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One last question for everyone. Does anyone know what the Pre-K program at Tisdale involves? Can anyone from the town enroll? Is there an associated cost?
One last question for everyone. Does anyone know what the Pre-K program at Tisdale involves? Can anyone from the town enroll? Is there an associated cost?
It might be a special needs Pre-K, in which case it would be free. I highly doubt it is a free Pre-K for typical kids. It might also be an integrated program, but then if you have a typical kid, you usually pay, unless you are poor.
Thank you for the quick responses. I'm quite handy, so that's why we are looking in that budget. There's also something really nice about personalizing your own home to your own tastes
I agree that ultimately, we will be the ones to determine how active we are. The town plays a part in it as well based on what they offer. I know Ramsey offers an adult soccer league, so that's pretty exciting as well. Sometimes when you see some towns with older residents, you dont get that active of a community.
What do you think about how inviting the residents are in those towns when it comes to new residents? We know that we are going to encounter some cliques in any town. But we want to be around people as inviting as we are
Ridgewood has 25,000 residents. Do you think anyone will know you're new in town? I've been in Ridgewood for 5 years, I maybe know 20 people in town - 10 of them are my neighbors, 5 families from my one son's school and 5 from my other son's school. :-) I'm joking, sort of. My point is that Ridgewood is a large town (by suburban standards, of course). If you neighbors are down-to-earth, welcoming people then you will feel welcome. As far as newcomers club - it should be renamed Stepford Wives Club. Can't stand them - perfect in every sense. Perfect hair & makeup, perfect children, perfect husbands, etc (you know the type!). Ridgewood is a nice town and I love it here. Are there snobs? Oh yeah, plenty. But luckily they are not the majority of residents.
We moved to Ridgewood a few months ago. We were also choosing between Ramsey and Ridgwood, and decided to go with Ridgewood because it is closer to the city and has a lovely downtown.
I am in the late 20s and I'm yet to see young moms here. Most of the parents I see are in their very late 30s or 40s. People seem friendly but keep their distance. There're plenty of Stepford wives here. What I like a lot about the village is that many people are pretty well educated, even though some are definitely full of themselves.
I haven't visited newcomers club, like Ira said, i got the feeling it is for rich trophy wives. There are lots of classes and activities for kids, so with time and effort you will be able to find what you're looking for in people.
Overall, I like it here.
I'm new to this forum, first post, and want to first give everyone a quick history before I drop my question. My wife and I, late twenties/early thirties are moving to the northern Bergen County area with our baby (8 months old). We have just visited the area and fell in love with the towns of Ridgewood and Ramsey. After visiting several towns in the area, including Glen Rock, Allendale, Ho-Ho-Kus, etc, we are down to the two towns.
We know that the two towns both have great education and pretty much non-existent crime. These are obvious traits to look for when you are planning to raise a family. But digging deeper, here's what we are looking for when looking for the town we lay our roots and grow old in:
- Houses with 3+ bedroom at a price range of 450-550K. We have no issue putting some money into the house to update it. We would like to be as close to the downtown as possible
- An active downtown (we know Ridgewood takes the cake on this one, but Ramsey's downtown seemed very nice with a lot to do. It had its very nice mom & pop shops as well)
- a VERY active community. My wife and I were both raised being very involved in sports and other activities. This is something that is very important to us and are going to pass on to our children. The town would need to have a very good recreation program. Active parents like ourselves would be a good opportunity for us to meet people as well.
- Between Ramsey and Ridgewood, which town is more open to new residents. Doing research, we have found that Ridgewood has a newcomers club. But does this club have participants that are our age (28 and 30)? Does Ramsey do something similar? We want to meet new people and develop friendships as we will be new to the area.
- Does either town have any programs for young moms/baby?
- Transportation to NY. We have done our research on NJ Transit. Both towns provide this, Ramsey adding another 10 min.
- As "Down to earth" as possible. Living in Ramsey or Ridgewood is going to bring a cost along with it. We know this. My wife and I do quite well, but were always raised to keep our feet on the ground. We expect to raise our children the same. Is that true for residents of these two towns? I know there is going to be a little bit of "nose in the air" syndrome, but is one town more grounded than the other?
SCHOOLS
- When it comes to schools, we know both towns are great. But is there a way to find out the students per classroom? I'm not sure if this is right, but i've heard that Ridgewood may have some crowding issues in the elementary schools. True?
I know this is a lot, but any help from current residents would be a great help!
Thanks!
I just read your post now (over a year old) and me and my wife are also looking at Ridgewood as a possible place to settle down. We are 30/31 years old and have a 2 year old son. We have been living in Hoboken and would like to move to a nice suburban neighborhood in which we can enjoy the outdoors, downtown, recreations and great schools and athletic programs for my son. I wanted to see if you ever decided to move to Ridgewood and how you like the area so far? Do the neighbors at least smile when you say high to them and is the "snobby" attitude a reality or a non factor in your daily lives? My wife is a stay at home mother and very sweet person. I would hate for her to feel uncomfortable around the other mothers in the town. Also, I work in midtown manhattan and would need to commute daily and wondered if the travel is a little much on a day to day basis.
I just read your post now (over a year old) and me and my wife are also looking at Ridgewood as a possible place to settle down. We are 30/31 years old and have a 2 year old son. We have been living in Hoboken and would like to move to a nice suburban neighborhood in which we can enjoy the outdoors, downtown, recreations and great schools and athletic programs for my son. I wanted to see if you ever decided to move to Ridgewood and how you like the area so far? Do the neighbors at least smile when you say high to them and is the "snobby" attitude a reality or a non factor in your daily lives? My wife is a stay at home mother and very sweet person. I would hate for her to feel uncomfortable around the other mothers in the town. Also, I work in midtown manhattan and would need to commute daily and wondered if the travel is a little much on a day to day basis.
The traveling from Ridgewood is not bad at all. I did it for 30 years, most of it to the WTC, but then to 23rd Street in the 00's. Because Ridgewood IS the epitome of a commuter town (and one of the first such towns in NJ going back to the 1800s), they have frequent train service, especially during rush hour. There are many express trains, some that don't stop after Ridgewood until Secaucus, plus a few that stop only at Glen Rock and Radburn. Plus, if you look at the lines and schedule, both the Bergen County and Main Lines stop there (they diverge AFTER Ridgewood) so you get many more trains in Ridgewood than in other towns on those lines.
Yes, the snobby women exist, but so do a lot of normal women. I am sure your wife will have no problem making friends if she is not in that competitive "who has the most expensive sweater" league. Good for her.
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