If you are looking for a cute, village type of town, then Maplewood is for you. The township has a downtown area alternatively known as "the village" or "Maplewood Center" with its own movie theater, several upscale and mid-scale restaurants, a small supermarket, great diner/café, two liquor stores, a toy store and a small bookstore. The center of town is dominated by Memorial Park which has a pond, recreational fields and walking paths. The Rahway River runs through the town, and there is a municipal pool club with four man-made pools of water. The structure of the village is largely unchanged since the 1950s. Maplewood is noted for its very strong and welcoming community and its "live and let live" attitude. 

Maplewood schools are part of the unified South ORange-Maplewood School District, together with the neighboring community of South Orange. Schools in the district are six elementary schools serving grades K-5, Maplewood Middle School and South Orange Middle School for grades 6–8 and Columbia High School for grades 9–12. 

Maplewood Homes

Many of the homes are within a mile of the downtown area and a jitney/shuttle bus runs during rush hour periods for commuter that live farther out. The housing stock is primarily older Colonials, Victorians, Tudors and Capes with a few newer homes sprinkled about.

Maplewood Commute

The train station is right in the middle of the village and Maplewood is served by New Jersey Transit Midtown Direct Train on the Morristown Line. That line also has weekend service.