Bergen County towns vs Holmdel (Union, Teaneck: fit in, apartment, rent)
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We're looking for insights and advice about Bergen County towns (Paramus, Ridgewood, Woodcliff Lake, Haworth, Demarest, etc,.) and Holmdel that we are looking into moving to. We are approaching mid-30s and plan to have kid(s) in the near future. Our budget is ~$1.3M. We could afford more if the right house comes up, but prefer to keep it within $1.3M.
We already own a small apartment in Manhattan and plan to keep it. We both work in midtown. I work one day a week in office, and my partner 4 days a week in office. He plans to find a remote job at some point, but that's still uncertain for now. We can stay in the apartment when we both have to be in the office. But obviously, it's not a great scenario in the long term once kid(s) is (are) in the picture.
Personally, I used to live in Bergen county for 10 years (Teaneck and Edgewater) and never felt like I fit in. Something about Bergen County that I always felt off. The county just felt a bit empty to me, and a lot of influence of NYC culture. It feels like life is just work and shopping in Bergen County lol. But I have to admit it's closer to NYC, and schools are very good. There are more towns with good schools and more housing inventory even now in the winter. Other disadvantages are very high property taxes, congestion, transit options are not that great. No direct train to Penn Station. It's better logistically to live in Bergen County especially for my partner now, but I just don't feel like living there. He is ok with either county since we already have an apartment in the city. We could work out the commute for now while not having kid(s) yet.
Last year, I discovered Holmdel while making trips to the shore during the summer. I fell in love with Holmdel and Monmouth County in general. There is a really cool park system in the county. Schools in Holmdel are rated very good too on paper. The shore is a short drive away. People seem more relaxed and nicer than people in Bergen County. They even gave way to us! I could see myself living and having a family there. The disadvantage is that there is not a lot of inventory within our budget on the market at the moment. Half of Holmdel on the west side of the GSP is mostly septic sewer, which I'm not a fan of. The commute is longer as well, public transit seems difficult from Holmdel to midtown Manhattan. But life feels nicer in Holmdel and in Monmouth County in general. My work is too stressful during the week, and I crave to relax on the weekend close to the beach even though I know we can go to the beach in NJ only 3-4 months out of the year, or to just kinda escape NYC culture a bit.
With the crazy housing market right now, as we are looking at a few houses in Bergen County and none in Holmdel at the moment. Should we pull the trigger if we see a house we like even if we are not in love with Bergen County, or should we wait for more homes in our price range in Holmdel to come up on the market? Our friend and our agent both said that housing prices will continue to go up in 2024, and bidding war would start again in the spring and summer.
I appreciate any feedback and opinion / insights into the two counties.
I think if you’re going to spend $1 million, you better love what you’re spending it on. Wait for the right house in the area you want. It sounds like you don’t want to live in Bergen County, so don’t. You sound like you’re in a financial position to live anywhere you want, so why settle?
Commuting 4 days a week from Monmouth really is terrible though. Might want to delay until you can our partner can get a remote job or more remote days.
As for septic, it's not such a big deal, it adds an expense every few years but it's not like you'll be running the honey truck yourself.
It sounds like you know Bergen County, and you're not in love with it. The good news there are many options outside of Bergen County that have same if not better commutes to the city, better schools, and less congestion.
Although I'm not too familiar with Holmdel I personally like Monmouth County a lot more, just to get away from the traffic and stress of Bergen County. Most of NJ has access to NYC if not by train, then by bus. Some other options you might want to explore that's more peaceful are Morris, Somerset and parts of Union Counties too. The housing inventory levels across the state are nearly non-existent at the moment.
Last edited by DannyHobkins; 01-29-2024 at 11:03 AM..
Agree that Holmdel is a nice place. There are also lots of nice places in Bergen county too. It really all depends on your tolerance for commuting. Lots of families shuffling to get into the best schools. So I suggest buying in a good school district.
The price wars will only get worse in the future. So if you see a place that you like, jump on it.
Don't forget about the ferry to NYC. You can pick it up in Belford and will take you to Wall street or midtown.
I would never make the commute from Monmouth to NYC, especially if relaxation was a goal.
I moved from living most of my life in Bergen County to Monmouth County, knowing the commute was a little longer but also knowing I'd like be retiring in a few years.
OP lived on the eastern end of Bergen County, but I was in northwest Bergen, which is generally nicer, but still now crowded and overbuilt.
Monmouth County has a huge edge with that excellent park system. I give them credit for seeing development coming and setting aside good swaths of land for parks, whereas the Bergen towns let everyone build everywhere and we lost a lot of woods, water areas, and so forth forever.
Plus the proximity to the beaches. No sitting in traffic for three hours trying to go 60 miles on a summer weekend.
I vote for Holmdel. Or even look at other nice towns in the area, like Little Silver, that has a train station of its own (Holmdel has to use Middletown or Hazlet) and lots of parking. About an hour and 20-minutes to Penn NY.
I moved from living most of my life in Bergen County to Monmouth County, knowing the commute was a little longer but also knowing I'd like be retiring in a few years.
OP lived on the eastern end of Bergen County, but I was in northwest Bergen, which is generally nicer, but still now crowded and overbuilt.
Monmouth County has a huge edge with that excellent park system. I give them credit for seeing development coming and setting aside good swaths of land for parks, whereas the Bergen towns let everyone build everywhere and we lost a lot of woods, water areas, and so forth forever.
Plus the proximity to the beaches. No sitting in traffic for three hours trying to go 60 miles on a summer weekend.
I vote for Holmdel. Or even look at other nice towns in the area, like Little Silver, that has a train station of its own (Holmdel has to use Middletown or Hazlet) and lots of parking. About an hour and 20-minutes to Penn NY.
Thank you for sharing your experience! We looked into Little Silver, but the high school goes to Red Bank Regional High school, which doesn't have very high rating and that concerns me. I prefer a town with good school rating through K12 and don't have to worry about moving later.
Thank you for sharing your experience! We looked into Little Silver, but the high school goes to Red Bank Regional High school, which doesn't have very high rating and that concerns me. I prefer a town with good school rating through K12 and don't have to worry about moving later.
OK. I moved to Monmouth County after my kid graduated from high school, and I'm not really familiar with the nuances of school ratings in the area.
Although, I have to say, my own Bergen County town's school was not on top of the list, although it holds steady in the top 100 every year. But my daughter has earned two BA's, a Master's and a PhD and has a job she loves and makes a good salary. Sometimes it depends on the kid, not just the school.
Sometimes it depends on the kid, not just the school.
This is everything.
My brother and I went to the same grammar and high schools. He went on to the Ivy League and an MBA from NYU. I did not.
He is married to a great woman and they have the best kids in the world. They reside on a huge parcel in Rumson and are true .001 percenters.
I’m single, rent the second floor of a two family and have been a beach manager for decades.
He worked 15 hour days for twenty years while I was fishing, surfing and smoking marijuana on most nights.
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