Lately I’ve felt like I’ve been on an episode of HGTV’s House Hunters.  We’ve been hunting for Chez Davis East for a while, but recently got serious now that Chez Davis West is pretty much sold.  

We’re looking in several communities in New Jersey.  Montclair / Glen Ridge, Maplewood, and Millburn. Each community has its own vibe and unique personality.  Montclair is the more urban of the three. It has several town centers: Downtown Montclair, Watchung Village, Walnut Village, and Upper Montclair.  Lots of great bars and restaurants (many of which are BYO which means extra cash in the bank – cha-ching!) and a very cool magnet school system.  Glen Ridge, its adjoining sister town is a little more white bread but has some of the best schools in Jersey.  Maplewood is smaller than Montclair but closer to New York City.  It has a New England Town sort of feel with tons of mature trees, a super quaint town center and a high school with a ropes course to die fore.  Millburn feels a little more suburban but the property values are really high (which means if we can get the worst house in Millburn, we’ll still be good to go), and the schools are some of the best in the nation. 

Of course, as luck would have it, we are considering three houses in all three areas.  There are pros and cons to each. Some need more work than others, but have amazing proximity to the Manhattan bound train. Others, less work but a higher price point, while others are farther from the train but have more square footage. As you can see, all three are some sort of take on the Colonial style (center hall, side hall, front porch etc) which is very prevalent in these parts.

Which one will we choose?…… stay tuned after the commercial break (of course, unlike the TV show, we might put in an offer and not have it accepted and not get any of the three). We shall see….