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I was looking for some information on Montclair. My wife and I just had our first child, we are in our early 30's and have been living in Park Slope for the last 3 plus years. We love Park Slope and our condo but feel that it may be time to move to more space.
A friend of ours suggested we check out Montclair, as it is a quick commute (35 minutes with the midtown direct line), diverse and is reasonably affordable (800K you will get over 2,000 sq ft, 4 bdrm; as opposed to Park Slope where that might get you a 2 bdrm at maybe 1,000 sq ft).
I wanted to know more about the school system there, as I have seen mixed reviews.
I would also like to know about the culture there. I keep hearing it referenced as the Park Slope of the suburbs but is that really a fair comparison. My wife and I are professionals that work in the city and still want to be able to have fun where we are living but also have more living and green space. We also want our daughter to grow up in a diverse community.
Any information would be helpful as we are making this decision.
Montclair has been a destination for families from Manhattan and Brooklyn looking for exactly the same as you, culture and green space, since the 1860's. The amount of space you get has gotten smaller, but little else about that has changed!
An early railroad suburb, Montclair is known for its architecture, from grand gilded age estates to Tudors and colonial revivals, and its tree lined streets. Basically, it's pretty here - not your typical suburb.
It's culture has always been part of its draw as well (part of the town used to be an artists' colony), and that hasn't changed either. Many people who live here are writers, actors, etc. The town has four major downtown areas, which not only adds to the walkability, but gives you more things to do. It's easily the culinary capital of New Jersey with tons of legit really good restaurants, has great wine stores, an independent book store, great coffee shops (well, two of them), an art museum, and independent movie theater, a concert hall, and even hosts its own film festival, which has gotten quite big this year with some big names: Montclair Film Festival They'll be less to do than what you're used to in Brooklyn, but a lot more to do than any other New Jersey suburb.
Montclair does pride itself on diversity (though the town can still feel somewhat segregated at times) and has residents that are ultra rich, and neighborhoods where 30% of the people live below the poverty line. For many of us, it's part of the town's draw. We move here because we want our children to grow up and go to school with people from all walks of life. For others, its a huge turn off. It's likely why you're hearing mixed things about the school system. Other towns with similar priced homes that are more economically and racially homogeneous, like Ridgewood, Summit, Glen Ridge, tend to rank higher in publications than Montclair High School. It really depends on the environment you want your child to grow up in.
It's a "magnet" school system. Meaning parents chose the grammar and middle school they want their child to go to; its not based off of neighborhood. Each school has a theme/focus. Glenfield Middle School, for example, is the Performing Arts middle school (I always love the concerts they put on: Glenfield concert Austin Powers song - YouTube and Glenfield Middle School Winter Concert 2010 "Caravan".avi - YouTube). All of this feeds into one high school.
Bottom line is that if Montclair as a town appeals to you, it's likely the school system will also. My wife is an educator, and was blown away by the amount of programs, resources, depth and breadth of the schools here. The middle schools and high school often feel more like universities with what the kids do - and parents are VERY actively involved in the school system.
One thing you have to budget for here: propery taxes. They're high in Montclair, similar to what you'd see in Westchester.
Montclair has been a destination for families from Manhattan and Brooklyn looking for exactly the same as you, culture and green space, since the 1860's. The amount of space you get has gotten smaller, but little else about that has changed!
An early railroad suburb, Montclair is known for its architecture, from grand gilded age estates to Tudors and colonial revivals, and its tree lined streets. Basically, it's pretty here - not your typical suburb.
It's culture has always been part of its draw as well (part of the town used to be an artists' colony), and that hasn't changed either. Many people who live here are writers, actors, etc. The town has four major downtown areas, which not only adds to the walkability, but gives you more things to do. It's easily the culinary capital of New Jersey with tons of legit really good restaurants, has great wine stores, an independent book store, great coffee shops (well, two of them), an art museum, and independent movie theater, a concert hall, and even hosts its own film festival, which has gotten quite big this year with some big names: Montclair Film Festival They'll be less to do than what you're used to in Brooklyn, but a lot more to do than any other New Jersey suburb.
Montclair does pride itself on diversity (though the town can still feel somewhat segregated at times) and has residents that are ultra rich, and neighborhoods where 30% of the people live below the poverty line. For many of us, it's part of the town's draw. We move here because we want our children to grow up and go to school with people from all walks of life. For others, its a huge turn off. It's likely why you're hearing mixed things about the school system. Other towns with similar priced homes that are more economically and racially homogeneous, like Ridgewood, Summit, Glen Ridge, tend to rank higher in publications than Montclair High School. It really depends on the environment you want your child to grow up in.
It's a "magnet" school system. Meaning parents chose the grammar and middle school they want their child to go to; its not based off of neighborhood. Each school has a theme/focus. Glenfield Middle School, for example, is the Performing Arts middle school (I always love the concerts they put on: Glenfield concert Austin Powers song - YouTube and Glenfield Middle School Winter Concert 2010 "Caravan".avi - YouTube). All of this feeds into one high school.
Bottom line is that if Montclair as a town appeals to you, it's likely the school system will also. My wife is an educator, and was blown away by the amount of programs, resources, depth and breadth of the schools here. The middle schools and high school often feel more like universities with what the kids do - and parents are VERY actively involved in the school system.
One thing you have to budget for here: propery taxes. They're high in Montclair, similar to what you'd see in Westchester.
Montclair is most liberal town in the state, highly progressive and open-minded. Steven Colbert calls it home. Incredible selection and quantity of top restaurants that people from around the state go to. Gorgeous residential architecture. A walking town.
As a graduate of the high school, here's the deal with the school's "mixed reviews": on one hand, we had 4 from my class alone go to Harvard, 2 to Princeton and a bunch others go to top non-Ivy's. But school rankings are based on average SAT's; with Montclair's high socio-economic diversity, its average does not compare to "top" public high schools. But that's comparing apples to oranges.
Very much a NYC feel, especially over the past decade.
Montclair is most liberal town in the state, highly progressive and open-minded. Steven Colbert calls it home. Incredible selection and quantity of top restaurants that people from around the state go to. Gorgeous residential architecture. A walking town.
As a graduate of the high school, here's the deal with the school's "mixed reviews": on one hand, we had 4 from my class alone go to Harvard, 2 to Princeton and a bunch others go to top non-Ivy's. But school rankings are based on average SAT's; with Montclair's high socio-economic diversity, its average does not compare to "top" public high schools. But that's comparing apples to oranges.
Very much a NYC feel, especially over the past decade.
Thanks Horizon. When did you graduate. Besides the socioeconomic thing, is there a difference in education quality between Montclair and Glen Ridge? Everyone talks about how much better schooling is in GR. We are African American and do want a great education for our son, but also some diversity.
I would say "academically" there is virtually no difference. The "top" classes are equally challenging in all towns of this ilk.
I would say Montclair gets my nod, though, for the "life lessons" growing up in a diverse community teaches. Some may argue differently, but as a Caucasian who played football and basketball and soccer, it was a wonderful experience. I thought the whole world was like this. Then I went away to college, and discovered Montclair is unique.
Glen Ridge is very pretty, too though, and some people say the gap n Montclair between academic haves and have-nots has grown a lot over the past decade, and has led to some separation between demographics in town. Folks like Colbert sending their kids to private school as a result.
My Montclair experiences are from the early 90s. I would take a tour of the school, visit and see the vibe for yourself. Good luck.
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