From Queens to North Jersey, help choosing a town for a young couple wanting to start family (Wyckoff: neighborhood, calculation)
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LOL I only learned "PABT" from reading these forums. Do you know of the parking situation at those stations (Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Radburn)? I imagine my husband would prefer driving instead of taking a bus, honestly just because he enjoys driving and I would like to explore home options possibly a little further out where maybe he can drive & park instead.
Thank you so much for the history lesson!! As I'm reading your story I feel like I'm watching a movie in my head & giggling right along with you at two Republican clubs lol I certainly appreciate your insight on the thinly disguised bias as microaggressions like that are what I have become increasingly aware of. Cheers to your daughter's success!!
OK, but a little further out puts you further out from your desired one-hour commute time. It used to take me an hour and 20 to get to the World Trade Center, door to desk.
Your husband enjoying driving is kind of odd in the situation I gave you, though. It's about two miles from Midland Park to the Ridgewood train station. Two fairly busy suburban roads. Three or four traffic lights. Then parking a couple of blocks away from the station. Trust me, the bus was easier. There's no lovely country road drive an hour's commute from Manhattan, lol.
Anyway--keep looking! If you do go farther out, then why not Oakland itself since you have a connection there? There's no train, but a coworker lived in Oakland and drove down Route 208--which you should know becomes a slow-moving parking lot around 7 a.m.--and parked at Radburn, one of the two Fair Lawn train stations on the same line as Ridgewood (two stops closer to the city). They do have more parking than Ridgewood and have just a little less frequent service (after Ridgewood, the line splits into two: The Main Line and The Bergen Line. Bergen gets express trains.) Oakland's a nice town, but if a house price seems suspiciously low, it's near the ever-flooding Ramapo River.
Just curious...Ramsey, door to desk...is nearly a 2 hour commute? How did you calculate that? That said, it doesn't sound like objectivity really had substance here. But, we look through the lenses we look through.
As far as the other towns you mentioned -- they are all nice towns. I think the "what you are looking for" as far as racial, ethnic, and related factors -- a lot of that will be contingent upon what you look for and what you attract. There are good and bad people everywhere. There are thieves in Saddle River, NJ, and there are very honest, good people, in low-income housing neighborhoods. Neither is reflective of all. There are right and left wing people in almost every town you mention. Majority, minority, let the know it all's debate that.
If you find snobby people in such and such a town -- that does not have to be reflective of the entire town. Out of the towns you mentioned -- based upon my feelings about what you are looking for -- I would concentrate my initial efforts on Wyckoff and Allendale, more Allendale. Go spend a few weekends at your brothers, and spend real time in the various towns. Talk to people -- residents, teachers, police, store owners, and more.
I would really prefer to be up north given my family is in Bergen, Westchester, & Manhattan, but I will look into those towns mentioned. Also would like to be closest to rt 80 as we use that to travel west for out-of-state family. I am aware of Bergen Sundays. The map is helpful
I have thought about Montclair, but like the below quoted post said, it might be out of budget. Maplewood & South Orange I just learned about from another forum. Might be too far south (as I mentioned above), but I'll look into Essex. Thank you so much for the insight into the other towns mentioned.
Can you speak more to the commute? Specifically from the 3 towns you mentioned (Montclair, Maplewood, South Orange). I was trying to figure out the maps...it seems like on that train line you don’t have to transfer at all, is that true? Do the Bergen train lines have to all transfer at Secaucus? I also saw some transfers at Newark? I’m so confused!
I want to clarify that I do not need to be within walking distance of train, just as long as the commute is under 1hr30min door-to-desk including that initial driving distance & parking (ex: leave the house at 7:30 to drive to station, park, train lands in Penn a few minutes to 9, job is just a couple blocks from there). But I know nothing about the train stations & I feel like that's a whole 'nother research project in itself. I am thinking to make a separate thread just on that subject, to get an idea of which stations are more parking friendly, even for non-residents of that specific town.
PS Any thoughts on Hawthorne or Township of Washington?
Hey, I missed that you'd asked about Hawthorne. I lived there briefly about ten years ago while transitioning to another county. It's Passaic County, and some would caution you about its proximity to Paterson, but it's really a pretty decent town and also adjacent to Bergen County (Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Fair Lawn). Has a nice little downtown and a beautiful town pool that was renovated a few years back. You might want to look further into Hawthorne.
There's a train station (Main Line) and plenty of parking on the streets around the station, as well as a lot, and town residents pay a lot less for parking at the station than do non-residents.
Well you shouldn’t have a hard time fitting in most places. I mean you admit that your white but at least your like a cool ok type of white. Not just a bunch of racists like the rest of us white folk.
Lol. OP, where in queens were you living, to give a reference point?
No where in Bergen County is their a place where "right wing folk" or "die hard Trumpers" are prevalent. Instead you may find towns where their are a lot of people who are moderate to right-of-center moderate. None of these people will care what your political beliefs are, so long as you, yourself, are friendly and non-judgmental of their beliefs. This may be a problem for you since it is clear that you are already casting stones at the very commencement of your search. And they especially won't care if your kid or kids are good athletes - youth sports are very big in Bergen (really, in all suburbs) and a major way to fit in with the families in town.
In short, no one will care if your beliefs are left wing. So, you should not care what their beliefs are.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EANJ
Just curious...Ramsey, door to desk...is nearly a 2 hour commute? How did you calculate that? That said, it doesn't sound like objectivity really had substance here. But, we look through the lenses we look through.
As far as the other towns you mentioned -- they are all nice towns. I think the "what you are looking for" as far as racial, ethnic, and related factors -- a lot of that will be contingent upon what you look for and what you attract. There are good and bad people everywhere. There are thieves in Saddle River, NJ, and there are very honest, good people, in low-income housing neighborhoods. Neither is reflective of all. There are right and left wing people in almost every town you mention. Majority, minority, let the know it all's debate that.
If you find snobby people in such and such a town -- that does not have to be reflective of the entire town. Out of the towns you mentioned -- based upon my feelings about what you are looking for -- I would concentrate my initial efforts on Wyckoff and Allendale, more Allendale. Go spend a few weekends at your brothers, and spend real time in the various towns. Talk to people -- residents, teachers, police, store owners, and more.
Thank you for your thoughtful responses. I need to remember that. I don't think my judgment is towards class at all, it's really been towards the social climate as a result of the politics over the last year. Working in healthcare through the pandemic & losing multiple family members, I have really been disturbed & distressed by the handling of this, the resulting societal division & harm, conspiracies *sigh* but I need to be more mindful of how I could be contributing to that instead of helping it.
Anyway...my calculation for Ramsey might be off? I guess I assumed it would take time to drive, park, walk to the train, etc. I know nothing about the parking situation at any of the stations. I actually really like Ramsey it would be great if the commute is reasonable to Penn! What do you think? Do you know anything about the driving/parking situation at the Ramsey station for residents??
Hey, I missed that you'd asked about Hawthorne. I lived there briefly about ten years ago while transitioning to another county. It's Passaic County, and some would caution you about its proximity to Paterson, but it's really a pretty decent town and also adjacent to Bergen County (Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Fair Lawn). Has a nice little downtown and a beautiful town pool that was renovated a few years back. You might want to look further into Hawthorne.
There's a train station (Main Line) and plenty of parking on the streets around the station, as well as a lot, and town residents pay a lot less for parking at the station than do non-residents.
Thank you for your thoughtful responses. I need to remember that. I don't think my judgment is towards class at all, it's really been towards the social climate as a result of the politics over the last year. Working in healthcare through the pandemic & losing multiple family members, I have really been disturbed & distressed by the handling of this, the resulting societal division & harm, conspiracies *sigh* but I need to be more mindful of how I could be contributing to that instead of helping it.
Anyway...my calculation for Ramsey might be off? I guess I assumed it would take time to drive, park, walk to the train, etc. I know nothing about the parking situation at any of the stations. I actually really like Ramsey it would be great if the commute is reasonable to Penn! What do you think? Do you know anything about the driving/parking situation at the Ramsey station for residents??
I live in Mahwah, and while I don't commute to NYC, I know plenty of people who do, or should I say, did; and they did so in a variety of ways -- drive, bus, ferry, train, private/luxury coach, etc. I don't know specifically where "the desk" is in NYC, and while blocks in NYC can be a death-crawl, the 2 hour number seemed excessive to me. But, there are options. Look into them. I have a friend who drives to Edgewater and takes the Ferry. Another takes the bus, and another takes the train. Today, none of them are going into NYC! LOL.
As far as the parking at the Ramsey/Spring Street station, they have over 1200 spots there. I don't know if residents get priority or how that works. I do know they offer daily and permit parking -- but I don't know if the pricing is different for residents and non-residents. However, at the Ramsey/Main Street station -- that parking is for residents only. You can visit the website, call, and speak with either the Ramsey police, town hall, etc., and find out the details and specifics.
Montclair and West Orange would fit what your looking for. They are both pretty close to Bergen County and have a lot of diversity. When you factor the highway it’s only 15 minutes further to Westchester. I’m from Fair Lawn, there’s no where in Bergen County with the combination of what you are looking for. Many of the towns you mention are great you just won’t get the diversity.
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I certainly appreciate your insight on the thinly disguised bias as microaggressions like that are what I have become increasingly aware of. Cheers to your daughter's success!!
