This 3BR, 2.5 bath Montclair home, on a third of an acre, just closed for $730,000. Photo: Stanton Realtors
There comes a point in every city-dwelling family’s life when you begin to wonder if it would just be easier (and cheaper) to pack it all up and move to the suburbs. And when Brooklynites begin this line of reasoning, the place that always comes to mind is Montclair, New Jersey, and the experts they call first is Stanton Realtors.
Why is Montclair such a desirable second act for Brooklyn expats? Because of all the important ways you’ll be trading up, without losing your connection to the city. Along with a quick commute—just 45 minutes by train, the same amount of time you probably spend getting to Midtown by subway—there’s a walkable, charming downtown filled with mom and pop shops and good restaurants, a large uptown village area and three smaller shopping districts, so you are never more than a stroll away from a café, wine store or dry cleaners. Amidst all this commerce are major cultural centers like the Montclair Art Museum and The Wellmont Theater, and a community that is economically and ethnically diverse. And among the many oases of green space—like the 408- and 157-acre nature perserves that border the area—there’s even a park designed by Olmsted, the same chap who designed your beloved Prospect Park.
Unlike Brooklyn, however, pouring your life’s savings into a house will not only guarantee more room for your clan, indoors and out, it will ensure that you enroll your children in a great school system, so you won’t have to risk a nervous breakdown getting them into a decent middle school and another heart attack when they start testing for high schools. (Montclair High School has 25 AP offerings—right on par with Stuyvesant.)
Since you already know what a three-bedroom, 2.5 bath home goes for in Brooklyn (over a million dollars, in most desirable neighborhoods), maybe you should see what you’d get in Montclair, or neighboring towns like Glenn Ridge, for a third less, on a third of an acre. Stanton has been selling homes in Montclair and the surrounding communities for over 90 years, and will give you a great introduction to the place you may soon call home.
