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Ironically, you and your husband are the 3 careers I WANTED to be (teacher, writer, speech-language pathologist!) That's so ironic!
Hubby is an art teacher, and writes and illustrates children's books - so we'd love to find a place where we could afford a fourth bedroom, or some other room to use as office/studio space for him.
Right now he's working in the Bronx, and I work in Manhattan, but both our jobs are very portable - hopefully we'll find something more local once we move.
Right now I'm leaning towards Paramus, as I think we could afford it without killing ourselves trying to pay for it. I actually want to have time to enjoy the house (and the family of course), not just work 24/7 to keep it
Paramus school didn't quite make the recent list of top 75 high schools in NJ in the NJ Monthly, but at 77 it didn't seem to be doing that badly for itself. I was wondering why its ranking dropped from 45 last year though.
And I know there are other towns I haven't even thought that much about yet - haven't looked up anything about Westwood, Washington Township, or Emerson (names given to me by my aunt who lives in Bergen Co). Still just trying to figure it out! Thanks for all your information - it helps so much to get it from people who are familiar with the area.
Frankly, schools and affordability are my most important concerns - a "small town" feel would be a luxury.
Hmm.. "Small town"... Paramus doesn't scream "small town" that much when I think of it. It screams "big town" to me (although, you do get to know your neighbors easily just like in any community). For a real "small town" feel though. I can't even think of a lot of towns in NJ that do give me "small town" feelings but then again, I can't judge really since I haven't seen all of them. Anyways, regardless of the town size, in each community, you'd definitely get to know a lot of people if you're active in the neighborhood. ^_^
Westwood, Emerson, Wsh Twp.. Those are good towns, but I'm not too familiar with them so I can't really comment further. You should definitely check on those if you can. (As well as the other towns.)
As for PHS's high school ranking, yeah.. I did wonder about that earlier. I'm a grad of '04 so I don't know what's been going on recently in these past four years. It's still a pretty decent school system since I know some people going through it. Um, there's also a top private high school called "Bergen Academy" which has a tough application process (or so I heard).
Paramus is convenient for riding the small shuttle bus to GWB's subway station.
The common tip wherever you do choose to live: make sure to commute early in the Bergen County area to avoid traffic into NYC. Always tune to 1010 Win (AM) on the radio when you get on the highway.
Hubby is an art teacher, and writes and illustrates children's books - so we'd love to find a place where we could afford a fourth bedroom, or some other room to use as office/studio space for him.
Right now he's working in the Bronx, and I work in Manhattan, but both our jobs are very portable - hopefully we'll find something more local once we move.
Right now I'm leaning towards Paramus, as I think we could afford it without killing ourselves trying to pay for it. I actually want to have time to enjoy the house (and the family of course), not just work 24/7 to keep it
Paramus school didn't quite make the recent list of top 75 high schools in NJ in the NJ Monthly, but at 77 it didn't seem to be doing that badly for itself. I was wondering why its ranking dropped from 45 last year though.
And I know there are other towns I haven't even thought that much about yet - haven't looked up anything about Westwood, Washington Township, or Emerson (names given to me by my aunt who lives in Bergen Co). Still just trying to figure it out! Thanks for all your information - it helps so much to get it from people who are familiar with the area.
Frankly, schools and affordability are my most important concerns - a "small town" feel would be a luxury.
Teresa
KEY point and that's what you should stick with Teresa.... that's what it is all about!
Look, with the schools, the list is subjective... people question its methodology and I see towns that do fluctuate a lot, except for those at the very top and very bottom. If you want one of the consistent top 10's (Tenafly, Mountain Lakes, etc.) you will PAY PAY PAY. And honnestly, I know some people in those systems that are not all that happy due to extreme stress placed on the kdis, etc. I know several people who went to Paramus Schools and all are quite bright and went on to good universities and did well.
I have lived here in River Edge for 3 months and I lived in New Milford before. River Edge has much much better schools and is safer town. New Milford was OK, but I like River Edge more. Although River Edge is slightly more expensive. Both are close to everything. New Milford's swim club is huge and very nice. River Edge's I don't know.
I don't think I would ever want to have my kids in a high pressure school that a top 10/20 would bring. I want them to have a well rounded experience - time for the stuff that interests them (be it sports, music, drama, or av club ), and academics. I'm happy with a school closer to the top 75. And the more I think about it (and have experienced), "community" is what you make of it. Having kids in the school system, and being involved in the neighborhood activities will provide us with all the community we need. The neighborhood I'm in now is very friendly, and very small, but we still don't know that many people outside of family because our kids aren't in the school or sports system locally yet. We talk to everyone who walks by (it's that kind of place), but nothing beyond that.
Unknown Memory - thank you for your point of view and information as a resident of Paramus - it's very helpful.
^ You're welcome. ^_^ My P.O.V. is not the best but I tried.
Yeah, I would definitely think the same thing too if I was looking for a new town to be in. A school that isn't in the top 20 but somewhere above average.
The Oradell-River Edge-Paramus communities do share a local weekly newspaper which is called "Town News". It is pretty much filled with community news, school news, a sample of police blotters, ads, and so forth.
As for school activities... Paramus definitely doesn't lack in that department. The one thing I was always involved in my Paramus education days was being involved in music and clubs. PHS is also one of the chosen high schools that get to go down to Disney World and perform there once in awhile. Oh, and the malls do play a part in the community too. We sometimes would either perform in the malls (choir/band) or donate something to them (not in money but craft made things).
The only real con I could think of is the obvious traffic, which I mentioned before, on Rte 4/17, but since living in (or around) Paramus does have an advantage. You can easily get out of the traffic and take the local routes to get somewhere else unless you do have to travel out of the area. Most of the time, the traffic isn't that bad unless it's morning commute or rush hour. (At least, it's not Los Angeles traffic where everything is at a stand still. The first time I saw that, my jaw dropped on the freeway.) Oh, and try to avoid going to Garden State Plaza on Friday afternoons and Saturdays if you can. I know that it will be hard to avoid though. Especially with kids and teens on tow. We young people can't help going to the mall after school with our friends. ^^; I think Paramus Park is a bit underrated since a lot of people think it's a "boring" place to shop and everything else is at GSP. The place is a less headache to park though. Also, Bergen Mall (Town Center) doesn't have that bad of a parking either but with new stores coming soon, I'm pretty sure a lot more people will be coming in to shop.
Agh, and forgot one more thing. The controversial "Blue Law". I'm sure you head of it. The thing that makes Bergen County unique. Paramus though, is the only town in the county that is where the Blue Law is most severe for traffic reasons. Every store is closed on Sundays, except for entertainment (movie theater), food markets, and restaurants. So, yes.. unreliable Wikipedia does kind of nail what we do on Sundays for shopping. We either have to travel south to other malls, east to Edgewater, or go north to Palisades Center in West Nyack, NY. (And when that Xanadu place opens, I'm definitely going to be there for its entertainment value. I'm not a big shopper. >D) Majority of the community supports the Blue Law although there are others who will constantly try to challenge it (either for religion or business reasons).
^___^ Sorry, blabbed a lot but these are just some of the major points that I forgot to express earlier. I wish you the best of luck in your search!
The blue law seems like a plus for me when living in such a mall crowded area - I'd be able to plan BBQs for Sunday, and not worry that the NYC relatives I've dragged to Jersey would be stuck in too much traffic! Frankly, I do most of my shopping between the hours of 8pm and 9:30 - kids bedtime to closing! It might not be thorough, but it gets the job done. The kids are still young and don't know any better (2 and 4), so we usually try to do something outdoors at least one day of the weekend - it would be so great to be near good parks.
I'll have to check out that newspaper you mentioned - maybe they have an online edition.
I really appreciate all the information - this is my new favorite website to check!
Ok. ^_^ With young kids at that age, you definitely have a bit more of a breathing room there. 9:30 is when the malls do generally close except for Christmas season with extended closing hours. During that time, it can be really reallly crazy with a lot of people in the tri-state area coming in and give the town a boost in retail sale. So, it's definitely better for you to do holiday shopping ahead of time to avoid certain items going out of stock and holiday traffic (plus holiday headache).
During Garden State Plaza's general closing hour, there is exiting traffic so it's best to either leave before 9-9:15 or after 9:45. The restaurants, Borders, and movie theater of course close later than 9:30.
Outdoors? Plenty in the tri-state area. This is long so I'm breaking it down.
+ Paramus has Van Saun Park, as mentioned a few posts ago. As others have mentioned, that place has a zoo, a carousel, a playground, a lake, picnic areas, and a small food shack. I also mentioned Dunkerhook which is better for walking/biking. The NBC old series "Ed" had plenty of filming locations there too. Both of these parks border/share land with neighboring towns.
+ Then, if you want to go a bit further north out of the center part of Bergen County, there's Ramapo Mountain in Mahwah. My Mom use to take me there a lot just to hike up to the lake. Probably better to go there when your kids are a bit older in terms of a family hike. A lot of people go there to bike and walk their dogs. The beginning part of the mountain's path is steep so be careful there. There's also an Indian reservation on top (hidden away from public, of course).
+ East, there's Liberty State Park where you get good views of Manhattan/Statue of Liberty. Liberty Science Center is where I use to go a lot too when growing up. They recently renovated and made new exhibits. Honestly though, I think the old Science Center was a lot better despite "new technologies". The "Touch Tunnel" was the best exhibit there and now, it's gone. The Science Center has the largest IMAX dome in the country and hosts educational films.
+ There's the New Jersey Children's Museum in Paramus which is good for little kids. It's educational and really fun for their imaginations.
+ Clinton, NJ. Out of Bergen County but really worth a one hour drive to go there and see a small beautiful waterfall, small shops, cafes, ice cream, and two museums. You can even canoe the river.
+ NJ/Deleware Water Gap. The Deleware River basically. That's really if you have the time and gas to travel out to NJ's western border. A great place for river rafting and canoeing in the spring/summer months.
+ Montvale and parts of northern Bergen County. Some farms up there do offer pumpkin picking and hay rides. As a kid, I use to go to Montvale a lot for those kind of autumn events.
+ Bear Mountain, NY. Out of NJ but it's not a bad place to visit once in awhile. There's even a small zoo and a public poo too. There's also boat and paddle boat rentals on the lake.
+ Paramus mini-golf course next to the Ridgewood Golf Club parking lot. 18 themed holes reflecting what's in NJ.
+ Edgewater, NJ. I state this because there's Mitsuwa and the golf range right next to it. Mitsuwa is, as you can guess it, a Japanese supermarket (or more like a mini shopping center). It's the closest place without having to go to Manhattan to buy Japanese food. Also, to have a small taste in Japanese culture without going to Kinokuniya in Mahattan. The Korean owned golf range next door has a miniature golf course. (It's a pretty old looking mini-golf.)
These are what I can list off from the top of my head of some nature/family trips that I've done in the past and present.
As for "Town News", nope. You can't find it online. It's delivered for free to residents and that's the only way to obtain the newspaper. (I do wonder though if hotels get them.) There is another community site online (mostly for Paramus though.) Paramus Post >> It covers some Paramus news (that probably doesn't even reach "Town News") and other news. Then, there's The Record which is more like the northern part of the state's newspaper that's not free compared to "Town News". It needs to be subscribed. At least, it has an online version. Last, there's nj.com which is the entire state of NJ and the rest of the country's news all together.
Ahh! Sorry.. This is a longer post!! >_< And yeah. This is one of my favorite sites to check on too. ^^;
Unknown Memory - thanks for all the great information about stuff to do in NJ! We are always on the lookout for new things to do with the kids. Have been to Van Saun park and zoo before, and it was beautiful. But haven't been to too many other places in that area yet.
So much to think about! I've been checking out the other threads related to moving to NJ/different towns (e.g. alternatives to "snobby" towns, towns like Maplewood), and will research the towns mentioned in those threads as well.
I feel like I have time to decide, but I have a tendency to drift along a little thinking I have plenty of time for things when I don't
Enjoy the gorgeous weather - I'm in a fabulous mood - it's Friday, and sunny, and lovely temperature!
Teresa
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Ahh! Sorry.. This is a longer post!! >_< And yeah. This is one of my favorite sites to check on too. ^^;
