Scotch Plains, NJ

Settled in 1684 by Scottish Quakers, the area was a critical stagecoach stop and saw significant action during the Revolutionary War. It officially became Scotch Plains in 1917. Scotch Plains was home to Shady Rest Country Club, which opened in 1921 as the first African-American owned and operated country club in the United States, hosting legends like Duke Ellington and W.E.B. Du Bois.

The modern population is affluent and deeply invested in the local public schools. The downtown along Park Avenue has historically been sleepy and underutilized compared to Westfield, offering a quaint mix of small businesses and the municipal complex. Scotch Plains is currently known for embarking on a massive, long-awaited downtown redevelopment plan designed to bring luxury apartments, new retail, and modern infrastructure to its center.

Scotch Plains is unique in its geographic diversity, ranging from walkable downtown streets to secluded mountain-top mansions within the same zip code. A local would want an outsider to know that the town is on the precipice of a massive transformation, transitioning from a quiet, sleepy suburb into a modernized, mixed-use destination.