Difference between Essex and Bergen (Newark, Bloomfield: rent, homes, university)

[Jo Bloe]

Originally Posted by BergenCountyJohnny

In my world, as a New Jerseyan who was born and raised in NJ and went to the state university of NJ with a lot of other New Jerseyans from around the state, ALL New Jerseyans tend to identify with their county to give others an idea of where they are from. I know my friends in Middlesex, Monmouth, Atlantic, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, and Sussex counties all do this. It's not far off from mentioning "which exit" you live off - it's not a matter of boasting, it's a matter of identifying which part of NJ you're from. I don't see how that is snooty in the least bit.



Nah. It's a matter of two issues - the land is very valuable so they don't want to "waste" a piece of land next to such a structure and they'd rather build a home there, and the type of people who tend to move to those areas are the type who will gladly put up with such things to get a lower price on a home they'd otherwise not be able to afford.

Most of Bergen is actually older at this point, there are more new developments in Essex than in Bergen.



10 is horrendous, 80 is horrendous, 280 isn't so bad, 24 is horrendous, 78 is horrendous, 287 at 80 is horrendous.

I realize most of that is shared with Morris County, but to me Western Essex and Eastern Morris County are pretty much the same thing - they look the same, have the same traffic and layout issues, same type of attitudes.

The feeling I get from those people is that they are wannabe snobs; they want to be able to boast of the quality of their schools, they are more likely to drive Volvos and VW's and Audis. In Bergen, I think parents actually care about the quality of schools other than to boast of it. Also in Bergen people will skip over the volvos and audis and other faux-luxury/quality cars and they'll go with moderate cars or actual luxury cars like Mercedes or BMW.

Also, as I mentioned before, it seems that the Essex/Morris county areas are chock full of transients and transplants, whereas Bergen has a lot more established families; perhaps this is why Bergen may be perceived as more "snobby" because communities are more cohesive??? Anyway, I get the feeling that Essex/Morris are more nouveau-riches suburban yuppies (who aren't all that rich but think they are). Livingston is a perfect example. Of course, the other extreme is the urban blight and dangerous ghettos of Essex county.

I guess I just have a bad taste in my mouth from having to commute to Essex/Morris counties and dealing with the traffic. Rts 4 and 17 certainly can be bad, but they can easily be avoided, as opposed to how I've been stuck on 287 and 24 and 10 - people in Essex tend to not respect the shoulders to keep them clear for people who want to exit.

Definitely come across as having a chip on your shoulder against Essex County. But I guess that can be expected from someone who is so proud of where they live they use it as their ID...........

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by BergenCountyJohnny

<snip>


I guess I just have a bad taste in my mouth from having to commute to Essex/Morris counties and dealing with the traffic. Rts 4 and 17 certainly can be bad, but they can easily be avoided, as opposed to how I've been stuck on 287 and 24 and 10 - people in Essex tend to not respect the shoulders to keep them clear for people who want to exit.

reading from a neutral perspective, I certainly think there is a bias here. Case in point, you can avoid ANY road easily, if you know how. You didn't know how in Essex, but you do in Bergen.

[Magic78]

24 and 287 are only bad during prime rush hour and sometimes there's no traffic during rush hour. I've been on 10 at all times of day. Never an issue.

I've been in tears on 4 and 17 because of traffic. I think they get so bad on sSaturdays because you can't shop on Sunday.

[aaalger]

I love Bergen county especially for a family. I wouldn't live in Essex you have to many bad cities like the Oranges, Newark, ect. Insurance is extremely high there as well. If you have a problem with blue laws just drive a few more minutes and go to someone outside Bergen county. I never had a problem with transportation to the city in Bergen county. There are also a lot more high crime areas in Essex then Bergen as well. I don't think they are compareable at all.

Outside of Bergen and Essex I think Clifton in Passaic county is a good mix of them both. It is still residential and family oriented but it is more of city.

[Docendo discimus]

Why is there so much infighting within NJ? First there is the age old North Jersey vs. South Jersey battle. Then the County vs. County battles. Essex County vs. Bergen County is a classic. So is Essex vs. Morris. And then there is infighting within a single county...I'm most familiar with Essex---Livingston vs. West Orange; Livingston vs. Millburn; West Orange vs. Verona; Maplewood vs. South Orange.

Whether we're battling North vs. South, County vs. County or Municipality vs. Municipality...we LOVE to debate 5 things ad nauseum:

• who has more traffic
• snob factor and old money vs. new money
• quality of school systems
• crime and proximity to ghettos
• taxes

It's almost like everyone feels they need to constantly justify or defend where they live. I am a life long Jerseyan so I don't know how it goes in other states...Is it the same in NY, PA, CT, etc. etc.? Or is this a Jersey thing?

[Magic78]

I think people are just enjoying a chat. I'm pregnant, on bedrest, and am bored! That's why I post.

[Docendo discimus]

Originally Posted by Magic78

I think people are just enjoying a chat. I'm pregnant, on bedrest, and am bored! That's why I post.

(Haha---I post cause I'm bored too...but I don't really have a good excuse like you (pregnant and on bedrest)...I just have no life. )

[TheLuckoftheDraw]

Originally Posted by seque5tra

Is it the same in NY, PA, CT, etc. etc.? Or is this a Jersey thing?

I grew up in (South) Florida. It was at least as bad there. First there's arguing about South versus Central versus North Florida. For South Florida, there's Southeast versus Soutwest Florida. For Southeast, Palm Beach County versus Broward County versus Dade county. For Palm Beach County, Jupiter versus North Palm Beach versus Wellington versus Boca versus . . . it goes on and on.

[nykstevenyg]

The county infighting is normal too as someone who lives and spends a lot of time in both I can give a nonbiast view. Truthfully the traffic is worse in Bergen 17 and 4 are awful route 10 is not that bad, though 22 in union county is the worst. As for the counties its tough to compare bergen is huge with many towns like theres 10 rich towns 10 upper-middle class 10 lower middle class that kind of stuff. Essex is much smaller in land and the eastern section of it is bad. So theres much less to compare, though the best part of Bergen (apline and saddle river) are probably nicer then the best in essex. A community like short hills is comparable to woodcliff lake. With all that said, i prefer essex county. I like the contrasts and there are many nice diverse communities unlike in Bergen county. Essex is more interesting many towns are larger as well. Its to each's own, I prefer Essex but I like bergen a lot too. Both counties have a very ny feel which is good. Obviously the bad parts of essex (NWK, irvington, East and Orange) are not part of this comparsion they are a billion times worse then anywhere in bergen.

[Anon-Hate]

Originally Posted by 66nexus

These days, nothing's what it used to be. Hell, you guys may think I'm crazy, but I remember when Irvington and East Orange were actually pretty decent towns (not Millburn ty90'spes but decent). Then Newark dumped its projects and came off its 90's crime highs, but the bad migration continued westward.

I was born in East Orange and lived there off and on until I graduated high school in the early 90's. It really was only nice if you lived north of Park Avenue. The area south of Central avenue, bordered by Sanford Street and South Clinton street was a dump when we lived there in '83.