can buy the exact same things in either community. Where's the difference?

A walkable downtown is unique to each and every community. I can think of Downtown Scranton as being home to a gourmet dog bakery, Thai restaurant, art framing supply store, women's formalwear rental store, comic books store, and many other independently-owned niche retailers. You don't see that in America's homogenized suburbs. You can receive top-notch customer service in these small independent merchants that can't be matched at the big-boxes (trust me, I work at one, and none of my co-workers are inspired to extol much effort into their jobs due to the low morale we corporate grunts have!)

If there are so many people in this nation who don't want to see us become one incessant suburb devoid of character, individuality, or open space, then why is nobody making their voices heard?

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by njchick

Tiggywink, that site was great... my location's score was 65 out of 100.

Mine was 6 out of 100. Metro Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA is autocentric and filling up left and right with McMansion communities for NY/NJ transplants, so this doesn't surprise me in the least bit.

0 - 25 = Driving Only: Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

Another reason I have to get out of this crummy hellhole!

[andyh428]

The reason people arent saying much about the great cities of this country becoming all cookie cutter and having no identity is because so many of us time have the time nor to most care honestly. In America we care about our circle of friends and family. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But its a very hectic busy life most of us lead and unfortunately the ones making every major city look the same are the ones with the most money (shocker)

Its truly sad when a great city like New Orleans is ravaged by a storm and our brain dead president takes a week to get down and see whats going on. Very few cities have their own true identity now a days. One that does come to mind is San Francisco. It is a beautiful city with its own look that when you see it on tv you know "oh thats SF". Most movies these days that have a scene in NY or Chicago aren't really even in those cities when you are watching them. I think Vancouver has "played" an American city more times then I care to remember.

Gone are the days of mom and pops on every corner. But fortunately we still have some cities that embrace the idea of a small town feel. But that isn't going to last long because as long as the monster stores like Walmart are around and growing, we will definitely see the loss of true Americana.

[JerZ]

Originally Posted by njchick

Westwood is adorable, and has way more than "like 5 stores". It has a great old fashioned type discount store (like a 5 & 10) that carries all the old time (well made) items you used to be able to find, music stores, cholcolate shop, clothing stores, art gallery, a movie theater, as well as restaurants and Starbucks, etc. Are you sure you were in Westwood?

Hi! I lived in Westwood for 15 years and in River Vale (it's lil sister town) for seven years so I feel like I can add to this one. We always kind of laughed at "town" in Westwood (in an affectionate way) because as you're driving past it, "if you blink, you miss it." BUT once you're in town you realize that whole of that few-blocks section of Westwood Ave. is entirely filled with stores, and then leads (as you cross the train tracks--still walking, mind you) to the adorable gazbo, and another offshoot set of stores. That used to be a ski shop, a Carvel and a fish/meats market (the little offshoot) but I don't know if it still is. Before you get to the offshoot is (better still be!!!!!!!!!!) The Iron Horse, a great American-style but rather cool restaurant, where you can take kids. It has several sections so you can be seated more secluded, or more kid-friendly. It even has an upstairs. Across is the gazebo and across from that on the far side, past the train depot, is the library, where my son and I constantly were--I always practically live at a library no matter where I live.

People come from other towns to walk Westwood because in the immediate area, it's really "the" walkable town area. Other towns have shops, etc. but Westwood town is more insulated b/c there's a speed limit throughout--I think 25mph? Something crazy slow--so even though the street itself is bustling with a gazillion people and there are so many shops, you can literally stroll, not run being afraid you'll be hit by a car. I mean there are jerks for sure, who try to buzz through, and that was always big talk around town, but in general it's slower for traffic and just more stroll-able, more take-your-kids-and-wander-able than, say, Washington Township which is on very-busy Pascack, or Park Ridge on very-busy Kinderkamack...etc.

It is a very, very, very pleasant walk and with the amount of stores and the distance, you can definitely spend a happy afternoon walking around town. Each offshoot off Westwood Ave. also has stores.

I'll back up and list a few of the stores not necessarily in exact order of distance...I'm going back & forth across the street, etc. here. Starting at Five Corners, there's...let's see. The five and dime, like njchick said. A florist. A drug store, there was a camera store, there was an art store (I'm saying "was" for some of these b/c they may have changed by now). A sort of "trendy" children's clothes store, v. expensive, I never set foot in there. A pizza place. A big store that used to be a Gap and then like ten other stores in ten years, could be something else by now.

Conrad's, where you can get a sandwich, shake, etc.--very old-fashioned and adorable; this place has been around for a bajillion years; my mother had her first date there in 1957!!!! Then crossing the street from Conrad's is the Pascack Theater--where Mom had the second part of her first date! And they ended up married--that was my dad.

On offshoot streets from these (I'm thinking of the one as you turn down to go to the Pascack) are a few more, such as a New Age store, and a really cool place that sells African and Indigenous American and other cultural pieces; and a photography place, and a bridal store.

CVS. A pet store. Trendy young adults store. Pet shop. Another pizza place. A bank, and the train.

It's at this point that WW Ave. is turning into Washington Ave. as you pass the gazebo and head toward the Iron Horse. There's a little train depot as you pass, and bus stop, and I used to take the bus into the city from there.

In the summer, there always used to be things in the gazebo, like mini-concerts, always very fun...and always free. In the early autumn there was always a little flea market there, a couple weekends in a row. During the summer there's The Sidewalk Sale. It's brutally hot but you walk up and down WW Ave. and every store is open with tons of stuff for sale and you just walk it...and there are vendors selling food and usually little kiddie attractions. In the winter, Santa Claus comes to the gazebo. And a dude sells chestnuts. I kid you not.


Actually, most of the Bergen County towns have events like that. Park Ridge has "the tree lighting" with free cocoa and it's very lovely. I'm pretty sure Ridgewood has one too. ETA: Not River Vale though. I LOVED RV but you have to go into Westwood if you want to see a "town". River Vale just got its second traffic light two years ago. There used to be only one traffic light in River Vale. LOL. They're "building up" their little section of shops, though, from what I hear from my son--he currently lives in Washington Township. But it's a pretty short strip and just not as "walkable". CUTE though. RV is gorgeous, all those towns are.

Now, BC is a pretty expensive area, granted. But as others have said, if you have $600K in your pocket, and have figured in for the taxes, you're good to go.

Now...for schools, I found them quite nice. I went to Westwood Middle School when there still was one. Now the middle and high schools are joined. That school is actually in Washington Township. Wimpy little dudes and dudettes today would say THAT'S not walkable, but I walked it, LOL. From way back where town starts. But anyway, I'm sure they must have buses by now for all the kids...we just were too close...it had to be over 1.5 miles or something at that time. Elementary schools: there are a couple, depending where you go. My son went to Ketler. He did quite well there. I'm not sure of WW's school ranking any more. I'm sure it's nowhere near where it used to be b/c there were grumbles even when my son was in school there, in the 90s. Later when we lived in River Vale, he went to Pascack Valley High, currently I think at a 98% or 100% continuation (to college) rate. Like some have said, school stats can be misleading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I found they tried to push out the kids who DIDN'T seem to be about to go on to college, trying to farm them to Bergen Tech at the time, but that's so much harder now to get into as it's turned into Bergen Academy. But anyway, "great" or not, I felt the schools were safe and the teachers had their eyes open, at the very least, and they were always looking to improve facilities, grounds and always try to be top-notch so kudos for that. Again...because of this among other things, you're talking ouch-worthy taxes.

Atmosphere: Westwood is adorable. It just is! Gosh. I miss it so badly. I have to second Westfield, though. The houses might be just a scootch lower in cost (not significantly but a scootch) and gosh yes, town is adorable, and very walkable, and very scenic. If God were to smile on me and I got to move back to NJ I think I'd choose Westfield over Westwood, actually. But both are great.

Sorry for such a long post! Just wanted to give my Westwood impressions because I lived there and can give a first-hand account.

I really loved being a kid there and I loved living there as an adult!

[JerZ]

I keep forgetting things--there's also an Irish-style restaurant and pub! Great place, great food. Also right off Westwood Ave. And there's a great diner, and a crafts shop. A book store. Oh...I forgot the Post Office too but it's not like you'd shop there. But for instance...here's what my oldest son and I used to do...

We'd walk into town. We lived in a couple different places in Westwood but we were never farther than a 7-10 minute walk. The closer place was literally "right there," though. We'd hoof it, grab a quick bite at the diner or else hold off for Conrad's. Start walking through, look at the pets in the pet store. Go down to Conrad's regardless; if we'd already eaten lunch at the diner, I'd just buy him a little piece of chocolate--hand-made chocolates there, OH MY GAWD, sooooooooo good. We'd go across to CVS for whatever amenities we needed that given week. Walk across to the post office and send the mail. Walk back up, cross the train tracks, sit in the park by the gazebo, perhaps catch a concert if there was one, or whatever was going on there. But even if nothing was going on there, we'd sit, catch the seriously eye-friendly atmosphere, chat w/other people milling about. Walk back up and along and home. If my son wasn't tired, I'd hook around and take him to the library so we had new books to read for that week. Honestly, we probably did that every Saturday that it didn't rain for nine years. Easy, doable, walkable, you can spend money or not, there's always something to see, and tons of people. OK...I think I'm done...LOL.

[Kax]

MBK, I live in Ridgewood, in Bergen County, and it sounds like exactly what you are looking for. AMAZING walkable downtown, great Whole Foods and many other organic/healthfood options, as well as every other type of store imaginable, from big retailers like Gap, Ann Taylor and Gymboree to small mom and pop shops. Most residents walk to town for many reasons, catch the train, bus, shop, eat, etc. TONS of restaurants and LOTS of community, real community schools (no bussing here), everyone walks to school as well. and the schools are amazing (however elementary schools are a bit overcrowded). And great that you don't mind a smaller older home, because at $600,000 that's sadly all you'll get, if you are lucky. Negatives: high taxes (like all of Jersey) and a lot of "Wall Street" money, especially in certain areas of town. PM me if you are seriously considering Ridgewood and I can fill you in on the different "parts" of town. I would definately check Ridgewood out. Good luck!

[mikieguns]

hey everyone you forgot about...........


NEW BRUNSWICK!!!!

[JerZ]

I don't know New Brunswick all that well. But go ahead and talk about it!!!!!!!! I am reminiscing big-time on the east coast feel with this thread!!!

As for Ridgewood: Again, wasn't there anywhere near as frequently as Westwood, but yes, Ridgewood is GORGEOUS...the town area, and the neighborhood areas. Fascinating and lovely homes, great shopping, and the town has this really cool pavement scheme...is it still bricks? (Trying to visualize this in my mind.) And you can still take the train from there in the autumn to take an autumn leaves tour...right? And lots of little eateries, etc. Ridgewood is definitely a very pretty town.

[lammius]

A good source of info on walkable towns is NJDOT's Transit Villages Initiative. The TVI is a program in which municipalities apply for a transit village designation. The designation would apply to an area within 1/4 mile to 1/2 mile radius of a transit station (rail or even bus) and serve as a reward for work the municipality has done to enhance transit, bike, and ped connectivity and safety, transit-oriented development, mixed-use development and redevelopment, streetscape enhancement, etc. in that 1/4 -1/2 mile area. Municipalities that have demonstrated adequate dedication to the tenets of the TVI program are designated as Transit Villages and become eligible for funding from NJDOT to further enhance accessibility, connectivity, and safety in the 1/4 - 1/2 mile transit village area.

As of 2007 there are 17 designated transit villages. They are listed below by the year they were added:

1999: Pleasantville, Morristown, Rutherford, South Amboy, South Orange
2001: Riverside, Rahway
2003: Metuchen, Belmar, Bloomfield, Bound Brook, Collingswood, Cranford, Matawan
2005: New Brunswick, Journal Square/Jersey City, Netcong
2007: Elizabeth/Midtown, Burlington City

For more information on NJDOT's Transit Village Initiative, visit the website
NJDOT Transit Village Initiative

[Riccijoe]

The town you are looking for is Millburn. It has a downtown area that is walkable from most homes. It also has a Whole foods. I also have a property on the market in that general area.