South Orange Village has an easy commute and welcoming vibe
South Orange Village is an artsy, music-loving community just 8 miles from Newark and 24 miles from Manhattan. The area is tied to its sister town, Maplewood, and locals call the collective areas SOMA or MapSo. Many are initially drawn to the village for its location and commuting options. “You’re looking at between 30 to 40 minutes on New Jersey transit trains to New York’s Penn Station,” says Mark Slade, the CEO of the Mark Slade Homes Team at Keller Williams Mid-Town Direct Realty. He moved to the area 28 years ago for its commuting options. But that's not why so many people stay for the long haul. “It’s a very active community that tries to be as supportive as well as inclusive of everybody’s needs,” Slade says, adding that the village is very proud of its diversity. “I think for the most part, this is a community where you can feel safe being who you are. And you’ll also likely benefit from finding someone else who identifies similarly with your lifestyle, your thoughts, your needs.”
A downtown primed for foodies, performances at SOPAC
South Orange Village’s walkable downtown is stretched along county Route 510, also called South Orange Avenue. Slade says it has become foodie friendly, offering brunch spots, diners, pubs and fine dining with almost any type of cuisine imaginable. “My favorite New York-style bagel place is Sonny’s Bagels,” Slade says. “I really feel like I’m almost in the city in one of those well-known bagel haunts.” Other popular restaurants include Village Trattoria, which is known for its buffalo chicken pizza, and Walia Ethiopian Restaurant, which has vegetarian options. Miti Miti is one of its most popular Latin American restaurants, and Felina Steak is a well-known fine dining chain. Local shops are also dotted between restaurants. South Orange Farmers Market provides fresh produce every Wednesday during summer. For the rest of their groceries, locals head to Stop & Shop.
The village’s downtown isn’t just about food and shopping, though. It’s also about art. The South Orange Performing Arts Center is a major point of pride for locals. “There’s aways shows there with musicians and comedians,” Slade says. “It’s not consistently one style of music, it’s all kinds of music.”
Frequent events featuring live music
Maplewoodstock Music and Art Festival is one of the area’s biggest joint events. The free two-day festival is full of live music and booths with work by local artists, drawing over 7,000 people. There’s a free summer concert series in Flood’s Hill Park, and during Porchfest, musicians and bands play on locals’ front steps while people dance in the street. Nearby Maplewood is also a hub for book lovers, as [words] Bookstore is a frequent stop for major authors on book tours. Slade says there are events going on in SOMA almost every day of the year.
Residents don’t limit themselves to bigger events, though. “Almost every neighborhood has a block party sometime between summer and fall where they block off the street,” Slade says. “We’ve seen everything from people simply bringing food to people bringing out the barbecues to people hiring entertainment for kids, like bouncy houses.” In such a musically inclined village, he adds, it’s common for local bands to play at these block parties, too, opening up yet another chance to soak up live music.
Historic houses in a wide range of sizes and prices
Colonial Revivals are by far the most common style of house in South Orange Village, but other types of colonials, Tudors and Victorians are also present. Slade says most houses were built between 1928 and 1935. The Montrose Park Historic District is particularly well-known for its large historic houses. “Most of them would fit the term mansion in terms of size and physical presence,” Slade says, adding that for generations, some wealthy Manhattan residents chose to vacation here instead of the Hamptons. “Some even have ballrooms.” Homes in this part of town typically cost between $1 million and $1.8 million. The rest of the village has a very wide range of home prices, with single-family houses occasionally starting as low as $450,000 and climbing to about $2 million. Most of the village’s townhouses start at about $400,000, but one luxury development offers townhouses for up to $1.5 million. Condominiums range from about $200,000 to $700,000. South Orange Village’s median home price is $975,000 — higher than Essex County’s median of about $565,000. Still, Slade says homes sell so quickly that there are typically more houses under contract than there are on the market.
Commuting to NYC for work or fun, nearby hospitals and airport
From its New Jersey Transit train station, the ride into the city can take about 40 minutes at peak times. “Even if you don’t commute to the city for work but you like to go to Broadway shows or take advantage of the city’s restaurant scene, this is a great place to live,” Slade says. It takes a few minutes to reach Interstate 280, Interstate 78 and the Garden State Parkway. The East Orange VA Medical Center is just outside South Orange Village, while Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center is less than 4 miles away. Newark Liberty International Airport is about 11 miles away.
Local parks, hiking and a zoo at South Mountain Reservation
Meadowland Park has eight tennis courts alongside several baseball, softball and soccer fields. It also has the village pool, a pond and The Baird Recreation Center, which completed renovations in 2024. Across the street, Slade says Flood’s Hill is the go-to sledding spot in winter. Most homes are within walking distance of at least a pocket park. At the village’s edge, the 2,000-acre South Mountain Reservation is another major draw, offering a pond for fishing and miles of hiking trails. “You can stop at the peak area in the reservation where there are waterfalls, there are picnic areas, some views of New York City,” Slade says. “It’s a great place that people go when they first want to get their kids to learn how to ride a bike because there are areas that are cordoned off from automobile traffic, so it’s just people.” The park is also home to the Essex County Turtle Back Zoo.
Renovations at Columbia High
Niche gives the South Orange-Maplewood School District an A-minus. South Mountain Annex School, South Orange Middle School and Columbia High School all earn A-minus ratings as well. In 2024, Columbia High began renovations of its library, science labs and auditorium and began converting an old pool into a student commons area.
Written By
Christina Norwood
