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Travel + Leisure’s August 2010 issue has a list of “Coolest Suburbs Worth a Visit,” and Montclair is first on the list. Baristanet is unimpressed, as to live in Montclair is to know it’s a “cool” suburb, but the article does make you think- what makes a suburb a travel destination? There is a lot here for a variety of different sightseers. Gardeners and horticulturalists can stop by the Van Vleck Gardens and Presby Iris Garden. Fans of independent bookstores have two to visit, Watchung Booksellers and Montclair Book Center. Art lovers can take in the Montclair Art Museum, and history buffs can tour the Montclair Historical Society. And foodie-types will have as much and as varied a meal plan as they could hope for (Thai! Japanese! Greek! French! Mexican! Pizza! Bagels! The list goes on!).

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 who want to avoid traffic as much as possible, and may also be looking forward to a day when gas prices get too high. Aging boomers buying homes to retire in and younger couples buying their first homes are both starting to look for the same easy proximity to town restaurants, shops, and activities.

This is why the towns I work in are so popular, and why I focus on the benefits of walkability when buying or selling homes. Though walkability depends on a number of factors - traffic patterns, topography – I have found that buyers are more and more looking to be within walking distance of things to do, and are willing to pay more for it.

Many first-time home buyers go through a learning process to figure out what exactly they are looking for in a house, and what architectural style will provide those qualities. Looking for a big porch to sit out on in the evening? Why not go for a Craftsman? Love decorative details? Choose a Victorian. Farmhouses are folksy and unpretentious, while Contemporaries and Mid-Century Modern houses have stylistic aspirations. Every house style has pros and cons, and the more you know about what you’re looking for, the easier your house search will be. Take this quiz to see how well you know the houses around you in Montclair and Glen Ridge.

As reported in MinnPost.com, housing researcher John McIlwain has predicted that the period of suburban sprawl is over, and that more Americans will be pushing to live in more urban (one could even say “walkable”) suburbs. “[A] combination of economic, demographic and regulatory trends over the next decade will create ‘a new normal’ in housing markets across the United States,” as spurred by four key demographics: older Baby Boomers who move to more urban areas (even if not the “big city”), younger Boomers who will be tied to suburbs by the inability to sell their suburban homes because of the “soft market,” the Millenials (children of Boomers) who are unable to find steady employment and thus will be forced to rent longer than earlier generations were expected to, and immigrants who need space for large families. The need will therefore be to make more of what currently exists rather than building further out.

We are already seeing some of this in north Jersey, where people who moved to towns like Montclair in the 1970s and 1980s are being priced out and moving instead to smaller towns like North Caldwell. North Caldwell has already begun to adapt to this new wave of Boomers. Other towns are starting to see demographic shifts due to a rise in immigrants. Many lower-middle-class residents are unable to live in the towns they work in, and some of the smaller suburbs are benefiting from this regular stream of homebuyers. Towns of all economic backgrounds will start to build up their “urban” centers, and those areas will in turn act as a draw to newcomers who want to live a more ecologically friendly life but not in a major city.

A good history of the American suburb is Columbia professor Kenneth T. Jackson’s Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States.

A city school district in southern Texas has come up with a new way to combat childhood obesity that also makes their neighborhoods more walkable – by constructing new sidewalks, redesigning crosswalks, and adding bike racks to two dozen school campuses in Edinburg, TX, almost all of which are elementary schools. The team behind the construction plans hopes to make it easier and safer for Edinburg students to walk to school, and make Edinburg in general a healthier place for families to live. It’s a state-funded project that comes from Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move program to help kids become more active and reduce obesity. Walkability benefits everyone!

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: Terra for their fair trade merchandise and homemade goodies, semplice for their hip take on home furnishings and the new Anthropologie for their inspiring retro-handmade combinations.

Here’s a list of all the stores that are extending their hours this holiday season:

Accents With Flowers

Afro-Brazilian Cultural Center of NJ

Alicia’s

Amanti Vino

American Sampler

Anthropologie

Artistic Illuminations of Montclair

Aunt Jean’s Toys & Treats

Blu Lotus

Bobbi Brown Studio

Buds For You

Catcom

Chez Renee

Cisco Station

ColorStoryHome

Creative Endeavors

Culture Couture

Dobbs

Dulce Candy Boutique

Euro Glass Art

Essex Fine Arts Gallery

Fleet Feet

Four Eyes & Ears

Gallery 51

Gallery Loupe

Go Lightly

Glenridge Taekwon-do

Hampton House

HipNotique

Irish & More

Jerry’s Antiques

Johari

Little Cricket

Makeready Press

Modern Yarn

Montclair Antique Center

Montclair Art Museum

Montclair Pet & Feed

Nest & Company

O Soleil

Parlor Hair Salon

People Store

Phil Cantor Photography

Ruby

Sahana Spa

Salon Organic

semplice

Stix-n-Stitches

Terra

Tory Janes

Urban Outfitters

The Woodhouse Spa

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