Why are South Orange and Maplewood (relatively) affordable?

[AnesthesiaMD]

Originally Posted by labcjo

All three towns do have similar crime rates, though Millburn has less violent crime.

When all is said and done, that is really the only type of crime that matters.
Things can be replaced. People can't.

[sashygirl]

Not so much turned off by the "exclusivity" of Millburn (I grew up on the UES) -- just think it's not a good fit for us. The thing that puzzles me about SO/Maplewood is that while we make a nice enough living, we are able to afford stuff there that is way beyond what we could afford elsewhere (swimming pool, 5 bedrooms, etc.) and probably more than we want. That makes me a bit suspicious. I assume the perception/reality of the schools limits the upside of real estate values, but I'm not sure if there's something else going on. Or maybe I'm just having a Groucho Marx moment (not wanting to be a member of a club that would accept me, etc.)?

[Cherno]

Maplewood/ South Orange are two towns. No - really. Yeah, they're two municipalities, but both are very different towns from the east side that borders Newark, Orange and Irvington and the parts that border Millburn and West Orange. Essex County is one of the most economically divided counties in the country and the line goes through Maplewood and South Orange. If you live some blocks west of Springfield Ave, the area is very safe. I've heard people pejoratively describe them as "buffer towns." I never bought a house there, but rented, moved to Hoboken, then came back again. So I was single and not really "of" the towns, not involved in local meetings, etc. But what I observed, well . . .

Many people here take pride in the fact this is a town where middle and upper class blacks and whites get along. According to Garden State Equality it is also the most gay friendly town(s) in NJ. The high school, well, their problems have been heavily documented by the NY Times and this Peabody award-winning radio documentary. It focuses on Columbia HS will give you a deeper insight.

The town also has the oldest adult school in the state. There's always stuff going on.

The first day I moved there, I was looking for a swimming pool at the HS, as I was a big swimmer. An African American guy saw me wandering and offered help. He offered to drive me to the pool. He has his young kid with him, so I figured, why not? He proceeded to tell me why he choose Maplewood and how he wants his kid to grow up in a place where whites and blacks get along and that this community prides itself in that.

I still shake my head as I type this, this guy could have been the face and ambassador of the two towns.

So yeah, the towns have problems and the schools do relatively well, but have many problems too. I currently live far away, but would I ever come back? Yes. The strongest thing I could say about these towns is that they come together and talk about their problems. Not a ton of gossip, not a ton of looking suspiciously at your neighbor. The community brings people together, they talk, argue and have a coffee with each other after.

I lived there, but never felt "of" the community, as I was not a homeowner nor did I have a kid in school. But these were my inside/ outside observations.

[sashygirl]

Thanks, Cherno -- really interesting background. The relative lack of gossip is appealing to me. I guess what strikes me about SO/Maplewood is that people are putting their money where their mouth is. It's easy for liberals to talk a good game about race issues (and I say this as a liberal-ish person myself) and then live in towns where everyone looks pretty much the same. I appreciate that many people who live there choose to do so at least in part b/c it's so diverse -- even though that brings its own set of challenges (and rewards too, of course.)

[Mightyqueen801]

From another perspective, I have a friend, a black woman who grew up poor in Newark. She and her husband bought a house in Maplewood and lived there for a time raising their two children. When her son hit high school, though, she started to see signs of Newark moving in on Maplewood and was afraid of these influences on her son and bailed out of there. That was about three years ago. They now live in Howell in Monmouth County.

[bradykp]

Originally Posted by sashygirl

Not so much turned off by the "exclusivity" of Millburn (I grew up on the UES) -- just think it's not a good fit for us. The thing that puzzles me about SO/Maplewood is that while we make a nice enough living, we are able to afford stuff there that is way beyond what we could afford elsewhere (swimming pool, 5 bedrooms, etc.) and probably more than we want. That makes me a bit suspicious. I assume the perception/reality of the schools limits the upside of real estate values, but I'm not sure if there's something else going on. Or maybe I'm just having a Groucho Marx moment (not wanting to be a member of a club that would accept me, etc.)?

I don't know much about the south orange school system. but here are some very high-level observations I have living in the next town over, and frequenting South Orange quite a bit:

1. old houses - many with oil tanks still, many with old foundations, roof, furnaces, etc. so...maybe some costs are priced in?
2. high(er) taxes. South Orange is another one of the more expensive tax rates in essex county - not that anyplace is "cheap".
3. more "diversity" - which i don't see as bad, but i think some do.
4. closer to newark than the other cities....

but there are some great houses. do you have a great realtor that knows the area well? that's the most important thing as you search these towns...

[eh270]

Originally Posted by bradykp

I don't know much about the south orange school system. but here are some very high-level observations I have living in the next town over, and frequenting South Orange quite a bit:

1. old houses - many with oil tanks still, many with old foundations, roof, furnaces, etc. so...maybe some costs are priced in?
2. high(er) taxes. South Orange is another one of the more expensive tax rates in essex county - not that anyplace is "cheap".
3. more "diversity" - which i don't see as bad, but i think some do.
4. closer to newark than the other cities....

but there are some great houses. do you have a great realtor that knows the area well? that's the most important thing as you search these towns...

These are all great points, when we looked in South Orange, these were pretty much the same conclusions we came to that accounted for much of the difference.

[mumra]

Maybe the high number of forcolosures has a heavy impact on RE values.