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I grew up in lower Bergen County (Heights/Wood-Ridge/Rutherford/Lyndhurst area) and I always liked really feeling like I lived in a real town. Being able to walk to corner stores, go to the park, walk to the library...it's really nice for kids to have that experience which is something you can't say of everywhere these days with developments popping up all over the place.
I was raised a South of Paramus girl and proud. I went to high school for one year north of Paramus and HATED it...a lot of the girls were very fixated on things I was never raised to be fixated on. When I transferred back to a school in lower Bergen County I loved it. But then on the other hand, if you were raised north of Paramus it's all you know and you'd probably love it. Northern Bergen county is gorgeous but it's just two different worlds.
It's funny, when I first went to college, I would tell people from out of the area I grew up in Bergen County only to hear them respond "oh you're rich". I would tell them I was from lower Bergen County. They would usually get a dumbfound look on their face and I would just give up lol.
This is like asking, "Which part of a chicken wing is better, the drumstick part or the wingette 2-boned part?" The answer will depend on the person; everyone's needs and tastes are different. The important thing is that they are both parts of the same delicious chicken wing (like the wings at Hooters in Paramus or Hackensack).
In other words, Bergen County is one giant, delicious chicken wing. Pick the part you like best and enjoy!
^^actually northern bergen isn't really diverse at all ... except for maybe ridgewood, paramus (idk if that's considered north), and tenafly. where i live (pascack valley area), it's pretty much all cacausian (spelling) .... rarely any asians, blacks, or hispanic.
Paramus is pretty much in the middle of things so we're not north or south. I guess, consider us neutral to everyone else. We do have a high Asian population, which is spread out, not just around here, but eastern Bergen and throughout NJ. And you got other groups that are growing too, so it's pretty good.
Northern Bergen may not look diverse due to all those big houses, but, I believe there is some diversity there. (Also, caucasians are diverse. Not everyone is simply an "American". =.= You got Mediterraneans, Italians, French, etc.) You just need to look deeper in some other areas. Southern Bergen is a different animal of its own.
I enjoy how different each parts of Bergen is, because it may not look like it but diversity really is there. And however you look at it, one part of Bergen may not be your cup of tea and another part will be. It'll be different for everyone so there really can't be a right or wrong answer to this question. It's all subjective.
Rutherford actually does hold a candle IMO, it is a bit more crowded than upper bergen county but is a very classy town with great schools, and amentities. Upper Bergen county is nice but way too rural for my liking. Rutherford has a nice strip of resturants, shopping, etc. on Park Ave and all of the side streets are very quiet and tree-lined so you have the best of both worlds (most homes also have large lots compared to the rest of southern bergen county).
Upper Bergen is great for families and older people, Rutherford is also great for that as well as the young professional couple.
I wouldn't have thought that of Rutherford, either, just judging by the way the houses are so tightly packed together. The town area does look nice, though. It may be that any homes with larger lots are just not visible driving through the town. Kind of surprised to see that statement.
I grew up in lower Bergen County (Heights/Wood-Ridge/Rutherford/Lyndhurst area) and I always liked really feeling like I lived in a real town. Being able to walk to corner stores, go to the park, walk to the library...it's really nice for kids to have that experience which is something you can't say of everywhere these days with developments popping up all over the place.
I was raised a South of Paramus girl and proud. I went to high school for one year north of Paramus and HATED it...a lot of the girls were very fixated on things I was never raised to be fixated on. When I transferred back to a school in lower Bergen County I loved it. But then on the other hand, if you were raised north of Paramus it's all you know and you'd probably love it. Northern Bergen county is gorgeous but it's just two different worlds.
It's funny, when I first went to college, I would tell people from out of the area I grew up in Bergen County only to hear them respond "oh you're rich". I would tell them I was from lower Bergen County. They would usually get a dumbfound look on their face and I would just give up lol.
I have told people I grew up in Midland Park and they assumed I had money. Hellooooo, I am over 50. They didn't start to hack down all the woods and build houses on every available lot until about 30 years or so ago and then the wannabes moved in and started demanding sidewalks and curbs and traffic lights and having landscapers cut their grass. It was a blue-collar town full of plumbers and electricians, with lots of wooded areas and even a farm or two.
Now it's known as "Ridgewood Lite". Still a nice town, but I wouldn't want to live there anymore.
^^actually northern bergen isn't really diverse at all ... except for maybe ridgewood, paramus (idk if that's considered north), and tenafly. where i live (pascack valley area), it's pretty much all cacausian (spelling) .... rarely any asians, blacks, or hispanic.
Midland Park has only two or three black families, a couple of Asians, and a few hispanic families. But it's improving. I can remember my grandfather being very upset when "white flight" in the 1960's caused all these ethnic types to swarm out of the Bronx--they weren't Dutch. They were Irish, Italian, Polish, and to make it worse, they were all Catholics.
Midland Park has only two or three black families, a couple of Asians, and a few hispanic families. But it's improving. I can remember my grandfather being very upset when "white flight" in the 1960's caused all these ethnic types to swarm out of the Bronx--they weren't Dutch. They were Irish, Italian, Polish, and to make it worse, they were all Catholics.
He even LOOKED like Archie Bunker.
LOL. There is nothing new under the sun.
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It's all subjective.
