Ideal "hip" towns around Montclair (Newark, East Orange: real estate, 2009)

[heatherandmike]

My husband and I are moving to New Jersey from Manhattan, and we're trying to find a town near Montclair. We can't necessarily afford the prices in that town specifically, but we'd like to be nearby since it has a downtown and it will ease our transition from the city to the suburbs. Can anyone make a suggestion for towns surrounding Montclair that still feel somewhat hip? Here is our criteria:

- Safe area/no crime
- Nothing that borders any sketchy areas
- Good schools
- Homes in the $500k range, even if it is just a starter home
- Commutable to Manhattan in some way
- Has some basic amenities in the town (grocery stores, some shopping)

Obviously we want a good value for our money, so we'd like a stable town that is not on the verge of changing for the worse--one that has had a solid school system and a good reputation for a while. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

[elflord1973]

Originally Posted by heatherandmike

My husband and I are moving to New Jersey from Manhattan, and we're trying to find a town near Montclair. We can't necessarily afford the prices in that town specifically, but we'd like to be nearby since it has a downtown and it will ease our transition from the city to the suburbs. Can anyone make a suggestion for towns surrounding Montclair that still feel somewhat hip? Here is our criteria:

- Safe area/no crime
- Nothing that borders any sketchy areas
- Good schools
- Homes in the $500k range, even if it is just a starter home
- Commutable to Manhattan in some way
- Has some basic amenities in the town (grocery stores, some shopping)

Obviously we want a good value for our money,

Doesn't everyone ? You want everything that everyone else wants and more. Most people here will settle for a house, "safety", a decent commute to Manhattan and "good schools". But you want amenities, and "hip"ness thrown in. Also, a lot of good towns (including Montclair!) border "sketchy areas".

So, you need to set some priorities.

At the moment, it seems you want everything, but you don't want to pay very much for it.

I think your best bet would be to go with Montclair and take whatever you can get for 500k there (you should be able to get a house at that price there)

If you don't want to swallow the Montclair premium, find a place that is a very short drive or bus ride to Montclair -- like Verona or Bloomfield (West of the Garden State parkway, and north of Bay Ave)

[clevedark]

Maplewood and South Orange are popular alternatives to Montclair. However, like Montclair, they do border cities like Newark, East Orange and Irvington (along with the other extreme, Short Hills). Like Montclair property taxes are high. There is a midtown direct train to Manhattan. Maplewood downtown is really cute. Housing stock is similar to Montclair. And you could def. buy a decent house for 500K.

[veuvegirl]

Definitely check out Maplewood/SO very similar to Montclair, and the trains run more often into the city.

[mumra]

Originally Posted by heatherandmike

so we'd like a stable town that is not on the verge of changing for the worse

Unfortunately that statement would rule out Maplewood/south orange. Riff raff has moved into the town and the increased foreclosures in Maplewood/south orange isn’t going to help. The south eastern part or Maplewood is getting slammed!

Source of attached picture NYtimes

[tallguylehigh]

I would consider looking a little West of Montclair at places like Verona and Cedar Grove. They are close to Montclair, have good schools and don't really border any bad areas. Livingston is nice, but easy transit into the city is a major issue.

Also, while I'm not familiar with the real estate in this area, check out some towns in Union that are the same distance from NYC as Montclair. Westfield and Cranford always seem to be popping up here as nice places, so you may want to check them out.

Good luck!

[annerk]

I was going to mention Verona as well. I never lived there but have friends that do, and I always got a great vibe off that town. It's safe and generally walkable with a small "downtown" area.

[heatherandmike]

Originally Posted by elflord1973

Doesn't everyone ? You want everything that everyone else wants and more. Most people here will settle for a house, "safety", a decent commute to Manhattan and "good schools". But you want amenities, and "hip"ness thrown in. Also, a lot of good towns (including Montclair!) border "sketchy areas".

So, you need to set some priorities.

At the moment, it seems you want everything, but you don't want to pay very much for it.

I think your best bet would be to go with Montclair and take whatever you can get for 500k there (you should be able to get a house at that price there)

If you don't want to swallow the Montclair premium, find a place that is a very short drive or bus ride to Montclair -- like Verona or Bloomfield (West of the Garden State parkway, and north of Bay Ave)

I was simply asking for town suggestions, as I'm not from New Jersey. I wasn't looking for a lecture. Thank you to everyone else in this string who had some constructive feedback. I appreciate the help.

[carlnasc]

Try the Cranford/Westfield area too, now that spring has come it would be a good idea to spend weekends in NJ to get a feel for the different areas ... well, that's what I'm planning to do because I'm in the same situation as you

[elflord1973]

Originally Posted by heatherandmike

I was simply asking for town suggestions, as I'm not from New Jersey. I wasn't looking for a lecture. Thank you to everyone else in this string who had some constructive feedback. I appreciate the help.

I gave you specific and accurate feedback.

There is no town adjacent to Montclair that is remotely "hip".

So you need to either go with Montclair, or give ground on at least one of your criteria. If you rank your criteria in descending order of importance, you will get more helpful recommendations.

Depending on your priorities, there are a number of towns no-one mentioned that may be excellent choices.