west orange, nutley or clifton

[Ellwood]

Originally Posted by NCtoNJ

While house hunting, we observed that Cambridge Heights townhomes in Nutley are of poor quality. Does any body know if thats the case?

As I work in the area, I watched them being built and was not impressed with the final results. We looked into them and found they used inferior materials such as kitchen cabinets. We weren't very impressed with overall quality and workmanship.

[andrewC]

I'm a transplanted New Yorker. My family and I have resided in Nutley for 6 years. (At Cambridge Heights). Our community itself is very well managed with excellent ammenities and much more open space that is typical of townhome complexes in Northern NJ. It's a great place to be for young families.
For stay at home moms, and there are quite a few, there is a very active "Mommy & Me Club". Our community also has a fair proportion of empty-nesters and retirees as well as young NYC professionals and some families of Non-European ethnicities. Overall it's more diverse than the rest of the town. The Association's Board of Directors are a very "hands-on", saavy and dedidcated team.

I'd like to dispel the rumors that Cambridge Heights was shoddily constructed. Of 600 homes in the complex, less than 10% have required expenditure from the association for repairs. I've never had a problem.

In response to the writer who had seen inferior cabinetry in one unit presumably under construction: I hardly think that's a fair indication of construction quality. As you know, the buyer of each unit makes their selection of fixtures and finishes from a wide variety of available options. Some buyers just do not choose upgraded features.

Property tax re-asessments were completed some months ago and our taxes increased 7% and is now aprox. $11,000. For a 2,100 sq.ft. townhouse. .... not cheap ! I understand that many other Nutley homes outside of Cambride Heights were asessed at even higher rates because the last time a complete re-asessment was conducted was in 1974.

I agree with the writer who commented that the public schools on average are adequate at best. In 2006 NJ Monthly magazine rated the elementary schools from 8 to 9 (on a scale of 1 to 10) but the middle and high school were rated 7. There appears to be an ongoing effort to physically upgrade the schools. But I must share with you the Star Ledgers report just last week which pointed out that the middle and high school for the second year in a row have failed to meet the (controversial) Federal standards of the "No Child Left Behind" Act. So I do agree that the town has quite a way to go to improve both the middle and high school.

The commute to NYC is good, although you're likely to experience traffic delays if you catch the buses that stop along the perimeter of the complex between 7:45 am to 8:30 am. However you can catch the express bus on the other-side of Clifton Commons Shopping Center at Rte 3 save 20 minutes. Thre is a train station a few minutes away, (Delawana Station) but I'm not sure of the schedule and I think it goes only to Hoboken where you may have to transfer for NYC mid-town trains.

Nutley overall, - Quaint, very safe town with great parks, convenient shopping and good NYC commute. Not so great schools given the property tax rate.

[NCtoNJ]

I had earlier posted the question about Cambridge Heights. We have since bought a town home in Cambridge Heights after house hunting for several months. I agree with andrewC and other posters that the community is wonderfully maintained and the commute to NYC is better than other similar towns we were looking at clifton/oranges/etc. It is a very convenient location for people of all ages.

[Cali2NJ]

Originally Posted by NCtoNJ

I had earlier posted the question about Cambridge Heights. We have since bought a town home in Cambridge Heights after house hunting for several months. I agree with andrewC and other posters that the community is wonderfully maintained and the commute to NYC is better than other similar towns we were looking at clifton/oranges/etc. It is a very convenient location for people of all ages.

Hi NCtoNJ,

My wife and I are in the same position as you. I have read your previous posts and wanted to know why you ended up buying at Cambridge Heights over Cambridge Crossing and River Walk II?

Thanks!

Cali2NJ

[Delray Patty]

To Benoni, my daughter lives in West Orange, in the Pleasantdale section,
very nice. They love it. Lots of restaurants, casual dining or otherwise,
near the Livingston Mall, Short Hills Mall lots of homes in your price range for
sale this summer when we were visiting. Close proximity to Route 280 which
intersects with 80 to the Bridge, bus service to Port Authority, not a bad
commute. Good luck

[geminijinx]

they are all nice towns, but out of all of them, Nutley is the best.

Clifton has some shady areas- near Passaic and Newark.

West Orange is nice near South Orange, but the Orange part is scary.

Nutley is predominantly Italian, West Orange and Clifton are very diverse. In terms of safety, Nutley is bar far the safest. West Orange and Clifton are pretty much the same. Keep in mind, Nutley is the smallest town out of the 3. Followed by West Orange, followed by Clifton. clifton is pretty big.

[rwjnyc]

As someone moving to West Orange in the next month, with a 10 year old son I have a question.... My wife and I both work in NYC so will be doing the drive commute daily, what are our resonable cost options for our son during the summer months? Are there programs that go from 7:30 AM - 6:30 PM that dont' cost 1000's? What do other commuting parents do with their children if family is not an option?

[brookdaleresident]

You might check out the YMCA (I think it's in Livingston) for their summer program.

[cblogger]

West Orange...great neighborhoods...declining school system (used to be one of the best) RIDICULOUS TAXES.

Nutley...expensive...decent school system...great ambiance. Reminds one of Montclair and Ridgewood....

Clifton...cheaper housing...dreadful school system...some nice neighborhoods.

[Butterfly92]

I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with some people, especially with West Orange's school system.

About their high school, I have friends who live in Parsippany and Mount Olive who wish they could be in that school. Great classes, excellent programs, you definitely get a great education there. The only flaw is that it can get a little crowded in the hallways. But, other than that, WO is great! It is absolutely NOTHING like Orange or East Orange! Great community, low crime, great public schools, VERY convenient commute to NYC, lots of shopping and restaurants, ect. Also, the people in West Orange are culturally diverse, it's not really considered a "white town" or a "black town". It has a nice mix of different people in it and that's what makes this town so unique. I mean sure it's not perfect, no town is! There are some bad neighborhoods, the taxes are high, but if you can afford it and as long as you stay away from the bad areas, I believe you'll be satisfied.

I hope that helped, and I hope that didn't offend anybody...