Here are thumbnail sketches of some of the most popular neighborhoods in this area. Some are more affordable than others!:
Bloomfield: A new rail link has boosted this 'burb' to the big time.
"No doubt you've heard of Montclair, the liberal New Jersey town often called the Upper West Side of the suburbs, famous for its diversity, its celebrated residents (Bill Bradley, Ian Frazier, and Yogi Berra), and its spectacular estates that resemble small national parks. Chances are you haven't heard of Montclair's often overlooked stepchild, Bloomfield, a neighboring town that's home to Frankie's Futurmatic Car Wash and the official Joe Pesci fan club. But with affordable homes and a commute to midtown that's [now] cut in half, Bloomfield won't stay sleepy for long....live close enough to Montclair to take advantage of its shopping and restaurants."
--From New York Magazine, Six Affordable Neighborhoods
Maplewood: According to a recent article in New York Magazine, "Maplewood is a draw for those who abhor cultural blandness and ethnic homogeneity but who can't afford to raise families in Manhattan.... More than 40 percent of Maplewood's residents are nonwhite, and along with South Orange, its 'sister town' next door, Maplewood is home to a number of interracial and gay couples...There are several public playgrounds and parks...The pedestrian-friendly downtown district offers several good restaurants as well as a four-screen first-run movie theater. Gourmet food is available for takeout at Celebrated Food of Maplewood and the New World Catering Company, and there's a farmer's market too. Harried commuters love the Maplewood Concierge Company at the train station, which runs errands like picking up dry cleaning, buying groceries, and taking cars to the mechanic while its clients are at work in Manhattan."
--From New York Magazine, Top 10 Affordable Suburbs: A Tree Grows in Maplewood
For more info on Maplewood, go to www.Maplewoodonline.com
The Brookdale Section of Bloomfield - Brookdale, just to the East of Montclair, is a charming, affordable neighborhood of colonials, capes and split-levels that shares scenic Brookdale Park with Montclair. Brookdale prices are more moderate than similar homes in Montclair. Served by the well-regarded Brookdale primary school and Huck Middle School, Brookdale has become one of the most desirable home destinations in this part of New Jersey. Bus service to NYC runs right through the neighborhood, where there are many quaint shops, while trains from Montclair are a short walk or drive. Home prices generally range from $375,000 to $550,000, although several recently built new homes have sold near $600,000.
Elsewhere in Bloomfield - You'll find Oakview adjacent to Brookdale, a neighborhood, bordering Nutley, with a superb primary school and a pleasing inventory of homes with character. Good values for first-time homebuyers can also be found near downtown Bloomfield, in the Watsessing neighborhood, walking distance to NYC Direct trains The area is supported by a lively community association working to improve the local schools and to provide input into the projected rebilitation of the train station area with condos and shops.
Bloomfield's historic district, also on the eastern edge of the downtown, home to the Bloomfield College campus, has some lovely old homes in proximity an old-fashioned village green, historic Free Public Library, downtown shops, and NYC trains and buses. The college, established as the Bloomfield College and Seminary in 1868, has more recently carved out a niche for itself in the areas of theater, music, and nursing, among others. In between Brookdale and downtown, laced along Broad St., are a half-dozen glitzy new restaurants serving Thai, Pan Asian, Italian and Japanese food.
It's obviously just the beginning of Bloomfield's incipient trendiness. The Aprril 2006 "Best Places to Live" issue of NJ Monthly Magazine called termed this Essex County town 'just under the radar' -- and probably not for much longer! Check out GreatSchools.net to see how Bloomfield's primaries -- Brookdale, Oakview and Demarest -- perform.
The Gregory Section of West Orange - Located about 4 miles from Montclair, the Gregory Section, with its appealing stock of older colonials and Tudors situated on tree-lined, winding roads, is one of the prettiest and most affordable neighborhoods in the area. The Gregory School (primary) is top-rated, as is the Roosevelt Middle School. The primary division of Solomon Schechter, the highly regarded Jewish day school, is also located in this neighborhood. There are numerous shopping opportunities in West Orange, including the lively Essex Green mall just a mile away, with stores that include Macy's and Panera Bread, always packed at lunchtime. The town offers jitney service from the Gregory Section for commuters wishing to take New York Direct trains from nearby stations in South Orange or Orange and there is express bus service, as well. Located slightly North and West is the very pretty St. Cloud neighborhood (also a top local school), an interesting mix of older and Seventies' splits, ranches and bi-levels, iswell worth checking out. Home prices in the Gregory Section range from approximately $325,000 to $650,000, with some even higher-priced properties in St. Cloud.
Cedar Grove - This appealing sliver of a town just West of Montclair boasts the lowest taxes in the West Essex area. Housing prices start in the low $300's for cape cods and small ranches. Another low-tax option is Clifton, in Passaic County, just East of Montclair, where prices start around $400,000. Cedar Grove is also home to a few high-end communities priced from $700,000 to several million.
Montclair Heights Section of Clifton - Located just East of Montclair, conveniently adjacent to Routes 3, 48, and 80, is Clifton, NJ's most desirable neighborhood. Homes in Montclair Heights run the gamut from smaller 1930s colonials to 1960's splits and 1990's colonials. Prices range from the mid-$400s to the low $700s. The taxes in this Passaic County town are considerably lower than elsewhere in the vicinity.
Other Neighborhoods of Note - Ask me about stately and picturesque, although expensive Ridgewood Ave. in Glen Ridge; Pleasantdale and the exquisite, gated Llewellyn Park gated community of 2+ acre mansion properties in West Orange; Montclair's great neighborhoods like The Fairway, Erwin Park and Estate Section; Nutley Park in Nutley; The Cedars in Caldwell; Afterglow Section of Verona; and Montrose, South Orange's elegant, gaslit historic section, and the winding roads in Roseland's beautiful Holmehill section and the adjoining delights of leafy Essex Fells.
Last but not least, Essex County's beautiful historic neighborhoods include Forest Hills in Newark and Seven Oaks in Orange. Both exhibit the finest classic architecture in elegant homes from the turn-of-the-century through the 1930s, more and more of them recently renovated. Where similar homes in neighboring towns sell starting in the $700,000s, homes in Forest Hills -- where there is a train station with service to NYC -- and Seven Oaks (also with its own Highland Ave. train service) sell in the $500,000's, primarily.
If you'd like to personally discuss the towns and neighborhoods I've discussed, please feel free to contact me for an area tour.
Visit me on my other website, www.sellahousenj.com!
- NUMBER1EXPERT™ 
