Advice on Maplewood/South Orange Please! (West Orange: apartments, houses, neighborhoods)
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Hi, we moved from NYC with three little ones to Warren, NJ last year and quickly realized that the commute to NYC was just too difficult and that we wanted more of close knit community. We are now in the process of selling our home and hoping to move to Maplewood/SO area, and would like to hear from other families of young children how they feel about the area.
Are there neighborhoods that are more family friendly? What preschools should we consider? Any elementary schools we should avoid? I know there are lots of mixed reviews on the HS, but we have three kids under 4, so I am not too worried about HS right now.
We've driven around both neighborhoods, walked the downtown area and love the community, but want to make sure we are making a good decision for our family.
Columbia High School is fairly highly ranked in a number of lists, so I wouldn't be concerned about that. I can't speak to the elementary schools and such, but as for neighborhoods, I love the section that is adjacent to West Orange. Basically Gregory Ave and Wyoming Ave (Gregory basically turns into Wyoming). There are some great houses in that area. Maplewood is cute also, but i don't know a lot about where to look.
I like both towns, and both downtowns. The downside, as many will point out, is our the property taxes. But, the commute is nice.
Hi, we moved from NYC with three little ones to Warren, NJ last year and quickly realized that the commute to NYC was just too difficult and that we wanted more of close knit community. We are now in the process of selling our home and hoping to move to Maplewood/SO area, and would like to hear from other families of young children how they feel about the area.
Are there neighborhoods that are more family friendly? What preschools should we consider? Any elementary schools we should avoid? I know there are lots of mixed reviews on the HS, but we have three kids under 4, so I am not too worried about HS right now.
We've driven around both neighborhoods, walked the downtown area and love the community, but want to make sure we are making a good decision for our family.
Thanks!
welcome to south orange and maplewood! i am a school at columbia hs. i can tell you that by far, the elementary schools are the best part of this school district. the middle schools are ok, but the high school is not excellent. south mountain and marshall/jefferson have the reputation of being the best of the elementary schools, and south orange middle has the reputation of being the better middle school. if you have any questions about the somsd schools, feel free to ask.
south orange/maplewood are generally family friendly. there are several parks and many preschools, plus one community pool in each town, summer camps and afterschool programs.
unlike warren, the two towns are very walkable, and with the exception of homes on streets 'up the hill', most streets have sidewalks. also unlike warren, there is a lot of public transit options in south orange and maplewood. the 31 bus goes up south orange avenue and down valley street (many people take it to high school), the 70 and 25 run on springfield ave, there are jitney buses, and three stations on the nj transit m and e lines.
as you probably know, there are 5 main business districts. there is maplewood village, which is small, and has no chain stores except for banks and kings super market. south orange avenue in south orange has a market, several chain restaurants, diners, stores, etc. valley street has a pathmark, pizza places, several auto repair shops, and they're making a cvs. springfield ave in maplewood also has several stores, bodegas, restaurants, etc. irvington ave in south orange, maplewood, newark and irvington has some small local restaurants, carwash, city supermarket, a gym, 7eleven and extra supermarket.
one thing that the south orange maplewood community is known for is economic, cultural and racial diversity. as you might see when looking for homes, homes south of springfield ave in maplewood are significantly cheaper. partially because the median income 'up the hill' in maplewood is well over 200K, but less than 60K south of springfield ave. there are many local churches and synagogues.
the clear downside to mapso is taxes, some of nj's highest.
for more info, MaplewoodOnline.com has a great local forum, TheAlternativePress.com gives good mapso news, and Placenj.com gives good local information.
Maplewood and South Orange are both wonderful. You really can't go wrong with any of the neighborhoods. Go to maplewoodonline.com, it is a local message board that will give you lots of great information!
Maplewood and South Orange are both wonderful. You really can't go wrong with any of the neighborhoods. Go to maplewoodonline.com, it is a local message board that will give you lots of great information!
yes, you can go wrong with certain areas. be careful in newstead, south orange. walking to and from that neighborhood involves a walk up a very steep hill, (and there are only 3 roads which ascend the hill), and there are few sidewalks. also, you may here gunshots during winter from the county deer hunt. be careful around the high school, when there are evacuations, everyone will be standing on your front lawn. be careful near wilden place near seton hall, there are often armed robberies in and around that street, as it is both right next to seton hall and ivy hill apartments.
vuevegirl is right, mol is a very good forum to check.
also check:
thealternativepress.com
baristanet.com
southorangemaplewood.org
placenj.com
south orange maplewood community coalition
maplewoodian.com
unless you have money like that, the schools that you're looking at in the top 50 aren't an option. you have to look at the towns that those schools are located in. millburn is one of the richest towns in jersey.
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.
unless you have money like that, the schools that you're looking at in the top 50 aren't an option. you have to look at the towns that those schools are located in. millburn is one of the richest towns in jersey.
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.
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