88 Lawrence Avenue

Dear Future Homeowner,

We came to West Orange from a one-bedroom apartment on 42nd and 10th in the city, and everybody told us we were crazy to give it up. But we took a chance. This house hadn't been touched since 1967 - it belonged to a sweet old lady, and we knew whoever took it next would need to see past the work it needed to the bones underneath. We saw them. And we loved the street, and we loved the neighborhood, so we bought it.

We opened the place up and turned it into the home we'd always wanted - full of natural light, with an openness that lets the kids run around and go nuts. We've celebrated some wonderful birthdays and parties here with friends over these past three years.

We can't say enough about the neighbors on either side of you. Dave at 86 Lawrence will have you over for backyard barbecues, and Yasi at 90 Lawrence will bring you flan. They're incredible people - always ready to help, whether it's watching a child, bringing over food, or just being there. Really, this whole neighborhood is full of kind, normal, salt-of-the-earth people looking out for one another. Nothing snooty about it.

Some of our favorite memories were made close to home: the strawberry festival at Gregory, and afternoons at the playground on Club Boulevard, where we made some of our best friends here. And one thing we've come to love about New Jersey - there's no such things as bad pizza or bad Italian food, no matter where you go. Our go-tos are the Reservoir in South Orange, Miti Miti, and Master Pizza. You really can't go wrong.

The view here at night is breathtaking. We've only been here three years - a short time, really - but we could easily have seen ourselves staying much longer. A job promotion is taking us elsewhere now, and leaving is bittersweet.

We hope you'll honor what the woman who lived here before us wanted for this house: to fill it with light and love, the way we tried to.

With warm wishes,

The Current Homeowners