Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We just moved to Springfield after a stint in Westfield and Bridgewater-- we are very happy here. They are actually in the process of revitalizing the downtown, which hopefully will boost the property values without boosting taxes. I live less than 5 miles from Summit, Westfield and Millburn, so I still get to easily enjoy their downtowns. I couldn't afford to live within walking distance in any of those towns, so even if I moved there, I would have to drive. Also, we work in NJ, so no need to pay a premium for a train. My house was under $600,000 and we have 2600 sq ft.
We have a 4 year old, so schools were on our list. The Springfield schools are very good, and they are definitely on the smaller side. The HS has less than 600 students total- a big change from the HS I went to, which had over 500 per grade. It was ranked 26 in the 2013 NJ Monthly magazine ranking.
I don't know what report HDavis is referring to, I'd like to see it. But also, I wouldn't necessarily rely on the word of someone on who "went there a while ago" as gospel on the town. But the report put out from the state disagrees- this is from the state report card-- http://www.state.nj.us/education/pr/.../395000010.pdf
"This school's academic performance is high when compared to schools across the state. Additionally, its academic performance is about average when compared to its peers. This school's college and career readiness is very high when compared to schools across the state. Additionally, its college and career readiness is high when compared to its peers. This school's graduation and post-secondary performance is high when compared to schools across the state. Additionally, its graduation and post-secondary readiness is very high when compared to its peers."
Also, they have all day public kindergarten, which is huge. Many of the surrounding towns do not (I know Westfield and Summit do not for sure), and for me, that was another year of daycare.
We are close to the Whole Foods in Vauxhall, plus there are Trader Joes in Millburn and Westfield. There is a jitney that takes you to the Short hills train station, it leaves from the town pool, free parking, so no worries about getting a space.
We are very happy with our choice. We were looking in Westfield, Maplewood, Summit, Berkeley Heights, Warren and we just did not want to pay a premium to say we have a train in town (well, Warren doesn't have a train). We could not be within walking distance to the downtown or train in any of the towns other than Maplewood and the taxes were too rich for our tastes.
EB, first off congrats on your move. Despite my take on the school system, Springfield is a pretty nice town, i'm still there all the time visiting my parents. They've been talking about downtown revitalization since i was there 20 years ago though, i wouldn't hold my breath on that. You've linked to the 2012 report card, the 2013 one looks much worse but obviously the teachers didn't change so that shows how much having a good/bad group of students (especially in a small school like Dayton) can impact things. Still, one year performance against peers was at median, and the other year it was essentially bottom of the barrel, that's not great. Schooldigger ranks Dayton 200+ in the state based just on the 2013 results which is a very poor performance for a district that is somewhat affluent. Jonathan Dayton High School in Springfield NJ - SchoolDigger.com
The NJ Monthly ranking is essentially rigged, they heavily weight # of AP tests offered for some reason, and Dayton managed to have almost every kid take one, even though their % passing rate was poor. Again i hate coming off as anti-Springfield, but the schools are just not that good. Property values in surrounding towns have increased by much much more than my parents house, and i'm sure that's a big part of it. The taxes they pay are very high in my opinion when you compare vs taxes in similar towns with much better schools and downtowns (Cranford for example).
This forum has been fantastic, thank you all for your time in advance. We are looking to relocate to NJ and have been focusing on Westfield, Madison, and Chatham. Could you please provide some advice? Our main criteria:
- Great public schools - We have young children.
- Smaller schools - don't want my kids to get lost.
- Safe town
- Walkable downtown
- Friendly people
- < 800K
- > 2000 sq ft
I haven't had much luck finding more than one or two homes that meet those financial and size criteria in those three towns. Here is the kicker, I don't need to be in NYC more than 1 or 2 days per week. So are there any alternate towns which have the same great schools and great downtown areas with maybe a longer commute (therefore less expensive homes)?
Thank you again for your advice.
PS. We love Whole Foods
I live in and love Westfield but the real estate inventory is so low right now. Hopefully the sellers will come out when the snow melts in time for the spring buying season. I suspect Chatham and Madison have a low current supply too. Good luck.
Still looking for homes? I saw this post was recently reopened. New Providence is very nice, as is Berkeley Heights. It depends on how updated you want the home to be. Going out west a little more to the Bernardsville are is also very nice, and the downtown areas are quite charming as well.
You can find a nice house in Madison for 800,000, but for whatever reason inventory at that price point is low. It seems like there is decent inventory below 600,000 and above 1,000,000, but not in the middle. Just be patient.
BTW, rumor is that Berkeley Heights may have a Trader Joe's store open in downtown soon. If you like whole foods, you got to love the combination of Stop&Shop and TraderJ.
Where did you end up? We'll start to check out Westfield too but a downtown and a Whole a Foods is also important to the wife (and the kiddies), so we're in the same boat!
I heard that Whole Foods is coming to Clark..does anyone else know?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
