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Both Bergen (NJ) and Nassau (NY) Counties are wonderful places to live, but, in my humble opinion, Bergen comes out on top between the two, and convincingly so.
Here's why:
1) Bergen County is more eclectic, with several eclectic downtowns, as well as bordering adjacent Manhattan directly. In fact, I've heard the expression that Bergen County is actually a suburban extension of Manhattan.
2) The beautiful (while simultaneously world's busiest) George Washington Bridge is right here.
3) The topography is more inviting, from the beautiful Palisades Cliffs overlooking the Hudson River to the beautiful Ramapo Mountains.
4) No offense to the rest of New Jersey, which is truly an impressive state on its own merit, but Bergen County really is different from every other county in New Jersey. Bergen is a veritably chic and authentic combination of urban New York City and suburban New Jersey psyches.
5) The highways in New Jersey incorporate safety reflectors (raised pavement markers) between the lane stripes, which New York State highways for the most part do not seem to have. These reflectors are actually very functional and valuable at nighttime and in bad weather.
6) The park system in Bergen County is absolutely amazing.
7) The medical care and hospital systems are better in Bergen, as well as the patient's status when it comes to medical payments.
8) The shopping is arguably better in Bergen.
9) New Jersey is more accessible than Long Island from most of the Northeast.
10) Bergen County has a unique and consistently ubiquitous signage system indicating the directions to adjacent communities, even at smaller intersections - almost like having roadside GPS, it's fantastic.
On the other hand, Nassau County on Long Island also has its advantageous attributes:
1) It's directly on the water, facing both the Atlantic Ocean and beautiful Long Island Sound, with some beautiful beaches as well.
2) Therefore, both summers and winters are somewhat milder in Nassau than in Bergen County.
3) "One-seat" train service is available into Manhattan from Nassau County, as opposed to Bergen trains, which require a transfer in either Secaucus or Hoboken in Hudson County (NJ) to enter the City.
K-12 education is essentially a tie between Bergen and Nassau, excellent in both.
So overall, pick the attributes which are most important to you, not to mention your personal considerations.
are you sure three months was enough time to expand on your post? Let us know if you need a few more weeks.
Would just like to respectfully address the comments of dman72 and WJFM -
1) Bergen County actually has the Sunday "blue laws,'' limiting most non-essential shopping (for electronics, furniture, clothing, etc.) on Sundays, which time and again voters themselves choose to keep in place - as a result, yes, traffic on Saturdays is awful on Routes 4 and 17, but Sundays are actually as quiet as Saturdays are busy. However, such peripheral shopping in Passaic County, NJ (or Rockland County, NY) is available on Sundays just 15 to 20 minutes away from any point in Bergen County.
2) No, Newark is part of Essex County, not Bergen County, which actually has no big cities despite being the most populous county in New Jersey. Bergen County schools are excellent, just like Nassau's, and not the least being the Bergen Academies, the county's magnet public high school, rated by U.S. News, Newsweek, and the like as being one of the best in the U.S.
Is Newark part of Bergen County? If it is, I do not see how Bergen can have a lower crime rate than Nassau ( which is already one of the lowest in the country).
I would also think Nassau county has better schools than Bergen county in general.
No , Bergen County has no large cities ....but is more comparable to Westchester. Bergen County has some of the best schools in the region....
is newark part of bergen county? If it is, i do not see how bergen can have a lower crime rate than nassau ( which is already one of the lowest in the country).
I would also think nassau county has better schools than bergen county in general.
I live in Nassau, and I have family in Bergen. They are both pretty nice, depending on what you like will determine where you want to live.
Nassau has more of a "right outside of manhattan" feel. It is always bustling, and most towns have nice "downtown" areas. There are lots of nice beaches along the south shore, including Jones Beach, Lido Beach, and Atlantic Beach. There are a lot of wealthy, rich neighborhoods along the north shore, such as Great Neck, Roslyn, Manhasset, Lloyd Harbor, Cold Spring harbor, Syosset and Jericho to name a few. Also, on the south shore, you have Rockville Centre, Garden City, Merrick, Oceanside, Hewlett Harbor, Massapequa. There is also alot of shopping at Roosevelt Field Mall, located in Garden City. There are more strip malls and shopping centers found on Northern Boulevard (R. 25) Jericho Turnpike, Sunrise Highway (R. 27) and Hempstead Turnpike.
Bergen has more of a "spread out" or rural feel to it. No, there are not farms, or cows walking along the side of the road, it is just more spread out then Nassau. Nassau is a little on the crowded side, while, which is nice, Bergen is alittle more spread out. Bergen also has towns looking over the Ramapo Mountains, which are beautiful. The shopping, along with Nassau, is also legendary here. You have malls such as Bergen Town Center, Paramus Park, and Garden State Plaza. There are also alot of strip malls around Route 17, and Route 4.
So there you have it, whatever you prefer, its up to you. I honestly really like both!
Bergen County for me. Better shopping, better parks, more interesting topography, more spacious which means more elbow room. Nassau County is too darn crowded having 1.3 million people on a 287 square mile land mass, so no thanks. Also because NJ is on the mainland you don't have the rat race of bridge traffic when you want to take a roadtrip somewhere.
There is no sales tax on clothing in Bergen County, gasoline prices are lower. Now, property taxes are probably equal to Nassau and sometimes even higher.
Would just like to respectfully address the comments of dman72 and WJFM -
1) Bergen County actually has the Sunday "blue laws,'' limiting most non-essential shopping (for electronics, furniture, clothing, etc.) on Sundays, which time and again voters themselves choose to keep in place - as a result, yes, traffic on Saturdays is awful on Routes 4 and 17, but Sundays are actually as quiet as Saturdays are busy. However, such peripheral shopping in Passaic County, NJ (or Rockland County, NY) is available on Sundays just 15 to 20 minutes away from any point in Bergen County.
2) No, Newark is part of Essex County, not Bergen County, which actually has no big cities despite being the most populous county in New Jersey. Bergen County schools are excellent, just like Nassau's, and not the least being the Bergen Academies, the county's magnet public high school, rated by U.S. News, Newsweek, and the like as being one of the best in the U.S.
Cheers!
MANY schools in Nassau County are on the top 100 U.S. World and Report and Newsweeks best schools list. Some districts like Rockville Centre, Wheatly, Manhasset, Great Neck South, Great Neck North, Hewlett- Woodmere, Syosset, Jericho, Woodbury, and Plainview-Old Bethpage.
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