Where is Mahwah and what is it like? (Ridgewood, Wyckoff: houses, established neighborhood)

[JAR1709]

Hi everyone. We are considering a move to Mahwah, NJ (I have never heard of it before now) and was wondering if anyone can tell me anything about it? We are looking for a small town, with character and identity (we come from an upscale Main Street town and would love to find a town very like that.) We will not have to commute to NYC and am looking for an established neighborhood with lots of kids, friendly folks and some great private schools. My kids like soccer and lacrosse and we enjoy our country club alot, so a town that offers that would be great.

What is the price range that is doable in that area. Can you suggest any other towns nearby to Mahwah that fit my criteria? Thank you for helping me.

[tommyc_37]

Originally Posted by JAR1709

Hi everyone. We are considering a move to Mahwah, NJ (I have never heard of it before now) and was wondering if anyone can tell me anything about it? We are looking for a small town, with character and identity (we come from an upscale Main Street town and would love to find a town very like that.) We will not have to commute to NYC and am looking for an established neighborhood with lots of kids, friendly folks and some great private schools. My kids like soccer and lacrosse and we enjoy our country club alot, so a town that offers that would be great.

What is the price range that is doable in that area. Can you suggest any other towns nearby to Mahwah that fit my criteria? Thank you for helping me.

Check out Ramsey, next door to Mahwah, or Ridgewood (southeast of Mahwah). Both Ramsey and Ridgewood have what you're looking for. mahwah is a little more rural, without a downtown center.

[joe moving]

Ditto to Tommy. Mahwah isn't the right place, although they have a wonderful soccer field.

[JAR1709]

Thank you - can you comment on these other towns in county?
<LI class=normaltext>ALLENDALE <LI class=normaltext>FRANKLIN LAKES <LI class=normaltext>GLEN ROCK <LI class=normaltext>HO-HO-KUS <LI class=normaltext>MAHWAH <LI class=normaltext>RAMSEY <LI class=normaltext>RIDGEWOOD <LI class=normaltext>SADDLE RIVER <LI class=normaltext>UPPER SADDLE RIVER <LI class=normaltext>WYCKOFF Thank you! I am so very unfamiliar with New Jersey. What exactly is a borough?

[JAR1709]

oops - sorry for all the extra junk. I am new to this site. Won't do it again!

[Dingo99]

Check out Ramsey. They got Don Bosco Prep, a catholic school, in town.

A lot of houses in Ramsey are affliated with a very nice country club.

[Songbird42]

Originally Posted by JAR1709

Thank you - can you comment on these other towns in county?
<LI class=normaltext>ALLENDALE <LI class=normaltext>FRANKLIN LAKES <LI class=normaltext>GLEN ROCK <LI class=normaltext>HO-HO-KUS <LI class=normaltext>MAHWAH <LI class=normaltext>RAMSEY <LI class=normaltext>RIDGEWOOD <LI class=normaltext>SADDLE RIVER <LI class=normaltext>UPPER SADDLE RIVER <LI class=normaltext>WYCKOFF Thank you! I am so very unfamiliar with New Jersey. What exactly is a borough?

A borough is: The city of New York has 5 boroughs.....bronx, queens, brooklyn, staten island, manhattan......similiar to a small town.

[luckyshoes]

Mahwah is a big town, geographically. It has parts of town: Cragmere, West Mahwah, Darlington and Rio Vista, Fardale, Deerhaven, Scotch Hills, you get the idea. There is a country club and there is a town pool. It has a lot of nice parks (Ramapo Reservation, Campgaw, Darlington) which makes it unique in Bergen County. Price range varies. 600K is probably a split-level in Cragmere, maybe 800-900 for a 4br in Fardale, and over a million for a newer house in Rio Vista.

Sports you can get in any of the towns.

I don't know about private schools in the area you mentioned. All of the towns you mention have very good public schools, so most people just use them as far as I know, unless they go Catholic.

All of the towns you mentioned are really nice. You should probably start in Ridgewood if you are really into the downtown thing. If the country club scene is most important, start in Franklin Lakes. Then look at Mahwah and Ramsey and the other towns for budget reasons if needed (not that they are cheap, they are just cheaper).

ALLENDALE Small town, no downtown, they go to Northern Highlands which is a good HS.
FRANKLIN LAKES spread out, no downtown, very very very expensive homes and less expensive homes. Kind of unappealing to me for that reason. But if you can afford a nice house there, I'm sure you would like it. Good schools. Definitely country club land.
GLEN ROCK I always think of this town as a smaller Ridgewood.
HO-HO-KUS very very small downtown, good location.
RAMSEY nice, small town, has a downtown, but it's not as big as Ridgewood's. Housing stock can be kind of rough.
RIDGEWOOD has a very nice downtown.
SADDLE RIVER has a private school. Very expensive. No downtown.
UPPER SADDLE RIVER don't know much about. Is a nice town though. No downtown.
WYCKOFF also a nice town, has a downtown, but isn't as compact as Ramsey's or as big as Ridgewoods. No train from Wyckoff.

[joe moving]

They're all very nice towns. Some will be more desirable for you if you're looking for specifically a country club and a walkable downtown and private schools. Few of these towns have all three. I don't know if you need to be a resident to be a member of the clubs. I know for example Franklin Lakes has a very nice club - Indian Trails - but Franklin Lakes has no downtown whatsoever that I can think of. Very few towns have private schools, this is why we pay 10k a year in taxes.

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by JAR1709

Hi everyone. We are considering a move to Mahwah, NJ (I have never heard of it before now) and was wondering if anyone can tell me anything about it? We are looking for a small town, with character and identity (we come from an upscale Main Street town and would love to find a town very like that.) We will not have to commute to NYC and am looking for an established neighborhood with lots of kids, friendly folks and some great private schools. My kids like soccer and lacrosse and we enjoy our country club alot, so a town that offers that would be great.

What is the price range that is doable in that area. Can you suggest any other towns nearby to Mahwah that fit my criteria? Thank you for helping me.

mahwah is located in the northwestern corner of bergen county, right on the border with ringwood (passaic county, nj) and rockland and orange counties (ny state). it is anywhere from 26 to 30 miles from midtown manhattan, depending on your exact location. from the township's mountaintops (and even from rt. 17), you can see the manhattan skyline.

mahwah is the largest municipality in bergen county in terms of square mileage. and it definitely isn't compact or densely laid out - think suburban sprawl, tract housing, suburban office parks and strip malls along rt. 17, a small university, mountains, woods, a few small lakes and farms, and so forth. it actually does have a small downtown area near the mahwah train station, but most of its development is decentralized, with plenty of large homes on spacious lots (by bergen county standards). in many cases, there are no sidewalks, so you pretty much have to drive everywhere. really, mahwah might be better described as a loose collection of several different enclaves (darlington, cragmere, fardale, etc.) than a truly cohesive town with a singular identity. i would describe it as being closer to "country suburban" than southern bergen county, which is more "urban suburban".

in other words, it doesn't have that small town feel you're looking for. it's great if you want a little more bang for the buck and don't care about mingling with the neighbors.

Originally Posted by tommyc_37

Check out Ramsey, next door to Mahwah, or Ridgewood (southeast of Mahwah). Both Ramsey and Ridgewood have what you're looking for. mahwah is a little more rural, without a downtown center.

ramsey and ridgewood are excellent suggestions, as both have nice downtowns (especially ridgewood), are upscale, offer great schools and recreational programs, and have more of a "small town" feel. ridgewood in particular meets your criteria perfectly, as much of the town is laid out in a pre-WWII grid pattern with short, walkable blocks that are lined with mature trees and attractive, architecturally significant older homes with plenty of character. the downtown area is always busy and parents tend to be actively involved with the PTA and their children's sports leagues, which means that it's very much the type of community where everyone gets to know one another.

if you're going to look at ridgewood, definitely check out glen rock as well, which is located just to the south.

glen rock shares a lot in common with its northern neighbor but might be a tad less expensive. great schools, nice downtown (although smaller and less active), plenty of pre-war homes and streets with character, etc. the two towns are kind of joined at the hip, which probably explains why they have a longstanding rivalry with each other.

i'd also suggest wyckoff, which is also affluent, has great schools and a decent downtown, and is a little more down-to-earth than many of its neighboring communities. its outer residential areas are spread out, but overall the town has much more of a cohesive identity and tight-knit feel than mahwah.

also in the area are ho-ho-kus and allendale. both are quite affluent and feature small but quaint downtown areas, although i wouldn't say that either town's central business district is particularly active. there are some nice older homes on walkable streets near the towns' respective train stations as well as newer, larger homes on spacious lots in the sprawling outer areas. probably not exactly what you're seeking, but worth a look if you can afford it.

all of these towns are expensive, so you may want to look into some nice but somewhat less expensive options in northcentral bergen county like oradell, westwood, park ridge, montvale, and hillsdale. the first two towns are more compact with busy, popular downtown areas and a very homey feel, while the latter three have smaller downtowns with sprawling outer residential areas.

Originally Posted by JAR1709

Thank you - can you comment on these other towns in county?
<LI class=normaltext>ALLENDALE <LI class=normaltext>FRANKLIN LAKES <LI class=normaltext>GLEN ROCK <LI class=normaltext>HO-HO-KUS <LI class=normaltext>MAHWAH <LI class=normaltext>RAMSEY <LI class=normaltext>RIDGEWOOD <LI class=normaltext>SADDLE RIVER <LI class=normaltext>UPPER SADDLE RIVER <LI class=normaltext>WYCKOFF

the three towns i haven't discussed on your list are franklin lakes, saddle river, and upper saddle river. all three are sprawling, super affluent (especially saddle river), and don't have much of a town center or neighborly feel. all of them are exclusive places to live, but don't match what you're looking for.

I am so very unfamiliar with New Jersey. What exactly is a borough?

a borough in nj is different than a borough in nyc. in nj, a borough is a type of independent municipality. it is equal in standing with a city, township, town, or village rather than being subordinate to them.

in ny state, the term "borough" specifically refers to the five boroughs of nyc, which are organized subsections of the city with limited governmental powers. while each of the five boroughs has its own identity and almost feels like a city within the larger city, the reality is that they are not independent municipalities - they are still bound together to the larger nyc government.

back in nj, there are some minor differences in the governmental structure of boroughs vs. cities vs. towns vs. townships vs. villages, but in the end, all of these are simply different types of municipalities that are of equal standing. the differences between them are pretty much insignificant.