Is Bogota a nice place to live? (Newark, Hackensack: city hall, houses)

[surfkitty]

Someone recently asked me about Bogota, but I know very little. It seems charming from the very few times I've driven through. They were wondering how the commute is to Manhattan, whether it's family-oriented, schools, etc. As ever, your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

[luckyshoes]

Bogota has an excellent commute to Port Authority on the bus, tons of buses, express, you name it.

The town continues to change in terms of demographics. It used to be mostly Irish and Italian. Now it seems to be trending more Latino, although I don't know exactly what countries. (I'm not saying this is a bad thing, this is a neutral statement.) St. Joe's, which is the Catholic church in town, now has a Spanish Mass, which is another reflection of how the makeup has changed.

Most of the homes are older and on the small side, as would be the case in any old, inner suburb.

As for schools, here is a list of the public HS rankings by NJ Monthly. Bogota seems to be kind of in the middle of the pack

A list of the top high schools in New Jersey by rank-www.njmonthly.com

You can click through the NJ Department of Education report cards to get a feeling for the school performance.

New Jersey Department of Education

[TigerLily24]

I lived in Bogota for ten years. For the most part it was as charming as it looks driving through, particularly the area right around Main St. (Elm, Larch, River Rd.) with the big Victorian houses, old growth trees and lovely church (Bogart Memorial).
Even though it is close to the city, I always felt completely removed from the city while walking down those lovely tree-lined streets.

I loved being able to walk to the library, post office and the Chinese restaurant (China Dragon), which, it just so happens, was the best Chinese food I've ever experienced.
I also loved the easy commute to the city and to shopping in Teaneck (Cedar Lane, etc.), Hackensack (Target, Shop Rite) and of course Paramus, seeing the ice on the Hackensack River in the winter and seeing the groundhogs emerge in the spring in that pretty grassy area along River Road.
For a very small town, Bogota has a lot to offer - a racquet club, very nice parks, a quick ride or walk to the Ice House (indoor ice rink), one of the cutest city halls you'll ever see and lots of programs for kids and seniors. And, the all-volunteer Bogota First Aid Squad is the best


As Luckyshoes noted, there are several buses (local and to/from both terminals in NYC) as well as easy access to I-80 and the turnpike. I could often make it to/from mid-town in 20 minutes (GW bridge to/Lincoln tunnel from) during off-peak travel times. Similar travel time to Newark Liberty Airport, as long as it wasn't rush hour. The regular weekday bus commute probably takes about an hour. There is also train service from Hackensack, though I don't know anything about how long that takes, etc.


I do have to say that I didn't love the freight trains that pass through town every day and night on two different tracks, and I didn't love how long it took to drive through town every weekday morning and evening. Also didn't love the flooding down near Quik Chek practically every time it rained and being in the Teterboro flight path (noisy). And the town politics were (may still be) crazy.

Overall, though, it was a nice place to live.

[marye711]

there was just an article in the Record approx. 2 weeks ago saying how nice and affordable it was, wish I still had it now......

[VeradoDan]

As long as you don't get in the way of the cartels, you should be fine.

[luckyshoes]

Originally Posted by VeradoDan

As long as you don't get in the way of the cartels, you should be fine.

Ouch.

[VeradoDan]

Originally Posted by luckyshoes

Ouch.

It was a joke about the more well-known Bogota.

[surfkitty]

Great, thank you everyone for your responses. I'll be seeing these folks today and I'll be showing them your responses. You guys are so very helpful--thanks again!!!

[luckyshoes]

Originally Posted by VeradoDan

It was a joke about the more well-known Bogota.

Oh gotcha.