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My husband and I and our 2 year old daughter plan to move to Bergen County. We are looking at the following towns: Allendale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Ridgewood, Wyckoff, and Upper Saddle River. We are looking for a family friendly town with a good sense of community (close knit town). We would prefer a "walkable" town (we realized USR is not). We are looking for insight into these communities as we are trying to narrow down our list of towns to consider.
My husband and I and our 2 year old daughter plan to move to Bergen County. We are looking at the following towns: Allendale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Ridgewood, Wyckoff, and Upper Saddle River. We are looking for a family friendly town with a good sense of community (close knit town). We would prefer a "walkable" town (we realized USR is not). We are looking for insight into these communities as we are trying to narrow down our list of towns to consider.
Wife and I are in same boat w a 3 & 1yr old. We have done quite a bit of research and visits to Ridgewood and Wyckoff. Have yet to visit USR. Allendale and HHK we have scratched off list. No particular reason, just didnt feel as good to us as Ridgewood and Wyckoff. Also considering Franklin Lakes but seems thats become third on our list.
If money were no object Ridgewood would be our pick. Problem is to get type of house/property we want it seems inventory is out of our range and taxes are up there....which is why Wyckoff becomes attractive. But after multiple visits it is obvious that Ridgewood would give a great sense of community with a really nice walkable town. Right now we are trying to get a better feel for different areas of Wyckoff to see if we can get that community feel.
We too would appreciate any additional insight from those in the know.
Wife and I are in same boat w a 3 & 1yr old. We have done quite a bit of research and visits to Ridgewood and Wyckoff. Have yet to visit USR. Allendale and HHK we have scratched off list. No particular reason, just didnt feel as good to us as Ridgewood and Wyckoff. Also considering Franklin Lakes but seems thats become third on our list.
If money were no object Ridgewood would be our pick. Problem is to get type of house/property we want it seems inventory is out of our range and taxes are up there....which is why Wyckoff becomes attractive. But after multiple visits it is obvious that Ridgewood would give a great sense of community with a really nice walkable town. Right now we are trying to get a better feel for different areas of Wyckoff to see if we can get that community feel.
We too would appreciate any additional insight from those in the know.
We lived in Wyckoff for 3 years (recently moved to FL) and you're right, the one big advantage Wyckoff has are the low property taxes. As for community feel, I think it all depends on how involved you want to be but the town does have the usual recreational/athletic options for kids and hold events like Memorial Day parade around town, Labor Day fire works and Wyckoff Day in June etc. where you have the opportunity to meet people. Wyckoff YMCA is excellent for families from what I understand (our son was born in 2014 so we didn't join the Y). We did sign up for the summer lake access at Allendale's Brookside Racquet and Swim Club and that was fantastic (highly recommended for families)!
As for my neighborhood ($600k - $900k), we were probably the youngest (early to mid 30s at the time) within a 2 block radius so we didn't see too many kids in the area but there are certain sections of town that do have younger families => ie. "College" section (bordering Hawthorne, Midland Park) and "Knoll" section (center of town). Sicomac (south of Rt 208) and Hartung (west of Wyckoff Ave) sections have homes that are mostly in the $800K+ range which lends itself to bigger properties, older demographic and generally less neighborhood interaction.
Other things to keep in mind about Wyckoff:
* Most streets in Wyckoff do not have sidewalks
* Most homes are septic and they are a PIA... Say good bye to using bleach. I know of one section that has municipal sewers (north of crescent bordering Allendale - most homes are $700k+). If you do buy a home with septic, you better pray it fails inspection and the sellers install a new one (sellers are on the hook by law). Otherwise, you may be looking at a $20k to $40k bill if and when you decide to sell and the septic fails at that time. Our home failed when we bought in 2012 so we lucked out.
* We lived close to center of town (close to Allendale) and it was super convenient to be equidistant to Rt 17 (6 minutes away) and Rt 208 (5 minutes away).
* Your kids are not guaranteed to go to the nearest elementary school. Our area was technically zoned for Lincoln but some kids were sent to Washington. Your realtor should know this.
If money was no object and we had to do it over again, believe it or not, I would probably look at Allendale and Hohokus AHEAD of Wyckoff (I know we're splitting hairs but I think the schools, elementary and HS, are better in Allendale/Hohokus - both towns go to Northern Highlands HS - Brookside Elementary in Allendale is excellent). My wife was never a fan of Ridgewood so we ruled it out during our search. It's a great town but was little too big for our taste. Hohokus is like a northern extension of Ridgewood anyway... I also like smaller towns which = Allendale and Hohokus.
Good luck to both of you in your search and let me know if you have any questions or need recommendations for pediatricians etc..
Last edited by Ivan Putski; 08-13-2016 at 06:07 AM..
^Hahaha, I know just what you mean by the "college" section. I used to cut through those streets (all with names like Yale and Dartmouth) to get back into Midland Park instead of Goffle Road. Nice little neighborhood.
We lived in Wyckoff for 3 years (recently moved to FL) and you're right, the one big advantage Wyckoff has are the low property taxes. As for community feel, I think it all depends on how involved you want to be but the town does have the usual recreational/athletic options for kids and hold events like Memorial Day parade around town, Labor Day fire works and Wyckoff Day in June etc. where you have the opportunity to meet people. Wyckoff YMCA is excellent for families from what I understand (our son was born in 2014 so we didn't join the Y). We did sign up for the summer lake access at Allendale's Brookside Racquet and Swim Club and that was fantastic (highly recommended for families)!
As for my neighborhood ($600k - $900k), we were probably the youngest (early to mid 30s at the time) within a 2 block radius so we didn't see too many kids in the area but there are certain sections of town that do have younger families => ie. "College" section (bordering Hawthorne, Midland Park) and "Knoll" section (center of town). Sicomac (south of Rt 208) and Hartung (west of Wyckoff Ave) sections have homes that are mostly in the $800K+ range which lends itself to bigger properties, older demographic and generally less neighborhood interaction.
Other things to keep in mind about Wyckoff:
* Most streets in Wyckoff do not have sidewalks
* Most homes are septic and they are a PIA... Say good bye to using bleach. I know of one section that has municipal sewers (north of crescent bordering Allendale - most homes are $700k+). If you do buy a home with septic, you better pray it fails inspection and the sellers install a new one (sellers are on the hook by law). Otherwise, you may be looking at a $20k to $40k bill if and when you decide to sell and the septic fails at that time. Our home failed when we bought in 2012 so we lucked out.
* We lived close to center of town (close to Allendale) and it was super convenient to be equidistant to Rt 17 (6 minutes away) and Rt 208 (5 minutes away).
* Your kids are not guaranteed to go to the nearest elementary school. Our area was technically zoned for Lincoln but some kids were sent to Washington. Your realtor should know this.
If money was no object and we had to do it over again, believe it or not, I would probably look at Allendale and Hohokus AHEAD of Wyckoff (I know we're splitting hairs but I think the schools, elementary and HS, are better in Allendale/Hohokus - both towns go to Northern Highlands HS - Brookside Elementary in Allendale is excellent). My wife was never a fan of Ridgewood so we ruled it out during our search. It's a great town but was little too big for our taste. Hohokus is like a northern extension of Ridgewood anyway... I also like smaller towns which = Allendale and Hohokus.
Good luck to both of you in your search and let me know if you have any questions or need recommendations for pediatricians etc..
Thanks for the detailed response. Really appreciate the tip about lake access at Allendale Club. We will look into that. Why did you guys leave NJ, if you don't mind?
We need to explore Allendale more. It is a process coming from NYC boroughs to familiarize w the different towns. That is why I guess Ridgewood appeals to us. Can get some of that closeness and town area bustle. The housing stock is tough though. Yards tend to be small, older homes with beautiful character but in our range need kitchens/baths etc.
Funny, almost every house we have seen either in person or via MLS in Wyckoff has not been septic but rather municipal water/sewer. Maybe just getting lucky? Franklin Lakes on the other hand is septic for most part.
You're right on Elementary schools...we saw a house recently that was 0.3mi from Sicomac Elementary but realtor told us it wasn't zoned for that. Seemed odd and ridiculous frankly that instead of an easy walk we would need to get in the car to go to an elementary school further away. Will definitely keep an eye out for that.
Thanks for the detailed response. Really appreciate the tip about lake access at Allendale Club. We will look into that. Why did you guys leave NJ, if you don't mind?
We need to explore Allendale more. It is a process coming from NYC boroughs to familiarize w the different towns. That is why I guess Ridgewood appeals to us. Can get some of that closeness and town area bustle. The housing stock is tough though. Yards tend to be small, older homes with beautiful character but in our range need kitchens/baths etc.
Funny, almost every house we have seen either in person or via MLS in Wyckoff has not been septic but rather municipal water/sewer. Maybe just getting lucky? Franklin Lakes on the other hand is septic for most part.
You're right on Elementary schools...we saw a house recently that was 0.3mi from Sicomac Elementary but realtor told us it wasn't zoned for that. Seemed odd and ridiculous frankly that instead of an easy walk we would need to get in the car to go to an elementary school further away. Will definitely keep an eye out for that.
As for why we left, it was a lifestyle change more than anything else. Winter of 2014/2015 really did us in and my wife hated that we had to keep our son inside (he was 6 months old at the time). My wife works from home and her company doesn't adjust salaries if you move to a lower cost of living state so off we went. She also has family down here in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL so it was a win win. We still have 3 seasons so to speak and we're a bike ride away from the beach so it's as good as it gets. Property taxes are much lower here and no state income tax is a bonus (though they get you in other ways). That about sums it up for why we left.
Don't let me dissuade you from Wyckoff. It's a great town and I have no doubt you'll like it there. I just also like Allendale a lot and their downtown for whatever it's worth is better than Wyckoff's in my opinion. I love Allendale Bar & Grill where I hung out with my friends for Monday Night Football (been going for 15+yrs until I left). Sushi at Masa is good, though my favorite is Sakura Bana in Ridgewood (I'm Japanese so am very picky about my sushi - sushi in Florida sucks...). There's a good number of other decent restaurants there too. Don't forget about the train. It's always good to have for resale value. No train in Wyckoff.
Thank you everyone for the responses. It is very helpful.
RonaldusMagnus- We feel the same way with Ridgewood. If money was no object, then it would be a no brainer. Love that it has sidewalks, great downtown, train, great schools, and seems like a lot going on. However, we would prefer a new construction or recently built/renovated which seems are very hard to come by and the prices for those are extremely high (and the taxes too). At least the surrounding towns are a short drive away from here
Does anyone know anything about USR? I know the lot sizes are larger so my concern with that is since the houses are further apart there won't be as much as a neighborly feel. Also, if it has as much going on as the other towns. They also have septic and well (which we are not used to) vs municipal water and sewer.
All those towns are great, you are really splitting hairs when it comes to it. Anything north on 208 past midland park is top notch. Anything north of Paramus on 17 is pretty good too.
All those towns are great, you are really splitting hairs when it comes to it. Anything north on 208 past midland park is top notch. Anything north of Paramus on 17 is pretty good too.
Midland Park is about two miles away from 208, so that reference might just confuse the poster if he or she is looking at a map. MP does not touch any highways at all, which is part of the reason it has such a low crime rate. Hard to make a getaway.
My husband and I and our 2 year old daughter plan to move to Bergen County. We are looking at the following towns: Allendale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Ridgewood, Wyckoff, and Upper Saddle River. We are looking for a family friendly town with a good sense of community (close knit town). We would prefer a "walkable" town (we realized USR is not). We are looking for insight into these communities as we are trying to narrow down our list of towns to consider.
What do you define as "walkable"? You will need a car in every single one of these places, but Ridgewood, HHK and Allendale have downtowns you can walk around in. Wykoff is more just strip malls.
They are all fantastic towns, Upper Saddle River is the most affluent and close to Allendale and Ramsey for downtown. As others mentioned, HHK is a northern extension of Ridgewood,
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