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I started my new job down on Water Street in NYC, and I've come to realize that my commute sucks. It costs me about $400 a month in gas, parking, train and makes me walk 20 minutes which isn't a big deal, except when it's really cold. It's a very inconvenient trip, as I don't mind it taking an hour or so as long as I can relax, read, listen to music, etc. I have found that Hoboken has a ferry that basically puts me right at my work in 15 minutes, so I've narrowed down my choices in buying a home to Fair Lawn or Rutherford.
I have heard Fair Lawn isn't a very diverse town, and being south asian i worry about that for my kids. I grew up in Elmwood Park (a town over) and had a pretty rough time being that one brown kid in a school full of italians (at the time). Not sure about Rutherford, so whatever you can fill in there would be great as well.
As for taxes, not sure which is cheaper or more expensive. The commute to Rutherford would be faster for me, but will I get what I need there at a reasonable price? I have 3 kids, so I need a four bedroom house... better to look in Fair Lawn or Rutherford? Any specific areas?
I've never bought a home before, we've rented for a long while, but now is the time, my job is good and I want to make my commute as easy as possible. Thank you for any help or advice!
I grew up in Elmwood Park too, but it must have been a different time from you, I'm guessing a bit later as it was ultra diverse - I'm talking a little bit of everyone from everywhere. No one ethnic group was the majority when I was in school - though lots of people from different hispanic cultures. No one ever felt out of place. I felt it was one of the biggest pros about growing up in the town.
Again, I can't imagine that anyone of any ethnicity would feel out of place in today's New Jersey, but obviously it's still a concern to many people.
I like Rutherford a lot just because it has more of a downtown/walking community feel to it. Plus, the train makes you even closer to work. I would imagine that you could get a lot more for your money in Fair Lawn, but I'm not really an expert on the Rutherford real estate market.
The two towns are pretty evenly matched. Housing prices and the level of prestige (or lack of it, as the people telling you to move to Ridgewood, Millburn, or West Windsor will tell you) afforded both towns are comparable. Fair Lawn is a bit more affluent and has slightly better schools. Rutherford probably has a better commute into NYC and a nice downtown area. Fair Lawn has more of a suburban feel than Rutherford, which, while still certainly suburban, is a bit more urban in feel than more northern Bergen County 'burbs.
Fair Lawn's diversity has grown quite a bit over the past couple of decades. The Latino population is probably now close to 10%, and the African-American population, while still small at about 1.6% or so, is double what it was ten years ago. Then you have ethnic diversity among the "whites": Russian, Israeli, Irish, Italian, and more. And there are certainly quite a few Asian people in the town, from all areas.
Although I'm not as familiar with Rutherford, I would think that it also is more diverse than the typical Bergen County 'burb. Either town will get you decent bang for the buck, at least by Bergen County standards, and each is a good choice.
I started my new job down on Water Street in NYC, and I've come to realize that my commute sucks. It costs me about $400 a month in gas, parking, train and makes me walk 20 minutes which isn't a big deal, except when it's really cold. It's a very inconvenient trip, as I don't mind it taking an hour or so as long as I can relax, read, listen to music, etc. I have found that Hoboken has a ferry that basically puts me right at my work in 15 minutes, so I've narrowed down my choices in buying a home to Fair Lawn or Rutherford.
I have heard Fair Lawn isn't a very diverse town, and being south asian i worry about that for my kids. I grew up in Elmwood Park (a town over) and had a pretty rough time being that one brown kid in a school full of italians (at the time). Not sure about Rutherford, so whatever you can fill in there would be great as well.
As for taxes, not sure which is cheaper or more expensive. The commute to Rutherford would be faster for me, but will I get what I need there at a reasonable price? I have 3 kids, so I need a four bedroom house... better to look in Fair Lawn or Rutherford? Any specific areas?
I've never bought a home before, we've rented for a long while, but now is the time, my job is good and I want to make my commute as easy as possible. Thank you for any help or advice!
My niece grew up in Fair Lawn, and she's now 32. Her high school boyfriend was Indian and her closest friend (still) is Pakistani, both from Fair Lawn also. I don't think you have to worry about your kids being the only south asians there.
Fair Lawn does have trains that express from Radburn and skip over Broadway, Garfield, Plauderville, and Rutherford Stations, so the commute is not bad.
Fair Lawn's diversity has grown quite a bit over the past couple of decades. The Latino population is probably now close to 10%, and the African-American population, while still small at about 1.6% or so, is double what it was ten years ago. Then you have ethnic diversity among the "whites": Russian, Israeli, Irish, Italian, and more. And there are certainly quite a few Asian people in the town, from all areas.
Rutherford is a little bit more diverse than Fair Lawn, with a slightly higher Latino population (around 15% vs. 10%). The Asian population in both areas is around 10% and the Black population is just a little higher in Rutherford (just 3% vs. 2%)
Having lived in Rutherford as a 20 something, the downtown gets old pretty quick. Fair Lawn while it doesn't have a true downtown but is surrounded by some solid towns that do offer quite a bit for a family an dis close to everything. Regarding diversity, Rutherford is heavy on Korean. Not sure how that plays into the "South Asian" role if you're from areas like the Philippines. Both are solid towns but I would pick FL over Rutherford. Taxes are high enough in both but I'd rather be on the N Bergen corridor.
I'm Israeli and have been living. In Fair Lawn for the past 6 years. From what I see at my oldest daughter's school, it gotten more diverse during the past 3 years.I'm pretty sure you'll be comfortable and that your kids would make friends right away. I think that as a suburb, Fair Lawn has a lot to offer for the kids- weather it's the Rec center's sports program or the library, or the scouts and lots more. Houses are selling for about $375,000-$450,000 for a 4 bedrooms split level.
I'm also a realtor and would love to give you more information about the overall life experience here.
Don't know much about Rutherford..sorry.
Wound up buying in Piscataway. The elementary school is very good, middle and high school are so-so, but I figure I'll be in a different position by the time that comes around. It's central to everything, a mile from the train station, and cost of living is much cheaper (as well as taxes).
For what I saw in Fair Lawn, I got a house that would have cost me almost two times as much. It's a very nice area, park nearby etc, so I feel like it was worth going south and adding to my commute just to have the ability to get more home for my money.
Can we all get something straight here? Nowadays, everywhere in New Jersey is diverse. extremely diverse. I get weirded out if some place isn't. I'll be like "wow, there's a lot of white people and no koreans or hispanics or any minorities, freggin weird."
I've actually never even met a white, anglo saxon, protestant, male. Only know one guy. Actually he might be catholic. But he's the only AMERICAN american I know, i.e. not Italian or Irish. Scratch that. His mom is Italian and Dad was Hungarian. He moved here from Arizona like 30 years ago.
I never see any kind of group, whether it's a class, a club/sports team, without at least one hispanic or some kind of immigrant (or child of immigrants). It just doesn't exist. I actually have trouble remembering american names because they're so plain.
Christ I even met an ethiopian like a month ago. A freakin ethiopian. I didn't even know we had ethiopian immigrants. She was in up in rockland county.
So can we put to bed the diversity thing?
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