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Montgomery, livingston, new providence and many others are as cheap if not cheaper than maplewood. Also if you factor property taxes houses in millburn are not that expensive compare to Maplewood.
Montgomery, Livingston, and New Providence are longer commutes to NYC than Maplewood and South Orange.
Anyway, I know there's at least one elementary school in Maplewood along the Irvington border; you wouldn't want to live in the catchment for that school.
Montgomery, Livingston, and New Providence are longer commutes to NYC than Maplewood and South Orange.
Anyway, I know there's at least one elementary school in Maplewood along the Irvington border; you wouldn't want to live in the catchment for that school.
the school you are refering to is seth boyden, a demonstration school. that is the one school in the district that anyone can go to regardless of where in mapso you live. it is a very good school, great performing art program, which is why many parents send their children there.
Montgomery, Livingston, and New Providence are longer commutes to NYC than Maplewood and South Orange.
Of course, but I was only replying to a comment that all other towns were more expensive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nybbler
Anyway, I know there's at least one elementary school in Maplewood along the Irvington border; you wouldn't want to live in the catchment for that school.
In general, differences in elementary schools are not as dramatic as in later stages but they slowly build up.
Anyway, montclair, glen ridge, millburn, westfiled have short commute, same pricing (factoring taxes) and better schools. The New Jersey Montlhly list is laughable. Imagine columbia-maplewood outranking princeton by far. Don't let such rankings influence you. Look at the raw scores in standardized tests. Also those towns in Bergen are great and commute can be short depending where you go in the city.
i don't want to get into a long thread about rankings, but i think most people would agree that a ranking based solely on SAT scores is probably one of the worst lists to use. it's a consideration, but it's not even close to the only consideration.
this list conveniently omits twenty or so public high performance magnet schools. I agree though you can do much worse than columbia but not really a top school.
even using your list with it at 89th, being 89th in NJ would easily be a very good school nationally.
i don't want to get into a long thread about rankings, but i think most people would agree that a ranking based solely on SAT scores is probably one of the worst lists to use. it's a consideration, but it's not even close to the only consideration.
I agree but it is one of the few we can use. Another one is HSPA, again standardized tests, but less reliable. Again maplewood schools are lacking according to this metric and consistently trail the rest.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradykp
even using your list with it at 89th, being 89th in NJ would easily be a very good school nationally.
Schools nationally don't do very well and nobody said that maplewood school are not good. One should choose the best schools possible and metrics show that there are other better schools available as an option in the area. Tread carefully.
Of course, but I was only replying to a comment that all other towns were more expensive.
In general, differences in elementary schools are not as dramatic as in later stages but they slowly build up.
Anyway, montclair, glen ridge, millburn, westfiled have short commute, same pricing (factoring taxes) and better schools. The New Jersey Montlhly list is laughable. Imagine columbia-maplewood outranking princeton by far. Don't let such rankings influence you. Look at the raw scores in standardized tests. Also those towns in Bergen are great and commute can be short depending where you go in the city.
LOL the nj monthly list is laughable only when it comes to maplewood/south orange. For every other predominatly white and or asian school its the bible, but for M/SO its laughable. I love this board.
I agree but it is one of the few we can use. Another one is HSPA, again standardized tests, but less reliable. Again maplewood schools are lacking according to this metric and consistently trail the rest.
Schools nationally don't do very well and nobody said that maplewood school are not good. One should choose the best schools possible and metrics show that there are other better schools available as an option in the area. Tread carefully.
the reality is, there are a lot of great schools in NJ. you don't have to choose the best schools in NJ to have a great school to get your children ready for college. People pick towns for a variety of reasons. Schools are a big part of that, but not the only part. Bottom line is, Maplewood/SO schools are not lacking in the ability to prepare children for college...which is the only metric that really matters.
OP - the schools are good...just not top 10 in NJ, so you'll get a lot of people saying you can do better. For the commute, the downtown areas, and the overal surrounding area, Maplewood and South Orange are good choices. I don't think anyone here is saying they are the absolute best places in the world....but that wasn't your question.
LOL the nj monthly list is laughable only when it comes to maplewood/south orange. For every other predominatly white and or asian school its the bible, but for M/SO its laughable. I love this board.
The advice given on this board can be very conservative and very old school in its nature - and I agree, sometimes it's to the point where its laughable. (I had someone say once here that they "highly doubted" homes in South Orange cost more than in Rutherford or Waldwick. You don't have to trust me - just do a real estate search).
It's a good point though. New York City families looking to move out to Essex County should know this when searching for advice here- asking about a town or school on this board can sometimes be the equivalent of asking your grandparents what they think of the music you listen to and the clothes you wear.
I would love to live in Maplewood / South Orange, but the commute doesn't make sense for me. I did want to give you a few pointers after having skimmed this thread.
There are pockets of wealth in each of these towns. Maplewood is obviously wealthier and it's ritzy part (West of Valley Rd) is clearly the nicest section. You're going to need a minimum of $500K, though, to buy there. The area just east of Valley Rd is also nice, but you're not within walking distance to the village around the rail station, which to me sort of kills the whole dream. But if you're ok with driving a short distance to town, those homes are nice and suburban with a good family feel. Closer to Springfield Rd is where your going to get more diverse (and affordable areas). These area are fine, but they do not have the upper-class vibe of the Maplewood Village.
South Orange is similar in that the area around the rail station is it's best. It is cheaper than Maplewood generally. The one thing to keep in mind with South Orange, though, is that it's a college town. You are going to see lots of college kids who live in apartments around downtown. This makes it less of a family town in my mind. The further east and north you go, the more diverse and sketchy the neighborhoods will get. These towns are very safe, but they border areas that are not.
As far as schools, that's a bunch of hooplah. Jersey school statistics are notoriously biased against diversity. I generally go by Ivy League admissions - they show you how the most capable children performed - which Columbia High has several. More importantly, Maplewood schools are diverse (>50% black). To me, it's more important to raise culturally sensitive children than privledged, snobby kids (*cough* Millburn). I guess it's just whatever your family values.
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Don't let such rankings influence you. Look at the raw scores in standardized tests. Also those towns in Bergen are great and commute can be short depending where you go in the city.
Love Maplewood
