Califon, NJ (Clifton, Washington, High Bridge: house, law school, living in)

[kirylm]

Hi. I am considering moving to Califon, NJ. I currently live in Queens, NY. There is not much info about this town. How are the people there? Atmosphere? Schools? Any comments would be helpful. Thanks.

[mike0421]

Wonderful area, if you can afford it. There is nothing negative I can say about Califon. Everything there is top notch.

[Calico696]

Califon is very nice. It is a rural area with large property sizes. As you would imagine, being as rural as it is, it is extremely quiet and dark at night. It is a very desirable area of Hunterdon County. Even though it is rural, it is not that far off of the beaten path.

[UrbanQuest]

Califon is the only town in New Jersey other than Spring Lake where the school system is 100% white.

[c21joanne]

Do you mean Clifton NJ? A good city/town to live in...

Originally Posted by kirylm

Hi. I am considering moving to Califon, NJ. I currently live in Queens, NY. There is not much info about this town. How are the people there? Atmosphere? Schools? Any comments would be helpful. Thanks.

[Bill Keegan]

Originally Posted by kirylm

Hi. I am considering moving to Califon, NJ. I currently live in Queens, NY. There is not much info about this town. How are the people there? Atmosphere? Schools? Any comments would be helpful. Thanks.

Califon is a nice little town on the eastern edge of Hunterdon County. It's similar to, and often talked about in conjunction with, the more well known town of Tewksbury.
It's a very rural town. Country roads bordered by pastures & trees. The town grew up as a stop on what is now an abandoned train line, and it's been here for quite a while. Of course, that's typical of central NJ. Califon has registered something over 150 sites withthe National Registry of Historic Places.
Califon has it's own school for grades K-8. Less than 150 students make up the entire student population. Califon high schoolers attend the Voorhees Regional High School. Here's a link to the NJ Dept of Education School Reports. And here's the High School Web Site.
The biggest concern about living in a place like Califon would be the commute. Where will you be working?

[CuCullin]

Califon is a great town, I'm personally nearby in High Bridge. Its a beautiful area, and one of the many reasons I chose Hunterdon County as my preferred place to live. The area (Califon and surrounding townships) are big on open space preservation, and you'll find great parks for walking, places to fish, places to ride a bicycle (as well as sportbikes ), etc.

Its also *much* quieter than Queens. I like this, but not everyone does - come nightfall there aren't really people out and about. Would be well worth making a trip, maybe staying at a bed & breakfast to check out the area.

[kirylm]

Thanks, everybody for your replies. It was very helpful. I will definitely consider moving there.

[Obrero]

We considered moving to Califon once. After spending some time there we realized it was a little too rural for us. I needed more going on / more choice in restaurants etc. However, it's a beautiful part of the state and the schools are top notch. It's going to be a huge change from Queens!

[Marjorie Waltz]

Some of my best memories are riding into town and getting a cheeseburger from Bishoff's. My parent's had a house on the very top of Hill rd (in the outskirts of Glen Gardner). I miss going to Uncle Milt and Aunt El's farm. Uncle Milt had all of us kids bucking hay bails and sweating in the Jersey humidity. We used to watch the fireworks from their front porch during the Califon carnival. I am the youngest child of Stanley and Marjorie Waltz. My family roots go very far back in Califon. My family history is the Burd family, the Beams, the Hildebrandt's...actually my family tree is more like family vines.

If you lived there in the 50's, 60's or 70's I'm sure you remember the wonderful gatherings at Hickory Grove. Aunt El and John Burd have done a wonderful job of keeping the tradition of The Burd Boys and country music alive at their farm. Can someone tell me what happen to Nicole's Pizzaria? I have wonderful memories of Mike P. flipping those pies and singing, "Only the good die young".

My father retired from Annandale Correctional facility in 1979 and we moved out west so he could go to law school. I have remained out in Washington State and have raised a family of my own. I really enjoy visiting all my relatives and seeing the old homesteads. Califon, Highbridge, Annandale, Glen Gardner, and all those wonderful places are my cherished memories.