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My husband and I are buying a house in Millburn and we saw two properties we like. One is a 4 minutes walk from Deerfield elementary; the other is a 9 minutes walk from Wyoming elementary. Both properties are around 1.2m. The property near Deerfield, although in Short Hills, doesn't seem to be on one of those multi-million dollar mansion roads. The houses on that street are around 900k - 1.3m.
We chose Millburn because of the schools (we have a two year old and a baby), and the ease of commute (husband and I work in NYC and Millburn is the closest station with perfect schools).
For people who lived / are living in Millburn, my question is how do the two neighborhoods differ in character? Are they both very friendly? Will my kids be able to easily play in the neighborhood with other kids? Ride their bikes together around the blocks without me arranging playdates? I prefer the property near Deerfield slightly more because the street is quieter, but worry that it won't be as friendly / down to earth as closer to the downtown area. We came from nerdy San Francisco bay area so we don't want to end up somewhere too "fancy" (sorry for the stereotype but Short Hills just has the reputation going...).
Hello - Welcome to Millburn/Short Hills! It sounds like you've visited the area so you very quickly recognized that Deerfield is more 'traditional suburban', while Wyoming is more 'urban/suburban'. I live in Deerfield... know a little about Wyoming.
With Wyoming - houses closer together, sidewalks on the streets, near both millburn center maplewood center ( which is great, you should check it out if you haven't) and south mtn reservation county park. Nice grid setup, straight streets (though on the side of a hill) - more walkable and bikable. Only downside is that you've got Wyoming ave running down the center, which is a decently travelled avenue that goes all the way up to West/South Orange
Deerfield - wider range of houses and geographically more spread out. you mentioned the 1.2 million house that's 4 min walk from deerfield school (I am guessing silver spring area), but there are parts, like you mentioned, with the multi-million dollar mansions. By the way those 800K houses in silver spring will become 1.2+ when they are knocked down and rebuilt!! Anyhow - The road layout in deerfield such that inner neighborhoods are generally quiet (less through streets) - parsonage hill, white oak, old short hills road, great hills road and South Orange Ave are the main avenues that basically form 2 big boxes around deerfield so the inner neighborhoods don't see lots of traffic - though by the school that could be different.
Both schools and neighborhoods are great, but the vibes are different. Not to say that people in deerfield aren't nice (anyone can find friends there), but you're less likely to see neighbors setting up a block party than you would in Wyoming. Know what I mean? I'd say Wyoming has a much more liberal feel to it, if politics matters to you. Not knowing much else, sounds like you'd enjoy Wyoming better.
that said, if you are a nice person then you will make friends no matter what part of town you live in. I don't have block parties in deerfield, but we have some nice neighbors in the immediate area - my son frequently walks over to play - outside only of course!!
We made an offer on the Wyoming one but it didn't work out. We made another offer on a property in South Mountain and it was just accepted four hours ago! I'm very excited.
I am sure both neighborhoods are just as good. However I would buy in a nice neighborhood with other similiar homes that range 1 million and up. I never want to be the nicest house on the block of crappy surrounding homes. I want a nice area with home values similar in price range to the one I am buying as the value of the nieghboring homes will increase all our values together. When I bought my house I drove by the neighbors to see what kind of people they are and what kind of cars they drive that were parked in the driveways, that could say a lot about the area and class of people.
We made an offer on the Wyoming one but it didn't work out. We made another offer on a property in South Mountain and it was just accepted four hours ago! I'm very excited.
Wyoming and South Mountain sections of Millburn have a much nicer feel than the Deerfield section. Less "fancy", as the OP mentioned, less snobby, nicer and more liberal people. Not to mention more walkable, and close to the train and downtown area (Deerfield is not). Enjoy!
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