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I've read a lot of good things about HHK in terms of the schools/affluence/small town atmosphere, but curious to hear what people think the pros/cons of the town are. Husband and I are in our 30s and looking to have kids in the next 1-2 years. Moving from NYC but not too big on going out at night (we're brunch people) plus we have a lot of family in neighboring towns.
I think I wish I could afford to live there. It’s a beautiful small town with a few nice local businesses and restaurants.
Cons? 99.9% of the population can’t afford to live there. The library has a lot of stairs leading up to its entrance. And Hocus Pocus would be an even cooler town name.
I grew up in Midland Park. Ho-Ho-Kus went to our high school for 20 years after Ridgewood gave them the boot. I was the last graduating class without HHK kids for 20 years.
MP people were not happy about it at t he beginning of the arrangement because there was a sense that these snooty rich kids would be coming in and look down on the rest of us. The then-called Bergen Record even did a story on it the first day of school entitled, "Blue blood meets blue collar".
It didn't turn out that way. The kids got along just fine.
I live in HHK and it will be 7 years in June. I like it a lot. People seem pretty friendly even if it is just saying hello when someone is walking their dog or out for a walk. The town doesn't have as much as Ridgewood but I kind of like that. It has a few restaurants plus it has the basics I need (library, post office, barber, dry cleaning, deli etc). I'm closer to the downtown of Ridgewood than some people who live in Ridgewood so can go there for a supermarket or movie.
I came from Brooklyn and met my wife when she lived on the UES so having a walkable downtown and sidewalks were very important to us. We both drive to work but use the mass transit options (more train than bus) often enough to go to the city, Prudential Center etc. I've never had a hard time getting a parking spot at the train station in the afternoon if I'm going somewhere but I usually just walk there.
My son will start Kindergarten in September and from what interactions we have had with the school, they have all been very positive. I don't know how competitive people are but having the 1 school will hopefully mitigate that. We looked at a lot of houses in Glen Rock, Ridgewood as well (both great towns) but the real estate agents always seemed to hype 1 area or school over the others so don't know if that is the mindset of some people.
Any thing else I can answer, please don't hesitate!
Good luck!
HoHoKus is a nice town and has a lot going for it. I don't live there but have friends and family that do. School system is highly rated, they have a nice downtown area (not Ridgewood but nice), convenient transportation options. The nice thing about Bergen County in general is that you have access to great restaurants, transportation, shopping etc and it doesn't necessarily need to be in your town. I live in River Edge where there is no downtown or many restaurants but I can go for brunch at Raymonds or lunch at the Steel Wheel Tavern in Ridgewood or head to Bergen PAC for a show and not spend that much time getting there. If you are not from the area I would spend some time on a weekend and explore the different areas and see what works for you. Obviously the vibe will be much different Saturday vs Sunday with the local Blue Laws.
Good luck!
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