Montclair, Glen Ridge, or Ridgewood?

[clevedark]

A lot of people like mattjd, who moved out of the area due to budget and lifestyle issues, love to bash Essex county online, here and in other forums.

Eh, whatever, I've got places that I love to hate, too.

[RamCharger1985]

Originally Posted by mattjd

Ok, I'm very familiar with Glen Ridge and Montclair, but just a little familiar with Ridgewood. Montclair is going downhill fast, similar to Bloomfield. The farther north you go, the better it is, same as Bloomfield. So, it really depends on which part of Montclair you would be moving to. Also, Montclair hs sucks. For the $$$ you'd be spending on a house, you'd expect better schools, but that is just not the case. Glen Ridge is a VERY nice little community and it has good schools. Some parts of it are stuck in between the trashy parts of Bloomfield and Montclair, but even the southern parts of Glen Ridge aren't bad. It is also very close to the train, and close to the GSP and Rt. 3. There are some nice stores in Montclair that are close to Glen Ridge too. Other than the Mcdonalds on Broad, I wouldn't go into Bloomfield for much. Avoid the Pathmark at Lackawana Plaza, which is close to Glen Ridge. It's ghetto and disgusting. There is a Whole Foods store in Montclair which isn't bad. I know that I'm mentioning a lot of places in Montclair, and there are nice parts of it, but they are pretty expensive and I would probably send my kids to a private school if I lived there. Glen Ridge is cheaper than the nicer areas of Montclair, very nice, safe, and quiet and has better schools. If you are "drawn to diversity" then I'm not sure how Montclair would fit into that. Montclair and Bloomfield certainly look diverse by the numbers, but they are extremely segregated communities. Blacks live on the southern parts of this town, whites live in the nothern parts, and they avoid each other like the plague. Bloomfield is more blue collar, while montlair has a lot of elitist, ultra-liberal snobs that talk a good game, but wouldn't live next to a black or hispanic family if their life depended on it. That's just the facts.

This post is 100% spot on, although you left out that taxes in Glen Ridge are VERY expensive, but this is how this side of Glen Ridge was able to stay nice while everywhere else around it went down the tubes. I spend most of my time in Bloomfield now, but I grew up in the southern part of Glen Ridge, by the trashy section of Montclair, the difference between Glen Ridge & Montclair is like night and day. Even in Glen Ridge, crime exists, mostly non-violent petty crimes, like cars getting broken into at night. The worst parts of Montclair is most of Bloomfield Ave, the Glenfield Park area, New Street, Elm Street, etc. violent crime and muggings happen in this area a lot. This area has gotten better over the last 10-15 years though, a lot of the abanonded builidings I remember seeing were torn down, for example they just opened a 7-11 and a bakery right by the Montclair/Glen Ridge border where that empty Ford dealership used to be, but there is still a lot of run down looking crap around this section. Once you go up the hill, it gets a lot better regardless of what side of town you are on.

Schools in Glen Ridge are excellent, they really prepare you for college and its extremely safe, I think there was one fight the whole time I went there. Montclair & Bloomfield high schools suck, especially in Montclair, I have friends who went there who said there is a lot of racial divide and fights between students. Montclair is very segregated and isn't the diverse utopia the Upper montclair yuppies (who would never even think about taking a stroll through Glenfield Park) like to paint it to be.

[willbark]

That is the challenge I am facing currently when it comes to the diversity factor. My husband and I recently sold our house in Maplewood and we are looking for a community with diversity and still a great deal to offer to our three children. Our attention was focused on Clifton, but it is not an "I" district. Looked in Wayne, good schools, but not much diversity. Currently, looking in Ridgwood and the diversity is limited as well. However, the schools and expections regarding teaching and learning are at high levels. What is one to do?