emerson? midland park, or saddle brook (Waldwick: houses, high school, college)

[jk3007]

we saw few houses in all these town and having hardtime deciding which one to select. All these towns are within our reach as far as finance is concern, hard working folks.... doing ok in life... ! we have a 3 years old so we want a town with good school system in the future obviously but if you are good at somethign you will be good at it no matter where you being raised (education wise).... I turned out OK and I went to worse school system in USA (the bronx) probably! I wnat my son to grow up like a normal kid, i would hate to see someone looking down on him, the reason i am saying that is b/c we saw a house we really liked in river vale and we got funny looks from our "could have been" neighbors... ! so we decided not to pursue that house b/c of the looks we got... anyway the point is i don't want my kid(s) to be raised thinking they are any different then their peers in the surrounding area... it is kind of hard to believe this happens in NJ since this state is pretty diverse.. now we are thinking of emerson, midland park and saddle brook...? The house in salddle brook is the priciest but the houses in other two towns were nicer, as far as location of the house is concern, very quite and cul de sac type of location... any feedback would be greatly appricaited!

Regards,
JK-

[zhelder]

Emerson and Midland Park are much nicer than Saddle Brook. I would describe Emerson and Midland Park as "a bit fancy, but not too fancy" (think lower upper-middle class). Saddle Brook isn't a bad town, but it's more blue collar than Emerson and Midland Park, and the schools are not as good. Saddle Brook does have a pretty large Italian population.

Midland Park has increased in affluence quite a bit over the past fifteen years or so, and the schools, which were always good, have gotten a bit better. Emerson is probably similar in affluence to Midland Park, but I don't think the schools are quite as good. Both towns are surrounded by wealthy towns.

I'm surprised you said the house you looked at in Saddle Brook was the most expensive, as median housing prices in Emerson and Midland Park are quite a bit higher.

Unless you're certain you'd be more comfortable in a town with a blue-collar vibe, I'd pick Emerson and definitely Midland Park over Saddle Brook.

You may want to check out Waldwick as well. Next door to Midland Park, and nearly a twin in terms of socioeconomic standing, with comparable housing prices. It is a slightly larger town, with a larger Italian population.

Good luck!

[NarniaLady]

For each family looking to leave NJ there seems to be one ready to move in ...

[CaptainNJ]

Originally Posted by jk3007

the reason i am saying that is b/c we saw a house we really liked in river vale and we got funny looks from our "could have been" neighbors...

you arent white?

while one might hope that if you raise your child well and teach them morals etc. they will be fine no matter where they grow up, the reality is that a bad environment can impact the kids future. they can get mixed up with the wrong crowd (can happen anywhere but more likely when there are more unsavory characters) or the people may have a different mindset than you (if you believe your kid should attend college but in the high school your kid goes to a large % dont, then they will see it as an option to not go to college). so i think it is important to consider your environment and even if people give you looks at first, it may be the best place.

[NNJ_GolfNut]

Originally Posted by jk3007

the reason i am saying that is b/c we saw a house we really liked in river vale and we got funny looks from our "could have been" neighbors...
Regards,
JK-

All neighbors will do that...they're just being nosey. The best way you can tell if your gut feeling is correct is to be the first to say, 'hello' and wave. You'd be surprised how a little warmth brings out the best in people. If they don't respond in kind, then you have your answer.

[CarolinaOnMyMind]

Midland Park

[Lucky Lady123]

Don't know much about Midland Park but Emerson and Saddle Brook are nice towns. Neighbors who give "Funny Looks" I would just ignore.

[BPerone201]

To me, Saddle Brook is the odd man out, but it is a nice blue-collar town.

As for Emerson and Midland Park, they are middle to upper middle class towns.
i'd go with Emerson because it's just more family oriented than Midland Park.

[stevemorse]

go with Midland Park, Emerson has a corrupt bunch as far as the taxes go. Plus the homes behind Old Hook Road have issues with old industry contamination. It was an industrial area and now some issues with toxic stuff. Stay away from Emerson. Midland Park is a great town!!!!

[luckyshoes]

I totally agree. Midland Park. Good town, great location, small-town feel.