Areas a good/decent school district & a central downtown location

[Young Koepke]

Hello,

I am looking to invest in a multi-family home (potentially house-hacking) in NJ (primarily central and northern). I've been living in NJ for three years yet still not familiar with many areas. Where are areas with a good/decent school district and a nice central downtown/gathering area? I've visited Westfield and Summit- looking at options similar yet don't need to be that high-end. 

Thank you for your help!
 

[Jonathan Greene]

Agents can't tell you what school systems are good or bad, but we can point you to resources that will help. I prefer Niche to Great Schools and they have good info for what you want. From a parent's perspective, I can tell you as a dad to a 19 and 17 year old, that I think elementary school ratings are overvalued. If your kid(s) goes to school with their friends, it's all going to be good under 5th grade for the most part. It's after that where it starts to matter more.

To house hack with kids is tougher and a 2-family in Montclair will run you about 700k right now, maybe 600k if it needs work. @Rick Borgo is correct that Summit and Westfield are light on multis, as is Chatham, but Montclair and Bloomfield have a ton.