Saddle River, Mahwah, Upper Saddle River, Montvale, etc (Westfield, Paramus: fit in, low crime)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are looking to buy a house next year in one of the towns in North Bergen.
I have a 8 year old, 9 year old, 12 year old.
My son who is 9 is severely autistic, non verbal, needs 1.1 ABA.
We are originally from the UK, South Asian origin.
Looking for top schools, also a school that will place my autistic child in the right out of district setting.
Our budget 1.1-1.4m.
Min 4 bed....3700 sq foot plus
We used to live in Scarsdale NY we loved it there. Are looking for a similar demographic.
We will be moving from West Windsor, we really just do not fit in here.
On paper all these towns look amazing.
Saddle River, Upper Saddle River, Montvale, Ridgewood, Westfield,
Alpine and Tenafly seem a little out of our budget.
Are there any other towns we should look at?
Low Crime and Hi rated schools with a little diversity and ofcourse welcoming to new comers is what we are looking for
It is the Autism support and services I worry about the most?
It is not very diverse. Another reason I did not mention is that most of our friends are in Westchester and Bergen and it is a long drive, I would much rather be closer.
The commute to NYC for hubby is much longer from west windsor.
WWP school district is mostly first generation Indian..like more than 80 percent I would say and very very traditional. Everyone is lovely but the culture is very different, we don't quite fit in.
In NY and Florida we lived in neighborhoods that were more mixed or 70% plus white.
I hate to use all these demographic terms, and honestly everyone is really really nice. But it is just not our comfort zone.
In Bergen I am not sure how the autism services are granted and that is always our biggest deciding factor.
Thanks
If you can't afford Tenafly, then you definitely can't afford Saddle River. Personally Mahwah is probably one of the only places I'd consider if I had to live in Bergen County because of how accessible to nature it is, and how seemingly uncongested it is (barring Route 17). If that's not a deal breaker to you, then Ridgewood has a very nice downtown. I think all the choices you listed have excellent schools. I don't think any of the towns are particularly diverse; they all are majority white.
If you can't afford Tenafly, then you definitely can't afford Saddle River. Personally Mahwah is probably one of the only places I'd consider if I had to live in Bergen County because of how accessible to nature it is, and how seemingly uncongested it is (barring Route 17). If that's not a deal breaker to you, then Ridgewood has a very nice downtown. I think all the choices you listed have excellent schools. I don't think any of the towns are particularly diverse; they all are majority white.
Not entirely true. Land prices in Tenafly are much higher than Saddle River due to the GW Bridge.
But median home value in Saddle River>Tenafly because of the acres involved, and the square feet of the homes.
There are always homes in Saddle River that come onto the market that are affordable. Just depends on timing.
We are looking to buy a house next year in one of the towns in North Bergen.
I have a 8 year old, 9 year old, 12 year old.
My son who is 9 is severely autistic, non verbal, needs 1.1 ABA.
We are originally from the UK, South Asian origin.
Looking for top schools, also a school that will place my autistic child in the right out of district setting.
Our budget 1.1-1.4m.
Min 4 bed....3700 sq foot plus
We used to live in Scarsdale NY we loved it there. Are looking for a similar demographic.
We will be moving from West Windsor, we really just do not fit in here.
On paper all these towns look amazing.
Saddle River, Upper Saddle River, Montvale, Ridgewood, Westfield,
Alpine and Tenafly seem a little out of our budget.
Are there any other towns we should look at?
Low Crime and Hi rated schools with a little diversity and ofcourse welcoming to new comers is what we are looking for
It is the Autism support and services I worry about the most?
Thank you sooo much
I know for Special needs children Paramus has an excellent school. I cannot remember the name.
Regular public schools are also good.
5000 sq feet homes (excluding basement) are selling for around $1.3M that are new construction in Paramus.
Paramus is also very diverse with endless south asians, shopping, and entertainment options.
You can also not beat the connectivity that Paramus provides.
But compared to those towns Paramus is more so middle/upper middle class.... whereas those towns are mostly upper middle class.
All those towns are 80%+ white... whereas Paramus is <60% white.
Paramus has the 4th lowest property tax in the entire county so thats also a big positive. Tenafly is bat ****tt insane in this regard.
Thank you so much ...our budget is around 1.5, Saddle River homes seem much bigger for this price than the Tenafly ones and also the taxes are a lot lower so the monthly mortgage is lower.
We are going to take a drive around there and see how we like it.
Assuming politics tells you something about a town, Ridgewood is much closer to Scarsdale than the north-west Bergen towns, which are quite a bit more conservative-leaning.
Thank you so much ...our budget is around 1.5, Saddle River homes seem much bigger for this price than the Tenafly ones and also the taxes are a lot lower so the monthly mortgage is lower.
We are going to take a drive around there and see how we like it.
Thank you all
For a budget of 1.5M Saddle River isn't worth your time. Just being honest with you.
Saddle River, and Alpine are the most prestigious towns in Bergen County, and the wealthiest.
For just an average home in Saddle River you need $2.5M
Though there are homes in the 1.5M range they are 1 acre or 2 acre and tear down status. (Built in the 1970s etc). Furthermore these 1.5M range homes in Saddle River are 4000 sq feet
For 1.5M in Paramus you would get a 5000 sq feet minimum home with brand new 2021 construction but on .35 to .5 acres.
It's up to you but with that budget you are better off looking at Upper Saddle River (not Saddle River). That town has great newer homes in that budget but with twice the property tax of Paramus.
You are very welcome. Good Luck.
For 1.5M
Square feet (Largest to Smallest)
1. Paramus=Upper Saddle River
2.Ridgewood
3.Montvale
4. Saddle River.
Property Taxes (Lowest to Highest)
1. Saddle River
2. Paramus
3. Montvale
4. Upper Saddle River/Ridgewood
Assuming politics tells you something about a town, Ridgewood is much closer to Scarsdale than the north-west Bergen towns, which are quite a bit more conservative-leaning.
I dont think anyone really cares about politics but even then all of these towns voted for Joe Biden... except Saddle River where he got the highest % of the vote for a Democrat ever in town history.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
