flck72

Hi

Any locals able to give advice on Pros & Cons of Chatham versus Milburn in terms of rentals and Elementary School?

They both look nice area, and I realise Milburn is less of a commute but wondering if they are both considered walking towns? I mean they have stores/restaurantes you can walk to park areas.

My children are still young so more interested in a fun nurturing school than academic results (hopefully that will come in time).

With thanks.

ian-mstm

Umm... locals in what state/city?

Ian

Bob

At a guess, you're talking NJ?

Search out previous, numerous threads on the area and see what has been said about the schools? Or, city-data and the great schools link, that gets posted about in pretty much every thread.

karenmillvalley

Hi

Im moving to Millburn next summer from CA.....I lived in NJ years ago. Chatham is very nice as is Millburn. Im still researching too....rents looks slightly cheaper in Chatham. Chatham schools system not as good as Millburn by the looks. Millburn rents run from 3000-5000K for a fmily home (3 bed and up). Thats as far as I got!! they both have cute downtowns.

digbydog

This is the insane thing about school rankings. If your kid is in elementary school and you move to a town because the high school is ranked number one, please remember your kid will not be in the high school for a good part of a decade and a lot can change in that time.

Saying all that we live in Millburn which has apparently the number one high school in the state of the NJ (and possibly the universe if you listen to the parents and real estate agents around here).

Chatham is ranked number 8 if you care to know according to this:

http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_...ools-2010.html

There is no reason in the world to move to Millburn over Chatham if it is only because of a HS ranking. Number 8 in NJ still sounds good to me....

karenmillvalley

Thanks digbydog

I used to live further west so I only knew Chatham as a place to visit then and my younger kids were babies. Now they are 8 and 7 elementary and middle are of most interest to me and I like that Millburn has high scores for both. But you are absolutely right....8 is still good. LOL...I love your comment 'and possibly the universe if you listen to the parents and real estate agents around here'. We live about 7 miles from San Fran now and it is exactly the same banter!!

Another main reason for us to look at Millburn is diversity as we are mixed race family. That is one reason I wanted to stay closer to Millburn/Montclair, than Madison or Chatham. Can you comment on diversity in Millburn?

Thanks so much

Karen

digbydog

The word "diversity" does not exist in Millburn. Quite simply if you are not Jewish (a huge % of the town) or Asian you are in a minority. It is not a problem but something you should be aware of.

However this is the reason the school system is good. The schools offer a good platform but it is the educated parents pushing their kids to excel is the reason Millburn is ranked No.1.

We are not Jewish or Asian and have settled in really well.

karenmillvalley

Oh, ok. Well we will fit right in to the minority then! (hubby is African turned Brit turned American by naturalisation and im Brit).

Thanks for the info....gives me a good idea of the climate there.

Glad you have settled so well. We will be looking for a rental family home after christmas (hubby is currently based in apartment in Morristown). I'm keeping my eye on craigslist (not so many rentals there) and on agents websites. I know I need a house with a good finished basement (I remember the winters!).

flck72

Thanks, so much to think of.
I think I am favouring Chatham at the moment. I hear good rentals in both Chatham & Milburn go very quick.
Good luck.

Ridski

I live in Maplewood and TBH have never heard that about Millburn, and I live right on the border between the two towns. Chatham, however, does have a reputation for being lily white, though I don't expect anyone to have any trouble in either of the two as it's still a very liberal area with a lot of ex-pats living here.

Good luck in your search and welcome to the neighborhood!

Swisstony

chatham is quite a white area, but you wouldn't be the only mixed race family in town, by any means - and there are quite a lot of british people too.

Rather than Craigs List, do look at gsmls for rentals - http://new.gsmls.com/publicsite/

flck72

Thanks all. Swisstony that website is really helpful, one of the best I've seen so far in the rental research.

LFC1005

We are a mixed race family and live in Harding Twp between Bernardsville and Morristown. Like Chatham the area is mainly white but there are a few mixed race families ihere.

usoruk

We live in Montville, supposedly the most expensive and snobby place ever and the Best schools in the universe!!! But no walkability, just the boring burbs. Visited Milburn, good walkabilty, a little more Euro looking. Chatham is nice too, but again expensive. I would rather live in those places. For my kids middle/high schools are important, but for my sanity, need a walkabilty area that reminds me of 'home'.

Jerseygirl

Montville...Montville near Willowbrook?