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Hello, I am just wondering, how would you describe the towns around Ridgewood? I am talking about towns like Midland Park, Waldwick, Wyckoff, Ho Ho Kus, and Glen Rock. If I am missing others (and I'm sure I am), please feel free to include them. What is your opinion of these towns' downtown areas, their schools (I believe Ho Ho Kus and Wyckoff go to a regional school) and all around feel? Ridgewood needs no explanation, it's expensive to live in but it shows why. It's downtown is booming, so it seems all the kids in the area go there to hang out. Apparently the downtown and train station in Waldwick is going through some renaissance, though it's probably a slow process. Leave your thoughts. Thank you.
Waldwick & Midland Park used to be blue collar but more upper middle class people have moved in lately. Smaller downtowns than Ridgewood but still have some good takeout places & restaurants. More tight-knit than Ridgewood with much less snob factor. Schools are quite good but again, not Ridgewood caliber. You'll get good bang for your buck IMO.
Yes, I feel that it may be wiser to buy a home in a town next to Ridgewood for a lower price, and you could still be a very short drive from its downtown.
For the most part, the areas around Ridgewood are very good. You range from upscale, affluent to more middle-to-upper-middle class neighborhoods. I can't speak to the schools, but between shopping, commuting, proximity, lifestyle, etc.---all very good, if that's the kind of living you are looking for.
I grew up in Wyckoff and it was a great place to raise a family. I have been out of there since '96, not sure how much it's changed, but I imagine it's still a nice place to live. Wyckoff goes to high school at Ramapo in Franklin Lakes. I think Midland Park & Waldwick go to MPHS?
I grew up in Wyckoff and it was a great place to raise a family. I have been out of there since '96, not sure how much it's changed, but I imagine it's still a nice place to live. Wyckoff goes to high school at Ramapo in Franklin Lakes. I think Midland Park & Waldwick go to MPHS?
Nope - they each still have their own high schools but have combined some sports. I believe football & wrestling. Although they should've regionalized those towns' schools 30 years ago and saved residents lots of $
Nope - they each still have their own high schools but have combined some sports. I believe football & wrestling. Although they should've regionalized those towns' schools 30 years ago and saved residents lots of $
I think Waldwick used to go to Midland Park and then built their own high school in the 1960s. Somewhere along the line, Midland Park and Waldwick did combine football teams. I grew up in MP when they had their own team and our football team was always pretty bad. There was a MP-Waldwick rivalry, and the Thanksgiving football game was always Midland Park v. Waldwick.
When my daughter was growing up, any kids who could play decently usually went to Bergen Catholic after 8th grade.
From sometime in the 70s to sometime in the 90s, Ho-Ho-Kus went to Midland Park High School. I was the last class in the 70s to graduate without any Ho-Ho-Kus kids (1976). Ridgewood had tossed them out, and we took them in and their tuition paid for an addition to the school.
About eight - ten years ago, North Haledon tried to go to Midland Park, and Midland Park wanted them, but a judge put a halt to it saying that North Haledon's desire to get out of Haledon's school system was based on racism. However, my daughter did have a NH girl in her class--her family paid the tuition, about $12K a year, for her to attend Midland Park.
There is something nice about a small town that you don't get in the bigger towns. My ex went to Fair Lawn and graduated with 600 other kids. He never even knew some of them. I had 119 in my graduating class. My daughter had 95. In Midland Park, you know everyone since kindergarten, allowing for people moving in and out over the years. There are advantages and disadvantages to that, too.
Sooner or later, though, these schools ARE going to have to regionalize. The congestion and taxes in Bergen County are not going to allow for that small-town living feel that we were so used to in that part of the county. Those days are pretty much gone.
I don't really remember--It was the 70s, and I was a teenager. Probably space problems. Back at that time, classes were larger because we kids born in the Fifties came from big families (I'm the middle child of 7 myself!)
I do remember the Bergen Record covered the first day of school when Ho-Ho-Kus started with the headline "Blue Blood Meets Blue Collar".
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