South Orange, NJ is the quintessential New Jersey commuter suburb. 30 minutes from Manhattan on the NJ Transit Midtown Direct train line, South Orange offers unrivaled opportunities! The lively downtown along South Orange Avenue and Valley St offers a diverse selection of restaurants, markets, and services within walking distance of the South Orange train station. Less than a mile up South Orange Avenue is Seton Hall University which gives South Orange a college town feel as well. Around the corner from Seton Hall, the Seton Village business district offers another collection of eateries and small businesses.
Adjacent to the South Orange train station, the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) offers two live performance spaces, an art gallery and multiscreen movie theater. Across South Orange Avenue from SOPAC is Meadowland Park, along the East Branch Rahway River, which offers tennis courts, ball fields, a duck pond, swimming pool and recreation center. On the other side of downtown South Orange Grove Park features a playground. South Orange also abuts South Mountain Reservation, the largest park in the Essex County park system, with hiking trails, a dog park, skating rink and the Turtle Back Zoo.
South Orange offers a wide range of housing opportunities, from condos and townhouses within steps of the South Orange train station to sprawling Victorian homes near the Mountain train station. Across the tracks, the historic Montrose Park neighborhood features truly spectacular Victorian and Tudor mansions. There are early twentieth century bungalows and colonials around Seton Hall and Seton Village, stately Tudors in the Upper Wyoming section of town and classic Mid-Century Modern homes atop first Watchung Mountain in the Newstead neighborhood, nestled against South Mountain Reservation. A jitney bus system connects all parts of the township with its two train stations. South Orange offers everything the New York City commuter could want, just 30 minutes from Midtown Manhattan!
