Alpine Mansions: OMG! (Englewood, Princeton, Bernardsville: HOA fees, mattress, big home)
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Does Alpine have any kind of business area in it's center? If people in Alpine have to any kind of convenience shopping, where do they go? I't seems to me like Alpine is just an extension of Closter. What happens if you look at this area, when you combine Closter and Alpine, much like you would combine Chatham borough and Chatham township.
I just recently drove along Mendham rd from downtown Bernardsville to downtown Mendham. Now those houses are impressive. I've been alot of places and I would say the most impressive places I've been are;
Palm Beach: Mansions please...... These are castles
Greenwich, CT: just as impressive as Palm Beach
Bernardsville, Mendham and Harding twp, NJ: lots of big mansions
Bel Air: Castles in the hills
Malibu: mansions + location, location, location
Rancho Santa Fe: BIG Mansions everywhere
Lake Forest and Winnetka, IL: alot of really big mansions with a smattering of castles here and there
Hillsborough, CA: lots of beautiful mansions in the hills
Potomac, MD: lots of newer very impressive mansions
I've driven the gold coast communities on Lake Washington, west of Bellevue
and found alot of impressive mansions (although not as pallatial as most of the above stated locations)
I hear Long Island's northsore has some castles
I've also heard about these places having some serious cribs; Buckhead(Atlanta), Highland Park, Tx, Weston, MA, Fairfield County, CT: New Canaan, Darien and Westport, and Cherry Creek Village, CO.
Does Alpine have any kind of business area in it's center?
technically it does, but because it's so tiny, local residents still need to leave town for basic shopping and conveniences.
the "town center" is located at the corner of closter dock road and church street. at or near this intersection are a gas station, borough hall, police/fire departments, a small little league field, an old historic stone church, a real estate agency, and not much more.
this is the original section of town, where alpine's first residents settled back in the day. as such, almost all of the town's handful of small, modest homes are located near this intersection.
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If people in Alpine have to any kind of convenience shopping, where do they go?
people who live in the southernmost housing developments (rio vista and tamcrest) probably go to tenafly's town center, since it's the closest large shopping district. some probably go to cresskill's downtown as well, since it's technically closer to southern alpine, although it's pretty modest compared to tenafly's CBD.
alpine residents who live near closter dock road, though, would probably use closter's downtown for basic shopping.
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I't seems to me like Alpine is just an extension of Closter. What happens if you look at this area, when you combine Closter and Alpine, much like you would combine Chatham borough and Chatham township.
not exactly. if you look at this map, you'll see that closter is just one of six municipalities that border alpine. i could just as easily make a case for alpine being an extension of tenafly, cresskill, or demarest, for instance.
but in reality, the entire northern valley, from tenafly to northvale, is pretty much one continuous area that's subdivided into numerous municipalities. anything in the western part of the northern valley generally contains more modest, middle class homes (although there are exceptions), and the eastern hilly areas of tenafly, cresskill, demarest, closter, norwood, and rockleigh (basically, the areas bordering alpine) generally have larger, more expensive homes.
I guess you guys have not been to Greenwich, CT. Want to see some major Estates with lots of land, then go to Greenwich. Alpine not only boring, but not all the houses are that great, they are too close together and right off the highway with an old Radio Tower that looks like crap. It is no longer the wealthiest town in the USA, not even in the top 10. There is no mail delivery in Alpine, which means you have to stop at the post office everyday to get your mail. Lots of foreigners and people that the only reason they live there, is because somehow they made it. Greenwich is old money, people with families that became super wealthy back in the days, Belle Haven is a gorgeous area in Greenwich. SO, I dont really care for Alpine, there are a lot nicer towns in NJ, such as Bernardsville, Far Hills, Princeton, Rumson, Englewood Cliffs. Another thing, Alpine has absolutely no views ( except for the ugly tower ) no ocean front, no NYC views, nada.
I guess you guys have not been to Greenwich, CT. Want to see some major Estates with lots of land, then go to Greenwich. Alpine not only boring, but not all the houses are that great, they are too close together and right off the highway with an old Radio Tower that looks like crap. It is no longer the wealthiest town in the USA, not even in the top 10. There is no mail delivery in Alpine, which means you have to stop at the post office everyday to get your mail. Lots of foreigners and people that the only reason they live there, is because somehow they made it. Greenwich is old money, people with families that became super wealthy back in the days, Belle Haven is a gorgeous area in Greenwich. SO, I dont really care for Alpine, there are a lot nicer towns in NJ, such as Bernardsville, Far Hills, Princeton, Rumson, Englewood Cliffs. Another thing, Alpine has absolutely no views ( except for the ugly tower ) no ocean front, no NYC views, nada.
Whether it's old, or it's new, it's the same: Green. The median income in Alpine is $76,995, placing it at 45th on the list of municipalities ranked by median income. Greenwich ranks lower, 56th, at $74,346. The median home sale price in Alpine is $2.2 million, compared with about $1.5 million for Greenwich. So let's not write Alpine off just yet.
By the way, the numbers don't begin to show the wealth that is concentrated in Alpine. Many of the residents are entertainers, sports celebrities, and captains of industry. These people shield their true income in order to avoid confiscatory and unfair taxation. As a result, the reported income figures do not reflect the true incomes.
So let's not write off Alpine just yet. It is still one of the prime communities in the United States with respect to real estate value, wealth, and income. And due to its proximity to Manhattan and the bucolic amenties it offers, that is not likely to change any time soon.
my parents have one of those mansions.
Gorgeous houses, and huge.
But a nothing town. I don't even classify Alpine as a town. There's is no downtown/shopping area. Just a Citgo and a couple of realtors at the top of the hill. You're far away from any public transport. It's ridiculous.
Anyone with a brain/actually enjoys LIFE and doing things would buy a condo in Hoboken or Rutherford instead with that money.
Oh, and being that rich can make people really detached. My Dad insists that leasing a car is the only thing that makes monetary sense (yeah, right). My Mom once said "That's not a lot of money" to one of those lottery deals where you get a big weekly stipend for the rest of your life.
They both would flip out/cry/act like it's the end of the world if they lost their lavish lifestyle. My mom's always had maids, never does any housework, and sucks at cooking but thinks she's good (so she taught the maids her recipes, so our food has always been bad).
They're some of the most detached people I've met.
By the way, the numbers don't begin to show the wealth that is concentrated in Alpine. Many of the residents are entertainers, sports celebrities, and captains of industry. These people shield their true income in order to avoid confiscatory and unfair taxation. As a result, the reported income figures do not reflect the true incomes.
Or very few of those huge mansion owners actually RESIDE in Alpine, so it doesn't show up in the statistics. Plus you're talking about the MEDIAN, not the average, so it can easily be low if the population is mostly middle class.
Peanut Tree;
I do truly appreciate the person in you who you can see the world in the right perspective; despite being born in riches.
Yes; there is so much more to life than the huge mansions and money(says someone who will never own such mansions ). Too much of anything makes us stop being appreciative of what we have in hands.
Nitha
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peanuttree
my parents have one of those mansions.
Gorgeous houses, and huge.
But a nothing town. I don't even classify Alpine as a town. There's is no downtown/shopping area. Just a Citgo and a couple of realtors at the top of the hill. You're far away from any public transport. It's ridiculous.
Anyone with a brain/actually enjoys LIFE and doing things would buy a condo in Hoboken or Rutherford instead with that money.
Oh, and being that rich can make people really detached. My Dad insists that leasing a car is the only thing that makes monetary sense (yeah, right). My Mom once said "That's not a lot of money" to one of those lottery deals where you get a big weekly stipend for the rest of your life.
They both would flip out/cry/act like it's the end of the world if they lost their lavish lifestyle. My mom's always had maids, never does any housework, and sucks at cooking but thinks she's good (so she taught the maids her recipes, so our food has always been bad).
They're some of the most detached people I've met.
Peanut Tree;
I do truly appreciate the person in you who you can see the world in the right perspective; despite being born in riches.
Yes; there is so much more to life than the huge mansions and money(says someone who will never own such mansions ). Too much of anything makes us stop being appreciative of what we have in hands.
Nitha
Yet too little ambition and too little dedication can lead to one being worthless. There is nothing wrong with pursuing riches, and money is a wonderful thing. One should not apologize for wanting the good life, with lots of material goods. The only problem is when envy becomes a permanent psychological state, rather than a motivating force to improve oneself.
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). Too much of anything makes us stop being appreciative of what we have in hands. 
