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Sorry but comparing the "town feel" of an established town like Ridgewood & a recent cow pasture like Marlboro is laughable. You wouldn't know Marlboro from Old Bridge or Freehold or Manalapan other than the changing of the "Welcome to ____" signs. Central Jersey has a lot going for it but IMO it's lacking in that dept. Route 9 isn't a downtown.
Marlboro is very congested with traffic along Rt 9, and the side roads - the same narrow 2-lane country roads that were there 50+ years ago long before anyone lived there. Every traffic light-controlled intersection at first glance appears to be in the middle of friggin nowhere yet always has a ton of traffic backed up behind it to the point that you typically sit at the light for 3 cycles. It is mostly new construction, meaning big ugly McMansions of poor quality. Older houses are built more sturdy and are made stronger. And xmaster, there is no way the schools are better than Edison. Now you are talking about an area that I personally am intimately familiar with. Look at the rankings. I have never EVER seen Marlboro HS ranked higher than JP Stevens.
And don't get me wrong I am not a fan of Bergen County either. As for Monmouth as a whole having better schools, what rankings say that? Maybe Rumson-Fair Haven, Holmdel, Ocean Twp and a few other affluent beach towns may be rated AS HIGH as areas like Ridgewood or Upper Saddle River, but that is really it. And there are plenty of "dark spots" as you call them there too. Not to mention the drugs.
The bus lane on rt 9 is god send, you breeze through the traffic, the congested lanes never stop the buses.
On weekends, the arterial roads are almost empty and Rt 18 south is the best alternative. Another positive for this area is proximity to Rt 18 N/S. South leads you to the major shopping locations such as Jersey shore premium ( the best discounts I have seen in any outlet) and freehold raceway mall is mere 15 minutes drive.
Route 18 N takes you to Brunswick square mall and other shopping locations in Brunswick in 10 -15 minutes, the best part is that you reach the Brunswick malls right when the 18 gets congested and slows down.. 18 S on way back is super smooth.
The overall trend in Marlboro is upside wrt the schools, my kids are in elementary and I see no major difference in rankings or scores, the schools in Marlboro are jumping up in the rankings, if elementary is jumping up now, the middle and High schools will also jump up when these kids reach next levels..
I would re-iterate, there are best locations, but they come with best prices(for sellers); Marlboro is a very nice community and it comes at a near affordable price. I have no regrets and would suggest anyone looking, to definitely look at Marlboro - avoid the crowded and old Edison if your other requirements are met. Good Luck.
The bus lane on rt 9 is god send, you breeze through the traffic, the congested lanes never stop the buses.
On weekends, the arterial roads are almost empty and Rt 18 south is the best alternative. Another positive for this area is proximity to Rt 18 N/S. South leads you to the major shopping locations such as Jersey shore premium ( the best discounts I have seen in any outlet) and freehold raceway mall is mere 15 minutes drive.
Route 18 N takes you to Brunswick square mall and other shopping locations in Brunswick in 10 -15 minutes, the best part is that you reach the Brunswick malls right when the 18 gets congested and slows down.. 18 S on way back is super smooth.
The overall trend in Marlboro is upside wrt the schools, my kids are in elementary and I see no major difference in rankings or scores, the schools in Marlboro are jumping up in the rankings, if elementary is jumping up now, the middle and High schools will also jump up when these kids reach next levels..
I would re-iterate, there are best locations, but they come with best prices(for sellers); Marlboro is a very nice community and it comes at a near affordable price. I have no regrets and would suggest anyone looking, to definitely look at Marlboro - avoid the crowded and old Edison if your other requirements are met. Good Luck.
Cant agree more. Was recently discussing the schools with my friends in scotch plains, although the schools were ranked equally good there but the level was way behind Marlboro. What is taught here in Grade 1 is covered partly there in Grade 2, it may be one-off example but the kids are given challenging exercises here and I never felt the need for Kumon, Aloha or other complimentary classes. People with young kids must definitely include Marlboro in their search.
we went apple picking in eastmont orchards today and that little **** of a niece of mine bit me. they ended up renting a place in a nicer area of manhattan to send her to school there.
is it the case in nyc that a badly behaved child gets their own person to be with them the entire school day? I think my brother told me they have this lady that stays with her all day. I guess that's where all the money goes. I cant imagine they are doing that in other places, nyc is nuts.
anyone know about this stuff? im getting pieces from different places. supposedly my niece is in some kind of special class. im told that this lady devoted to her is assigned to two kids, so one in addition to her. she is 5 and her speech has always been very hard to understand and still is. but I don't think she has any real mental handicaps. ive always felt that she would catch up and everything would be fine. however, if she is in a class with kids with real mental handicaps im more concerned about the damage they are doing to her. not that I have any interest in trying to change anything. that's what some other people want to do but you cant tell someone how to raise their kids and expect it to go well.
we went to freehold mall and my brother let her play in that kids play area near the carousel (I wasn't letting my daughter play in that ebola factory). he wasn't keep a close eye on her and a couple of moms walked towards him and called out that my niece as hitting all the kids there. so she has speech issues, behavior issues but she otherwise seems normal to me.
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