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Hi everyone
Long time lurker, but I am about ready to start posting. Been reading a lot and already have a fair idea, but that has been from gleaning advice given to other members. Now, we are at that point where we will need some guidance.
A little about us -
Where are you coming from? -[i] Brooklyn[i]
Why are you moving? - Growing family, need more space and more relative value for the money
Where will you be working ? If NYC, what part of NYC? - NJ/Brooklyn (this could change as wife is interviewing for positions in NJ
Will you buy or rent? - Prefer to Buy (but might rent initially depending on availability and the reality we are facing)
What is your budget ? - ~$750,000
What kind of place are you looking for ? - Single Family Home
Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you ? - Spouse and 2 kids
Do you need/want good public schools? - Yes, This is one of our primary drivers, for wanting to leave the city
Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in - One of our main reasons for wanting to leave the city is our family expansion. Families with young children and diversity tops out list. So I would say a safe and quiet neighborhood that is also within reasonable distance from Public transport.
List three things that are important to you in order of importance.(examples: nightlife, outdoor activities, rural/urban, safety, downtown area, charming, new construction, proximity to XYZ, family oriented, easy parking, short commute, etc) - Family Oriented, Safety and proximity to NY.
People on this forum talk about Montclair a lot, and the train is nice, but when I was in the town I was underwhelmed. Decaying properties, huge amounts of litter, and so forth - this was specifically in the area near the bay street station. If you're paying three quarters of a million dollars and moving out to the suburbs I'd rather be somewhere without that in the town boundaries, and without the people happy to live in those conditions sending their kids to the same public school. It is diverse and convenient to the city though, and some parts did look like a normal NJ suburb, and from a statistical standpoint the schools look good enough on paper (although much worse than some of the alternatives, you could afford to live in Ridgewood or Glen Rock for that kind of money).
Thanks for the straight forward feedback. And I do agree with the value for money argument you just made. Very interesting points on the decaying properties ( we did notice the housing stock was older than other townships we have randomly browsed) and heavy litters, I must confess those aren't words that I have mentally associated with the town.
People on this forum talk about Montclair a lot, and the train is nice, but when I was in the town I was underwhelmed. Decaying properties, huge amounts of litter, and so forth - this was specifically in the area near the bay street station. If you're paying three quarters of a million dollars and moving out to the suburbs I'd rather be somewhere without that in the town boundaries, and without the people happy to live in those conditions sending their kids to the same public school. It is diverse and convenient to the city though, and some parts did look like a normal NJ suburb, and from a statistical standpoint the schools look good enough on paper (although much worse than some of the alternatives, you could afford to live in Ridgewood or Glen Rock for that kind of money).
The immediate vicinity of Bay St is by far the "worst" part of Montclair. None of the rest of the town is remotely similar.
Also, I'm sorry you might have to send your kids to school with poor people. The horror.
Nor I, before visiting. It was quite surprising the discongruity between everything I had read here before having seen the place and actually being there. That said, it apparently is one of the worse parts of town -- I mentioned it on a thread a bit back and if I remember correctly sparked a discussion as to whether or not that was. Anyway, if your wife is dead set on it you should visit the town in person (not just browsing online) and look at both the bad and the good parts with her and see what the two of you think from what you see yourselves (although the present winter might hide somewhat both the bad and the good); in the end you and arguably more importantly her need to see it with your own eyes and decide if it's something that you are comfortable with.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrownstoneNY
The immediate vicinity of Bay St is by far the "worst" part of Montclair. None of the rest of the town is remotely similar.
Also, I'm sorry you might have to send your kids to school with poor people. The horror.
Eh, I get that sometimes people let houses decay out of lack of money or old age, and landlords often don't have the same motivation to keep them up that owner residents do. What really bothered me was the litter, that people are comfortable doing that to their own environment does not speak well of them, IMO.
Last edited by ALackOfCreativity; 03-08-2015 at 10:31 PM..
Montclair, Maplewood, and South Orange are often mentioned in the same breath for being similar socio-economically, physically, politically, and culturally -- they're liberal and diverse towns with lots of arty/creative residents, gorgeous old housing stock, and lively, walkable downtowns with an easy commute to NYC. Montclair is bigger and has more to do. Maplewood and South Orange have a small-town feel, but still lots of good restaurants, etc.
West Orange is more of a traditional suburb with no real downtown and no train station, but some lovely houses. There are buses to the city and shuttles to the SO train station.
Thanks Kthnry, that is good info.
@ALackofCreativity, we have already visited Montclair twice and even attended an open house on a whim, just to get a feel of the neighborhoods. We drove around and i must say, it did feel very tranquil for a Saturday afternoon (at least coming from Brooklyn, it did.).
Montclair, Maplewood, and South Orange are often mentioned in the same breath for being similar socio-economically, physically, politically, and culturally -- they're liberal and diverse towns with lots of arty/creative residents, gorgeous old housing stock, and lively, walkable downtowns with an easy commute to NYC. Montclair is bigger and has more to do. Maplewood and South Orange have a small-town feel, but still lots of good restaurants, etc.
West Orange is more of a traditional suburb with no real downtown and no train station, but some lovely houses. There are buses to the city and shuttles to the SO train station.
Pretty great summary above. I think all 4 of these towns should be considered. Montclair obviously has more to do and if the wife is a foodie she will love it. I assume you may also want to find a place where you can get somewhere close to the walkability of Brooklyn? That walkability, like it does anywhere will cost you. But the same goes for all of the other towns. West orange your money will go further because there is no train and no formal downtown. So if your ok driving more, then you may save some money or get more house there. I live in West Orange but when i go out 80% of the time its to Montclair.
As far as inventory, i would say that both Montclair and Maplewood are very competitive and there are often bidding wars because they are very popular towns. So keep that in mind. Having a local realtor may be an advantage because of this.
Thanks Pinkydspimp. You pretty much nailed the arguments she has made for Montclair. Walkability and the downtown with places to eat out occasionally. I did see some new constructions in west orange, but the school 'stats' got pulled on me. And since The research is still on going, I couldn't put forward a strong case. I am not a very handy person (but seems I have to learn that real quick) so 50yr+ old houses are a concern for me.
Maplewood has even less housing stock than Montclair. We will give South Orange a look, as we have given it the least attention.
The weekend is already outlined for this. thanks a lot for the feedback. Adding these to my other search results is proving invaluable in providing general guidance and reasonable starting points.
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