Fort Lee vs Edgewater For An Asian Family (Rutherford, Leonia: real estate, 2009)

[hitmantb]

I am looking for newer condos/townhouses (2 Bed 2 Bath around 500K give or take), here is what I know, please share anything you like/dislike about the area!

Schools:

Fort Lee is slightly better but the difference is actually a lot smaller than I thought after I looked at test scores. Edgewater has a good elementary school then goes to Leonia for Middle/High School. Demographics for Fort Lee / Leonia high schools are very similar so are the SAT scores, 1059 for Fort Lee and 1037 for Leonia:

New Jersey High School SAT Scores - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com

Commute:

Edgewater saves me 15 minutes one way going to Manhattan. Less than one hour to Wall Street if you live around the southern portion of the area.

Shopping/Restaurant:

Edgewater seems to have much better shopping/restaurants.

Real Estate Tax:

Edgewater seems to be much cheaper on real estate taxes.

Anything I missed? I didn't consider Edgewater before because of school issues. But after looking at SAT scores I really don't think there is any real difference vs Fort Lee or equivalent middle class neighborhoods like Rutherford. And you get new construction, a huge advantage over the older neighborhoods.

The area really went down in price considerably. I see units in The Promenade, One Hudson Park for $500K or less now asking price.

Am I missing something?

[BergenCountyJohnny]

Flip a coin.

[CaptainNJ]

are sat scores a good measurement for the quality of the schools?

i really dont know what is a good measurement. seems like with a decent amount of wealthy + whites and orientals you get a good "school system."

[hitmantb]

SAT is the most objective score you can give to a high school, and high school is the best representation of a neighborhood's school system (it represents the sum of elementary+middle+high schools).

[CaptainNJ]

Originally Posted by hitmantb

SAT is the most objective score you can give to a high school, and high school is the best representation of a neighborhood's school system (it represents the sum of elementary+middle+high schools).

im not really sure why the high school gets credit for high SAT scores of the students. like i said before, i think its more the demographics of the local population. however, thats how i feel in general about the schools, that the quality of the school has little to do with the quality of the education the school provides.

[VeradoDan]

Originally Posted by hitmantb

SAT is the most objective score you can give to a high school, and high school is the best representation of a neighborhood's school system (it represents the sum of elementary+middle+high schools).

Well, it's the most objective score of how well the teachers stick to today's robotic curriculum, and how well they teach children to "beat the test," so to speak. I'd rather attend a school board meeting or two to determine what the district's priorities are. It's amazing what you'll learn by attending some of these meetings.

[CaptainNJ]

Originally Posted by VeradoDan

Well, it's the most objective score of how well the teachers stick to today's robotic curriculum, and how well they teach children to "beat the test," so to speak. I'd rather attend a school board meeting or two to determine what the district's priorities are. It's amazing what you'll learn by attending some of these meetings.

it may not be your ideal for what or how kids should learn, but its more useful to the kids to get into a better college and better job if they get high test scores.

ill start SAT training when the kid is still in diapers.

[luckyshoes]

The percentage of students that go onto a four-year college is a meaningful indicator; the SAT scores are often too similar.

[dhanu86]

I wouldn't dwell on test scores, if the child wants something, they'll get it. SAT scores don't mean much as they did a few short years back. My cousin scored perfect on math and he's not the sharpest tool in the shed. AP scores do, I think AP courses are about the same regardless as what school they're in.

[boozereddy]

OP,
The complexes you have mentioned in edgewater have problems hence they are cheap:
The Promenade has some structural problems and pending litigation.
One Hudson Park has a litigation too.
So you are out of luck getting a loan for these buildings. I am surprised your Realtor did not mention these to you.