http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/03/nj_downtown_named_2015_great_american_main_street.html
@Calliene - A very cool article and video of Montclair Center. Thanks for posting. In some of the shots did I see Montclair State in the background up on a hill…the white stucco buildings with red tile roofs? Is Montclair Center a walkable distance from the college? Nice to have a college town atmosphere and yet be so close to NYC.
The part of Montclair featured in this video is (I believe) the Bloomfield Avenue area that is about 4 miles from school. There are some school shuttles there on the weekend, and during the week you could even take the train from campus there (one stop). My daughter bikes (she rents a bike from the school for $15 a month which includes lock and helmet). There is another similar but smaller “downtown” area much closer to school - about a mile or so - also with some great stores and restaurants. And some of the homes/mansions in Montclair (many with views of the Manhattan skyline) are utterly stunning! It really is a very pretty town!
Oooooo. Nice to know about the bike rentals! 
@Calliene is your D studying MT? Could you share how she likes the program? Also is it a commuter school,meaning most kids go home on weekends? Thanks!
@Joyfulmama, yes, she is just finishing her sophomore year. She loves it! There are just so many wonderful things about this program. About 6,000 live on campus and the newer dorms are gorgeous. Though a large percent of the general student body is from NJ, I would definitely not say that most kids who live on campus go home on the weekends. OK I just texted my daughter and asked her if a lot of her friends are gone on the weekends, and she said no. “Most of them live too far away, and the ones that can usually are too busy.” I would say that in the BFA MT program, at least half are from out of state, and I expect that percentage will grow with the new tuition break.
Wow! Thank you so much for the feedback! Great to hear about kids staying on campus! So glad for her that she found her happy place!! Fingers crossed for my D too