Any insight about the following towns?

peaches85

I have a few more towns I'm interested in getting information about.  Please tell me anything and everything you know about any of the following towns (especially regarding schools, traffic, taxes, etc.)...

- Nutley
- Belleville
- Bloomfield
- Glen Ridge
- Montclair
- Verona

Tara2316

We looked in Nutley, Belleville and Bloomfield. Taxes are really high because its Essex Cty.  Personally we didn't like Belleville and the schools were not good. Bloomfield there is a certain section that is really good (I can;t think of the area right now, sorry) because they have blue ribbon schools. Nutley schools are good.

MissButters

We live in Bloomfield, in-laws live in Glen Ridge.  I love Glen Ridge, but taxes are supposedly high, but good schools (my husband grew up and went to the schools in Glen Ridge).  Bloomfield has decent schools especially if you're in the OakView or Brookdale elementary school neighborhoods (blue ribbon schools).  However, I have heard that after elementary school the middle and HS aren't that great. We're in the Oak View area.  Our next door neighbor's house is for sale - has a nice yard!! 

Tara2316

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_insight-following-towns?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:90Discussion:f6e266b5-1ff6-4b66-8838-ea8052f39101Post:62452923-297e-4cab-9359-265f1eff6302">Re: Any insight about the following towns?</a>:
[QUOTE]OakView or Brookdale
Posted by MissButters[/QUOTE]

Thats it! But taxes on the house we loved were at 10k. A little steep for us right now.

MissButters

Yea, I'm amazed at the tax on our house.  Boo!

hcer0708

Essex County taxes are very high. I lived in Belleville my whole life and still do. Maybe because its all i know but the school system is not bad at all. Nutley which is the next town over i believe has a better school system but the houses are way more expensive. I work in Montclair and everything there is expensive!  My friends kids go to Bloomfield schools and they are not that great esp the high school but like prior posts stated there are cetain sections of Bloomfield that have very good grammer schools.

USER876

Taxes are high or the schools are not the best....

Look at Wayne, Pompton Plains, Lincoln Park

ahhndrea

The best out of that list is probably Verona...but it depends on where you are commuting to. The bus is your main option to the city (unless you drive to the train) and its a slow go down Bloomfield Ave on Decamp...

I grew up in Nutley (parents still live there) and the rest of my family is from Bloomfield.  Nutley is an "insider" community, people grow up there and stay there which is one reason that I didn't want to settle there (I'm in Millburn now, so not far away). Bloomfield is good if you are in Oakview or Brookdale, but people pull their kids out of the public system before high school.  Montclair has a great downtown and plenty of entertainment but its super expensive and once again people send their kids to private school so you'll pay a ton for taxes and then have to pay tuition. Glen Ridge is great as well, taxes are very high though, I know many stories of people who put their houses on the market as soon as their last kid is out of school.

peaches85

Thank you so much everyone!  I took down notes on the towns and added some of the other towns you recommended to my list.

Babycakes SE

Verona has high taxes too.  My FIL's are moving because it's killing them.  I don't know about the taxes in Cedar Grove, but the area and houses are beautiful.  Good Luck!

zeitsev

I grew up in Montclair and went to the public schools.  I felt that the schools were good overall but for certainly not as wonderful as they should be given the high taxes.  I loved living there and loved all the parks and things to do.  We'll be moving into my childhood home as renters for a few years so we can save up money to buy a home.  My mother recently bought a home out of state so offered the Montclair home to us so we could save money.  Lately, I've been checking out a lot of the same towns you are on zillow.com to get an idea for home prices, taxes, mortgages, etc.  So far that has helped us get an idea of areas we like AND could or could not potentially afford.  Good luck!

manda9794

Cedar Grove has an excellent school system and even though it's still Essex County, their taxes are fairly reasonable.

K&J64

Here's the latest ranking of NJ public high schools, it will give you a good idea of how the schools are in these towns: http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/highschoolrankings/top-high-schools-2010.html

I lived in Verona for a number of years in an apartment, it's an nice little town. Probably the best on your list. Upper Montclair is super nice, but insanely expensive. The other towns on the list I'm not a fan of really. And as PPs said Essex Co has pretty high taxes. Try Bergen Co there's lower taxes up here (especially towns like Paramus) or Union Co.

I'd be mindful of the areas User suggested though, tons of flood zones so you'll get slapped with having to pay flood insurance in a lot of areas in those towns. Plus I find Passaic County to be a PITA commuting wise. Also, Pompton Lakes, you don't want to be any where near the old Dupont plant, like ANY where near. just google Pompton Lakes, NJ and cancer and you'll see why

Nikki83185

We are in the process of buying a home in Verona..have lived there in an apartment for 2 years and love it. The park is beautiful and the town itself is in a great location, not sure about the school systems but I do know the town was in the Top Five ratings in NJ magazine a couple years back.

Nikki83185

p.s. taxes are on the higher side but then again so is all of essex county...traffic isnt too bad- we both commute up bloomfield ave in the a.m. The good thing is you are close to all major highways

KTheobald13

West Caldwell and Roseland are wonderful communities to live in as well.  The schools are awesome and graduate a high number of AP students. I teach in West Orange, but their taxes are so high. West Caldwell and Roseland taxes are on the much lower end for Essex county because they have industrial zones at the opposite end of town that keep the taxes much lower.  Towns like Montclair, Nutley, Bloomfield all have paid fire department which raise the price of taxes, and you are paying for the proximity of being close to transportation to the city.  The smaller towns are volunteer and this helps to keep taxes way down.  I grew up in West Caldwell all my life and was dead set on buying a home there, but my fiance did not want to live in Essex county because the taxes are slightly higher.  We just bought in Whippany where the taxes are extremely low, East Hanover taxes are low too.  However, the price of houses are a little bit more because you are paying for lower taxes and more land.  It is all give and take.  Just be very patient in the process and your heart will always lead you to the right choice. 

USER876

You will get more bang for the buck in Morris county.  Not sure what type of house you are looking for, but you will get more land, more bedrooms, lower taxes, and probably a newer home for the same loot.