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You may be right, I drive to Westchester frequently as I have family there and traffic is pretty horrendous, even by NJ standards, lol. They do have better train service than Bergen though.
The train service is a question mark for us. My husband works near Penn Station, and most people in the office live in NJ. However, its a longer commute from Ridgewood, compared with say Larchmont or Scarsdale, although with the cross town schlep it might be a wash....or not? We're really not sure since we haven't experienced the NJ train commute firsthand.
They do have better train service than Bergen though.
That's the core of it. If you consider overall quality (speed, reliability, and area of service), Metro North is the best suburban train system serving NYC hands-down (although the automobile traffic is worse). That's the big difference which leads to the price differentials.
The other major difference between the counties (although I'm not sure how much it feeds into pricing) is density. With a few exceptions in the far southeast and northwest, Bergen county is pretty much medium-density everywhere. Westchester on the other hand reaches much higher densities in the south and lower densities in the north.
The other major difference between the counties (although I'm not sure how much it feeds into pricing) is density. With a few exceptions in the far southeast and northwest, Bergen county is pretty much medium-density everywhere. Westchester on the other hand reaches much higher densities in the south and lower densities in the north.
Very interesting point...so did this influence your decision to move to Bergen county? We had been looking exclusively in lower Westchester other than one day spent further north, and I will say that area didn't appeal at all because it felt so spread out and far from things.
The other major difference between the counties (although I'm not sure how much it feeds into pricing) is density. With a few exceptions in the far southeast and northwest, Bergen county is pretty much medium-density everywhere. Westchester on the other hand reaches much higher densities in the south and lower densities in the north.
Very interesting point...so did this influence your decision to move to Bergen county? We had been looking exclusively in lower Westchester other than one day spent further north, and I will say that area didn't appeal at all because it felt so spread out and far from things.
I'm a native, didn't decide at all just grew up here and came back a bit after college because of the economy and personal life issues, and stayed because I ended up finding work in the suburbs rather than the city or outside the region entirely.
In density terms, individual towns and areas vary but in general you can rank this way:
1 / most dense: Lower Westchester
2: Southern Bergen County
3: Northern Bergen County
[note: there is also a tendency for Bergen to be denser further east than west but the gradient is much less notable than north/south]
4 / least dense: Upper Westchester
We share your experience and we are still exploring.
We have looked for houses in West Chester for a while and could not find what we like within the price range. Then we decided to take a look at RW, and absolutely love it. Houses in RW seem better (bigger and more updated), compared with Scarsdale.
West Chester does have better train service. RW has several bus lines to the city. Have you checked the shortline bus service? It runs from Ridgewood to Port Authority bus station for about 45 minutes. We know some people commuting from RW to the city by bus and they seem happy with it.
Schoolwise, Scarsdale elementary schools teach Singapore math, Scarsdale high school is prestigious. But there is Bergen County Academies, the magnet high school, for my understanding, is equally good as Scarsdale High.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AliciaN
The train service is a question mark for us. My husband works near Penn Station, and most people in the office live in NJ. However, its a longer commute from Ridgewood, compared with say Larchmont or Scarsdale, although with the cross town schlep it might be a wash....or not? We're really not sure since we haven't experienced the NJ train commute firsthand.
You get more house, better condtion or location in New Jersey than in lower Westchester. Taxes are high in both places. You might want to investigate Montclair and Glen Ridge in Essex County, NJ, as well. Taxes are generally higher than in Ridgewood but you also get more house for your money.
The train service is a question mark for us. My husband works near Penn Station, and most people in the office live in NJ. However, its a longer commute from Ridgewood, compared with say Larchmont or Scarsdale, although with the cross town schlep it might be a wash....or not? We're really not sure since we haven't experienced the NJ train commute firsthand.
I experience it first hand from RW. NJTransit trains are reliable and quick. You can make it to/from Penn in 50 minutes. Grand Central is 10-15 minutes by subway.
NJ has excellent public transportation as well, and our buses are better.
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