How is Rutherford, North Arlington, Lyndhurst area (Passaic, Nutley: rental, neighborhood)

[KC8]

We are relocating from out of state and looking for a 3Bedroom Rental in Rutherford, North Arlington, Lyndhurst area.
a) How are these areas (demographics, neighborhood, safety, family friendly, kids activities, etc)
b) Any specific locations in these three areas that we should avoid?
c) Can you please name good elementary schools in this area, which ones to avoid and why, etc
d) How is the commute to manhattan NYC from here

Thanks so much in Advance!

[brookdaleresident]

I like Rutherford the best out of the 3. Nice walkable town. I consider it a safe, family oriented town. Sorry I don't have more info.

[splitchin]

Agree with the above poster.

IMHO, Rutherford is the better town out of the three.

It is very family friendly, safe, nice downtown, great commute to NYC (both NJ Transit bus and Train)

You can look at GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community for elementary school recommendations. (Lincoln is good I believe).

[Citizen Chin]

Rutherford, Lyndhurst, North Arlington; in that order, though the difference between each is not all that great. The commute by car would be 45 mins to an hour, by bus about half an hour.

I can't think of any objectionable areas in any of these three towns. With both River and Ridge roads cutting through both Lyndhurst and North Arlington, both tend to get backed up with traffic on weekends when navigating those main streets. Not to a terrible degree, but when compared to Rutherford, I'd say traffic is something to consider in both.

All three communities are heavily Italian and Irish, and generally family friendly. North Arlington and Lyndhurst both allow on the street parking, not sure about Rutherford. There are tons of shops in all three towns, most prominently along Ridge Rd.

North Arlington does not seem to have much green space, not many parks. Lyndhurst has one or two decent parks - one of which is right along the Passaic River off of River Rd., not sure about Rutherford.

I'd highly reccomend that you check out Nutley, which is just across the Passaic River from Lyndhurst; great parks, good restaurants, very walkable community.

[KC8]

how are elementary schools in nutley?

[Citizen Chin]

Originally Posted by KC8

how are elementary schools in nutley?

Pretty good overall. But they do tend to be excessively PC in my opinion. There seems to be a lot of the 'everyone is a winner/there are no losers' mentality. As such, they've banned games like dodgeball.

Also, the kids there these days, the girls especially, seem to be growing up, or pushed to grow up, a bit too fast. 2nd grade girls with their nails done and makeup, dressed like little clones of their soccer moms strikes me as a bit troubling. That's not a fault of the school, but of the culture in the area; it's a bit dog eat dog (and that goes for the whole area, not just Nutley - but in the past decade, Nutley has attempted to take on a more upscale identity, and I'm sure that that plays into it). If you're used to a more laid back culture, where people place emphasis on relationships over materialism, you're going to be in for a shock. I'm sure that most people in the area don't see it that way, but as someone who is has lived in the northeast, the south, midwest, and spent a good deal of time in the mountain states, I can say that without a doubt, that northeast NJ is the most competitive and materialistic culture. Some people love it and thrive on it, so I'm not trying to be judgmental, just pointing it out.

On the plus side, they do have a nice variety of activities and sports, really nice parks, and very nice downtown area that is relatively safe for kids (at least of junior high and above age). The public library is quite good, too. Police presence is very strong and they do a good job at keeping things safe.

Spring Garden, Yantacaw and Radcliffe are the best elementary schools in Nutley. Washington and Lincoln are okay, but tend to lag.

[KC8]

Thanks. I'll look up nutley. How is the east rutherford area.