Montclair neighborhoods (Newark, Bloomfield, Glen Ridge: apartments, rentals, lofts)

[GovS]

Hi Guys,

We are planning to move to Montclair soon( rentals at first). I work in Whippany and hubby is in Midtown NY. Can residents please help with the below.

1) Looking for 2 bed rentals < 2K, close to midtown train station, preferably walking distance(10 mts) in a safe neighborhood. Any recommendations on apt buildings ?

2) Neighborhoods to avoid for a peaceful life ( no car break ins, muggings etc etc..)( if you could mention the cross streets that would be best)

3) How bad will the morning drive be from Montclair to Whippany, Google shows 30 mins for 19 mi in off peak hours.

Thanks.

[labcjo]

Originally Posted by GovS

Hi Guys,

We are planning to move to Montclair soon( rentals at first). I work in Whippany and hubby is in Midtown NY. Can residents please help with the below.

1) Looking for 2 bed rentals < 2K, close to midtown train station, preferably walking distance(10 mts) in a safe neighborhood. Any recommendations on apt buildings ?

2) Neighborhoods to avoid for a peaceful life ( no car break ins, muggings etc etc..)( if you could mention the cross streets that would be best)

3) How bad will the morning drive be from Montclair to Whippany, Google shows 30 mins for 19 mi in off peak hours.

Thanks.

1. You can find a lot in Montclair for a 2BD for under 2K. Which station to live by totally depends on what vibe you're going for in town.

- If you want to be in the center of it all, and close to cool cafes, stores, restaurants, etc - I'd try to live near the Walnut Street station. Area has the coolest, youngest vibe to it - there's a lot to do on Walnut Street itself (including a farmer's market in the warmer months), plus you're a short walk to the main downtown on Bloomfield Ave/Church St. Besides Bay St, this is also the shortest commute time into the city.

- If you want a quieter, more family oriented atmosphere, look uptown a bit. The Watchung Ave station has a little mini downtown area around it - tiny, but it's something. There's nice apartments on Gordonhurst Ave a short walk away. The Upper Montclair station is in the heart of the next biggest downtown after Bloomfield Ave. It's more family oriented, and there's less cool stuff to do, but still lots of walkable stores. But there are lots of parks around, something that's missing by Walnut St. Mountain Ave is just a few blocks up- giving you lots of options to have a short walk both to a train stop and the Valley Road downtown in this area.

- I'd avoid the Bay St area if you have to. I wouldn't call it dangerous, but its for sure in the least nice part of town. They're trying to revitalize the area with a new train station and luxury condos, and maybe it will get there some day, but for now you have better options. My advice would be to visit the areas around all the stations, and see which you like best. I live by Mountain Ave, and we're super happy up here (though neither myself or my wife commutes into the city). Our friends who do work in the city live on Walnut St, and absolutely love it. They definitely have cooler stuff to walk to than us, but our area is a bit more residential - pros and cons that are up to you to weigh out.

2. The vast, vast majority of Montclair, from north to south, is wealthy, beautiful, and safe. Crime is low here, and it's the safest I've ever felt living anywhere in my life. But the town does have a dark past when it comes to segregation, and remnants of that still exist to this day (though the town does pride itself on diversity today). The Fourth Ward, outlined in red in the file I attached, was actually built as servant's quarters for the huge homes in the "Estate Section" in the southwestern part of town (Pine St was actually the Italian neighborhood back in the day - they kept Catholics separate too). Still to this day, the area is a drastic difference from the rest of town. The poverty rate in the ward is over 30% - which is just insane for a town this wealthy, and that has its effects on the neighborhood. Muggings or any kind of violent crime is EXTREMELY rare in ANY section of Montclair, but when petty crime happens - drug deals, car thefts, break ins (though the later two can, and do, happen anywhere in any town) - it always seems to be centered around this area. Dangerous? No, but nice a nice neighborhood either. Funny thing is (not really funny, I guess) - as soon as you cross the border into Glen Ridge, or go back west of Elm Street, its an instant change back into million dollar homes. Sad, but part of the long history of this town for sure.

3. 280 doesn't get that bad with traffic (from my experience), until you get closer to Newark, so I think you would be fine there. Not sure how Route 10 gets.


Any other questions about town feel free to ask!

[KoalaNJ]

Originally Posted by GovS

Hi Guys,

We are planning to move to Montclair soon( rentals at first). I work in Whippany and hubby is in Midtown NY. Can residents please help with the below.

1) Looking for 2 bed rentals < 2K, close to midtown train station, preferably walking distance(10 mts) in a safe neighborhood. Any recommendations on apt buildings ?

2) Neighborhoods to avoid for a peaceful life ( no car break ins, muggings etc etc..)( if you could mention the cross streets that would be best)

3) How bad will the morning drive be from Montclair to Whippany, Google shows 30 mins for 19 mi in off peak hours.

Thanks.

As far as areas in Montclair to avoid, I'd avoid the area around Lackawanna Plaza, Glenfield Park and the Pathmark which is a bit sketchy and has drug trafficking issues.

I have driven the morning commute from the Montclair State area of town to Whippany, (the old Bell Labs campus, just off rte 10 and Whippany Rd) and it takes right about an hour. As a good general rule take what ever google maps or mapquest indicates as travel time and multiply it by 2 and add 10% to get the realistic commute time.

HTH
KoalaNJ

[AnesthesiaMD]

It only takes me 1/2 hour to drive from downtown Montclair to Whippany. I do it often.
You can either take 280 to Eisenhower Parkway and then either Route 10 or Eagle Rock. Or you can take 280 to 287 S. It all depends on where in whippany you are going.

[MontclairNative]

All good advice there. You can get some decent rentals in a safe neighbor the vicinity of the Walnut st station. I would say west of grove and east of valley between chestnut and bloomfield ave should afford you some choices. I just did a quick search and there are about 3 2br under 2,000 that i'd recommend- One on Park, one on Valley and one on The Crescent.

[MsNosy]

I'm looking in the area of the Watsessing Ave Station, in Bloomfield (Parkway Lofts)... is it safe? walkable to the station? How would the commute be to Whippany (near Whippany Rd and NJ 10 W)?