One of the things I love most about Montclair is its diversity. Over the 20 years that I've lived here, I've become friends with a number of people whom I probably would never have even gotten to meet in a more homogeneous suburb. These friends come from different religious, ethnic and economic backgrounds from my own. I was thinking [...]
Heard this weekend while showing some Montclair houses for sale: "disappointed by the kitchens in the current inventory of Montclair real estate - even some of those that have been renovated"
It seems today's Montclair home buyers expect more out of the kitchen than they did in years past. The dream kitchen of today is not just equipped with [...]
According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal,
"Today's home buyers aren't just looking for good schools and low crime rates when they evaluate a neighborhood, many brokers say. They're paying much more attention to what they can walk to." (emphasis added)
The growth of walkability as a desirable quality comes from homebuyers [...]
After closing on their bank-owned Colonial in Verona, one of the first "improvements" Bil and Ashli made was to add a vegetable garden to their backyard. They are predicting a prolific harvest of beans, onions, tomatoes, and Chinese sweet potatoes, of which they only eat the [...]
If you are reading this, you are probably one of the 90% of buyers who searched for a home online this year. According to the National Association of Realtors only 37% performed this activity 10 years ago. Here are 7 stats that have changed - or not changed over the past [...]
Anthropologie--the big retailer with modern urban style clothing and home goods--has opened its doors in Montclair in time for the holiday shopping season. I'm sure there is some grumbling as people roll their eyes at $200 corduroy pants and worry that chain stores will threaten the character of our very indie town. Me, I welcome [...]
I'm not a big mall person. The whole ordeal of driving 20 minutes only to look for parking for another 20 minutes has turned me off. These days I'm shopping locally in Montclair, and starting today, Oct 15th, 50 plus stores will keep their doors open until at least 8 pm. Some of my personal favorites are: [...]
When I walk to Watchung Plaza from my Montclair home, I take a short route through an interconnected grid of streets and through a small park. I wave to my neighbor on the way. I stop for a brief minute in the park to chat with a friend who's on her way home from work (she's just gotten off the 5:31 [...]
Last week I received my 2008 Homestead Rebate Application. While I dutifully filled out the worksheet, I remembered my rebate from last year as being very minor, but better than nothing. Lot and block number? Check. Filing status number? Check. NJ Homeowner as of Oct 1, 2008? Check. Only upon reading the fine print did I realize that I [...]
