My move to the suburban world began almost 11 years back. I had lived in big cities all my life and the thought of moving to the suburbs was daunting to say the least.

My husband urged by relatives told me it was a good time to buy a house.

I was new to the country as well as a new mom. We lived in ‘immigrant heaven’ Jersey City waterfront where I could walk to everything and form friendships in the elevator of my building. This made me resistant to this idea of moving to the suburbs. In any case he won and our quest for a house began.

We kept hearing names of different towns and decided to explore the 3 M’s J Montclair, Maplewood & Milburn/Short Hills. We got in touch with a realtor through the internet and began our search for a home. I still remember the hours spent sitting in the back seat with my 1 year old daughter while my husband chauffeured us from house to house…..We quickly realized we couldn’t afford the 3 Ms when the market was headed to its peak….and landed up in a town which I leave unnamedJ.

A year of living in that town was enough for me to realize that I just kept driving to Montclair/Glen Ridge area since it seemed more urban to me and gave me a sense of being connected to everything. Before we knew it we moved to Glen Ridge and have now been in this town for nearly 10 years.

So now to the part about why I love my neighborhood. It’s not just the great schools & easy commute to NYC which many other neighborhoods offer

1. The fact that I don’t feel like I’m living in the suburbs and yet get the amenities offered by a suburb…… single family home, backyard, great kids activities, etc.
2. Great community feel where kids walk to school and parents recognize each other.
3. Amazing dining in Montclair downtown.
4. My Indian community events and connections.
5. An easy drive to Jersey City where I still have friendsJ.
6. Parks and sleigh riding for my kids.
7. The sheer beauty of the different architecture of the houses.
8. Schools that nurture the children and parent involvement in the education.
9. This is just a fun fact but did you know that 1/4 of all the gas lamps (for street lighting) in the entire US are located in Glen Ridge (hence the name Gas lamp community)?