Montclair, NJ: Are Parts of Town Too Quiet/Loud and Differences Between "Family" and "Young Professional" Parts of Town? (Bloomfield: 2014)

[polymath101]

Hi all! Hope you're all doing great. First post here and like the site so far from what I've seen! You guys have seemed to be very helpful to others so hope the same for me!

Some quick background: I am moving to Montclair, NJ this fall 2014. Although I am in my late 20s, this is the first time that I will be moving out on my own as I have been living at home post-grad due to a number of reasons (family-things primarily). As such, I've been apt. searching early at different parts around town and having trouble figuring out which sections are the best fit for me.
I mention this because I cannot figure out for the life of me whether there are certain apt. complexes near parts of Montclair that are at the nice middle between "uber quiet" and "noise permissible" if that phrase makes any sense. I guess it means I am not sure whether I will be settling for pure unadulterated calm (with no noise allowed) or perhaps a bit more liveliness (with no quiet allowed). For example, one of the apartment complexes that I have been looking at are the Gordonhurst Apts. looks very nice However, it is near what appears to me to be the "family-friendly" side of town, as it is surrounded on all sides by 1-2 family homes. Because of this, I wouldn't be sure if I could let's say play medium to loud music at my leisure (when home in the evening), or host small parties (of the birthday kind, nothing kegger-like) in the late evening because of complaints from locals. Likewise, looking at apartments near the Walnut St. area which seem to have a lot more young professionals in the area, I am not sure if I'd trade away being near places like Egan and Son's and downtown if it was either really loud through the day (when I work from home on occasion) or having to deal with loudness/hecticness if anything on weekend nights [I work early on Saturday/Sunday mornings ].

Are there any nice middles in Montclair? Are certain places very obviously "family-centric" while others seem more "out and about"? Let me know and sorry if this questions seems vague, but I blame it a lot on this being my first time doing all this! Thank you for all your help guys, looking forward to your thoughts...

[labcjo]

I think you're spot on with Walnut Street. It is a neighborhood with a lot of young professionals.

As long as you're set back a bit, and aren't right on Bloomfield Ave or South Park St, no place is gonna be too loud. Montclair is still largely a town of families and professionals. If you were looking at the Garden apartments on Gordonhurst, look at the ones south of Bloomfield Ave between South Fullerton and Harrison (quite a few there) Set back enough to be quiet, but close enough to walk to the main downtown and all it has to offer. That's where I'd want to be.