Quote:
Originally Posted by forumadvise
We have been looking to buy a house for nearly 8 months. We have narrowed it down to the Radburn section of Fair Lawn and the Upper Gregory section of West Orange. We both need to get to the city for work so commuting time is a concern. We also want to live close to a park and for that Fair Lawn seems to win over WO. We like the charm of the homes in WO and the amount of green space around the town (although we won't be able to afford a country club membership). I have been reading posts and it seems like Fair Lawn has a better school system and is safer. We like the amount of space the house in WO affords and the up in the air view since it is on a hill. Fair Lawn is full of cape cods that are cute but small and the town just seems blah to me (minus the park). We plan to live in the house for at least 5 years and do not have children but probably will soon and are concerned about being able to sell the property down the road. Any comments advise would be greatly appreciated. We have to make an offer very soon and need all the information we can get. Thanks!
|
Being very familiar with Fair Lawn, and having a little bit of familiarity with West Orange, here's what I can tell you. West Orange is most likely perceived by the average New Jerseyan to be somewhat more prestigious than Fair Lawn. Both towns have a pretty wide diversity in terms of housing. Houses in Fair Lawn bordering the Glen Rock and Paramus areas tend to be fancier and more expensive than the small capes that tend to be more prominent than the other side of town that borders Elmwood Park and Saddle Brook. Radburn has some old, small houses, in the center of the community, but some really nice houses as well. Schools in Fair Lawn are all good, but there is some variance generally tied to the affluence of the particular area. The Milnes and Radburn schools, in more affluent areas of the town, are better. Schools like Westmoreland, in a less affluent area of town, while still good, are not as good. The high school, overall, is quite good.
In West Orange, the diversity of the housing is even more dramatic. West Orange is really two towns in one. The Valley is the area closest to Orange, and it's pretty run down. The houses here are old for the most part. In the hills, you have super fancy houses, the country clubs, the mansions and the yachts, and a community that is pretty much on par with the typical affluent Northern NJ suburb. As you can probably guess, the schools in the Valley are lousy, and the schools in the hills are great. The high school is so-so. I would say Fair Lawn High School is quite a bit better.
West Orange does seem to have slightly higher average property values than Fair Lawn. Of course, the typical Hills house will cost a lot more than the typical Valley house. I think that the abundance of Fair Lawn's small properties tend to bring down the median prices in the town some. The town has seemed to be holding up well in the past few years, however, with smaller pricing drops than in some other towns.
Fair Lawn is not really a country club town, while there are definitely parts of West Orange that are. But if you like that sort of thing, there are plenty around neighboring towns such as Ridgewood.
Both are good towns. For me, my biased answer is Fair Lawn. Better schools and you'll most likely get more house for the money. Good luck!
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.
Need help!!!
