African Americans in Cedar Grove NJ (Bloomfield, West Orange: house, buying, elementary school)

[Surbbound]

I would like to ask a few questions before I proceed to buy a home in Cedar Grove. Would be great if your kids attended the public school.

Thanks a lot.

[GoodSchoolols]

And those questions are...?

[maryanne10]

Originally Posted by GoodSchoolols

And those questions are...?

This is the same poster who was concerned about the bad part of Glen Ridge.

[Retriever]

Originally Posted by maryanne10

This is the same poster who was concerned about the bad part of Glen Ridge.

Did he/she actually ask questions about Glen Ridge, or was his/her post another strange non-question posting?

[Surbbound]

Thanks for the comments.

I am really just looking to get an African American's perspective on Cedar Grove. I love the town as an alternative to Glen Ridge and Montclair for various reasons:

- lower taxes
- decent public schools (in fact Cedar Grove's high school is ranked higher than Montclair's on School digger)
- convenient commute to NYC (I could use the direct trains to NYC from either Montclair or Little Falls)
- a better house at any budget compared to buying in either town, especially if you compare with cheaper areas of Glen Ridge, where the taxes are much lower.

That being said, my concern is that there are very few African American children in the public schools compared to the two towns even relative to the population of Blacks in Cedar Grove (per data on City Data). I am not sure if there are mostly single black people that leave there or if there are families but they use private schools. For those with children in the public schools, I would like to know if their child /children enjoyed the schools.

I would appreciate all comments/perspectives. Thanks again.

[nybbler]

Given how few black people are in Cedar Grove (something like 600), it's likely none of them are on city-data.

[maryanne10]

There is a reason why they don't live there. That town has never been known to value diversity.

[cjanet]

Originally Posted by maryanne10

There is a reason why they don't live there. That town has never been known to value diversity.

This is valuable input for an African American. I hope they wouldn't move somewhere if their culture isn't valued. They are better off in the more diverse towns.

I'm in Livingston....from what I know of data and through my own drives into town, it is another town with very few African Americans but it does appear that the highest amount goes to Harrison Elementary school.

[NJHomebody]

I know some who consider diversity important have been steered away from Cedar Grove b/c of not only its lack of diversity, but as some would perceive it as a lack of welcoming of diversity. I can't really say for sure. The lower taxes and bigger yards are tempting, but I'd want to be sure about its community first.

[ansky]

I would lump Verona into this as well. Same sized town, schools ranked about the same, housing prices and taxes are about the same, and also little to no diversity. I do think Verona is a much nicer town given they have Verona park and some semblance of a downtown along Bloomfield Ave. Cedar Grove is basically a bunch of strip malls along route 23. My point being, if someone is considering Cedar Grove I would recommend looking at Verona first. If diversity is important, you want to look at West Orange, South Orange, or Maplewood.