Bergen County, NJ to Columbus (Westerville, Upper Arlington: rent, crime, house) - Ohio (OH) - City-Data Forum

bergen_native · 02-22-2009, 04:39 PM

Hello! I was raised Bergen Ct, NJ my husband in Westchester Cty, NY. We currently live in Bergen and are contemplating a move to a Columbus suburb. We have small children and are looking for a great place to raise a family. The towns in Bergen we are most familiar with are River Vale, Montvale, Westwood, Ridgewood, Glen Rock, and Maywood. My husband currently has a 60 minute commute, so anything less than that to Columbus would be an improvement.

In Columbus, we've looked at towns such as Dublin, Westerville, and Worthington, and have seen on this forum many pros/cons about all three. What we'd love is to find someone in Columbus who is familiar with Bergen County and what we may find familiar/different about relocating to a Columbus suburb. For example, we live in a walkable town of about 12,000, have an excellent school system and one town high school...with taxes that are draining us. Would the three-high school/37k population of Dublin be too much of a change? Is there anyone on this site who has relocated from Bergen to Columbus?

Thank you all so much!

VideoEngineerAJS · 02-22-2009, 04:58 PM

It depends on where exactly you are looking to work. I've not really been to Bergen County that I can remember, but if you are looking for a smaller town feel that is not out in the middle of nowhere, I would take a look at Marysville.

I was raised in Marysville and I've actually thought about moving back for good. Marysville has a population of about 20,000 and only has one high school. It's about 15 minutes northwest of Dublin and the schools are some of the best in the state. It's a little more walkable than Dublin because there aren't high traffic streets that run through it like Dublin has. It has a ton of parks and restaurants and shopping centers are popping up like crazy because up until about 5 years ago, the city council wouldn't let anything into the town.

So while it's a little bit farther away from Columbus, Marysville has everything you need in town, but it's close enough to Columbus that you can drive there without a problem and get to all of the amenities of the city.

VideoEngineerAJS · 02-22-2009, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bergen_native

Thank you! I will look into Marysville.

To add, we have small children and are looking for a great place to raise a family. The towns in Bergen we are most familiar with are River Vale, Montvale, Westwood, Ridgewood, Glen Rock, and Maywood. My husband currently has a 60 minute commute, so anything less than that to Columbus would be an improvement.

Thanks again!

You can be pretty much anywhere in Columbus within 45 minutes unless traffic is REALLY bad.

Marysville has been growing fairly consistently since 1990 because of the area and the smaller town feel. It had a population of about 10,000 in 1990 and now like I said it has about 20,000.

The biggest neighborhoods in town are Mill Valley and Green Pastures. Green Pastures is a more upscale neighborhood while Mill Valley is more middle class and it has 2 elementary schools and the Intermediate School (5-6 grade) actually in the subdivision. Scotts Farms is the newest neighborhood and really isn't fully developed yet although it also has an elementary school pretty much in the subdivision.

The reason Marysville is growing so quickly is because people are getting tired of Dublin, Hilliard, Worthington, and Westerville, and the schools are just as good but the taxes lower and property is cheaper.

2006Buckeye · 02-22-2009, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bergen_native

Hello! I was raised Bergen Ct, NJ my husband in Westchester Cty, NY. We currently live in Bergen and are contemplating a move to a Columbus suburb. We have small children and are looking for a great place to raise a family. The towns in Bergen we are most familiar with are River Vale, Montvale, Westwood, Ridgewood, Glen Rock, and Maywood. My husband currently has a 60 minute commute, so anything less than that to Columbus would be an improvement.

In Columbus, we've looked at towns such as Dublin, Westerville, and Worthington, and have seen on this forum many pros/cons about all three. What we'd love is to find someone in Columbus who is familiar with Bergen County and what we may find familiar/different about relocating to a Columbus suburb. For example, we live in a walkable town of about 12,000, have an excellent school system and one town high school...with taxes that are draining us. Would the three-high school/37k population of Dublin be too much of a change? Is there anyone on this site who has relocated from Bergen to Columbus?

Thank you all so much!

I had a friend who lived in Bergan County years ago, so my knowledge is pretty limited. Sorry. However, my impression was not of a small town. If you want excellent schools and a walkable area, you might want to check out Upper Arlington, Grandview and Bexley. The taxes are high for Ohio, but probably nothing compared to what you're currently paying. Not to discount Dublin, Worthington and Westerville, but I would think they have a different feel than where you're currently living.

I don't think you'll find a small-town feel in any of the surrounding suburbs, but you could probably easily find your niche in any area you choose, especially since you have kids.

Marysville is ok, and if you would be working at Honda, I could understand recommending it, but there are a lot of better areas around Columbus. Marysville has big-box stores only, and though it's not that far from Columbus, I don't think it's anything like Bergan.

Where will you be working? Do you plan to visit before deciding to relocate?

ZnGuy · 02-22-2009, 07:59 PM

All I can say is Bergen County is one of the highest cost areas in the country and you will benefit greatly on much cheaper housing cost and anywhere in Columbus area.

wrightflyer · 02-22-2009, 08:29 PM

I second the recommendation of Bexley, Grandview Heights, and Upper Arlington. In that order. I have family in Westchester and they in turn have family in that area of NJ, so my understading of it is rather limited. Again, apologies, but when I think of that part of Jersey, I don't think of a small town feel. Yet, maybe I'm thinking small farm town feel which is totally different than a small inner ring suburban town feel. If it's the inner ring suburb, then Grandview and Bexley can offer that. They both have one high school. Grandview's pop. is around 7,000 while Bexley's is about 13,000. And they are considered walkable by locals. Upper Arlington is larger, and in my opinion, more car oriented then the first two suburbs. It's also much larger in land area and population (~33,000) Yes, taxes are higher in these areas, but again, as another poster mentioned, it'll probably seem like a break from that of New Jersey. And the money you get for the house will probably seem suprising as well.

bergen_native · 02-22-2009, 09:38 PM

Thank you all for your input! Bergen County towns are definitely more 'inner ring suburb' than small farm town. That's what I meant by small town. It's a unique place because where I am, I can walk to the elementary school, library, and our main street for shopping (hardware store, delis, coffee shops, etc. yet we still have the benefits of living 30 or so miles from NYC. We love our town, but wonder if we couldn't love a place with a better col/qol just as much.

Is Bexley a safe place?

NewToCA · 02-22-2009, 10:38 PM

Bexley crime stats (254.7) are mid page, indexed against a national standard (320.9). Though not as current as I would like, the overall numbers and trend indicates it is generally pretty safe.

NorthWord · 02-23-2009, 12:55 AM

I moved from Columbus -->Hoboken, NJ -->Columbus several years ago.
I spent a fair amount of time visiting friends in Bergen County.
It was my favorite part of New Jersey in fact.
Much of old Columbus (inside the beltway) could easily be mistaken for much of your neighborhood.

You'll be surprised at the cost-of-living comparison between the two. Your money will go much further in Columbus.
I think you'll like the switch.
It's getting late here, or I'd elaborate. You sound like you've done quite a bit of research already.

1ontheway · 02-25-2009, 06:06 PM

We moved here from Ridgewood in Nov. We are renting a home in New Albany. I can go on and on. Originally, we fell in love with Upper Arlington, South of Lane b/c it reminded us of life in Ridgewood. But we couldn't rent there and that's what we really wanted to do until we learned about the whole Columbus area. I walked everywhere in Ridgewood and miss that sooooo much. New ALbany has a lot to offer, but I miss the hustle and bustle of an old towns with a thriving downtown and people out and about. My husband's commute is now 15 min compared to over an hour into NYC...so there are some good things. I can go on and on-and I'd love to help you any way I can. What twon in BC are you mocing from? I grew up there too.