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Here's my take on Rutherford. I've lived here for on and off for 20 years. For the most part, it's a great town. Here are the pros: convenient to transportation/NY, great restaurants, walkable, small town feel, good schools, safe. Negatives: taxes are high, congested surrounding area, not many recreation/parks available for biking etc. So, if you want to be near NY and like a small town where everyone knows one another then move to Rutherford. One more thing, the people are very friendly. Many people are multi-generational which is always a good thing. Good luck!
I have lived in Rutherford for more than 2 years now, was previously from more lively Hoboken... My answer is 'meh' .... I have looked at Montclair, Summit, Ridgewood, Bloomfield, Maplewood, Nutley, Cranford, Westfield, Glen Rock, and some other nice towns in North Jersey before picking Rutherford.
What I like:
- The good (not great from what I hear) public schools
- 2 mass transit options (train and bus) to commute into the city
- walkable, though not too inspiring, downtown
- summer activities & YMCA classes/events in town
- proximity to the city
What I don't like:
- high taxes (my modest home's RE taxes has gone up nearly about 1500k in two years, insane!)
- lack of parks near downtown (have to drive to get to children's park) area
- too many commuters who don't care as much about where the town is heading
- the fuddy duddy folks who run the town
- it's a dry town
While it pains me to say it 'cus I live here, if I had a choice, I would rent before buying here to get a better feel for the town. I'm not sold on it yet and at the rate the RE taxes is going up, I may just move the heck outta here if it goes up more rapidly than inflation! But the big question is where?
Good luck to you and FM/DM me if you have questions.
I have lived in Rutherford for more than 2 years now, was previously from more lively Hoboken... My answer is 'meh' .... I have looked at Montclair, Summit, Ridgewood, Bloomfield, Maplewood, Nutley, Cranford, Westfield, Glen Rock, and some other nice towns in North Jersey before picking Rutherford.
What I like:
- The good (not great from what I hear) public schools
- 2 mass transit options (train and bus) to commute into the city
- walkable, though not too inspiring, downtown
- summer activities & YMCA classes/events in town
- proximity to the city
What I don't like:
- high taxes (my modest home's RE taxes has gone up nearly about 1500k in two years, insane!)
- lack of parks near downtown (have to drive to get to children's park) area
- too many commuters who don't care as much about where the town is heading
- the fuddy duddy folks who run the town
- it's a dry town
While it pains me to say it 'cus I live here, if I had a choice, I would rent before buying here to get a better feel for the town. I'm not sold on it yet and at the rate the RE taxes is going up, I may just move the heck outta here if it goes up more rapidly than inflation! But the big question is where?
Good luck to you and FM/DM me if you have questions.
The commute to the city seems to be the biggest advantage of this town. Aside from that, would you say this town is not really worth living in? I do have to admit that my wife and I really love Ridgewood's downtown and overall town vibe. We are a bit hesitant since we do not like the Jones mentality.
Would you choose somewhere else if you had to do it over again?
Ridgewood is awesome and borders on utopia status. We all know that. Ridgewood is in a league of it's own, and therefore you can not compare Ridgewood to any town in BC.
Rutherford is a nice safe town with decent schools, train access, and a modest downtown. I do not think the area is declining, in fact it stays about the same. It has it's diversity factor unlike Ridgewood, and I have found that the people who live in the Southern part of BC are more down to earth and less high strung and uppity. Just my .02
The commute to the city seems to be the biggest advantage of this town. Aside from that, would you say this town is not really worth living in? I do have to admit that my wife and I really love Ridgewood's downtown and overall town vibe. We are a bit hesitant since we do not like the Jones mentality.
Would you choose somewhere else if you had to do it over again?
Yes, I would probably have either stayed in Hoboken for abit until my child has to enter public school or rent in Montclair, Rutherford or somewhere that has a better downtown. This way, we can get a better feel for the town before buying.
Ridgewood is nice but, aside from the snob factor, I heard there are problems with the school system...
Me and wife live in Brooklyn but are looking to buy a house in the NYC area. Rutherford stood out for it's decent schools, affordable prices, walkable downtown, and short commute. We went to visit a couple weeks back, and while we weren't blown away it's still on the table.
Walking around the downtown, it seemed like the area could be in transition, but I'm just not sure in which direction. For people who are familiar with the area, is it on the upswing or on a decline?
I grew up in Rutherford and visit family there frequently. The downtown is definitely on the upswing but it has always been vibrant save for a period in the late 60s when a teenage arsonist burned down a large number of stores; the resulting blight languished through the economic doldrums of the 70s but took off after that. Property taxes are high; welcome to New Jersey! The snob factor prevalent in other Northern New Jersey poseur towns is thankfully absent in Rutherford. The commute to midtown is awesome! The 190 bus will whisk you to midtown in about as much time than it takes to get to mid town from Wall Street (om a local train, at least) and it runs all night. If your commute to downtown, the train will take you to Hoboken where you can get the ferry or PATH. Train station parking may be an issue, though. The housing stock is older and some of those appealing Victorians are pretty drafty and expensive to heat but then again many properties have been extensively renovated. Rutherford is also adjacent to Routes 3 and 17 and the NJ Turnpike is right there and the Garden State Parkway is 10 minutes away. Traffic on that part of Route 17 is not horrible (it gets worse the farther north one goes) but Route 3 can be dicey at rush hour and football game days. There is also a major construction project underway on Route 3; I'm not sure when it is slated for completion. Hope this helps; PM me if you have any other questions.
I disagree just a little about Montclair and South Orange being overall nicer than Rutherford. Why?
Montclair has a small area that looks quite urban and has had some crime problems. Compared to the area of LIC I live in and its past crime, Montclair's "so-so" section would be considered a fine old urban area with just some public housing.
South Orange is actually better than Rutherford and Montclair for those seeking a compact affluent community with a nearby mall offering higher end or high end shopping (Nordstrom's etc). The main drawback is it borders an once very nice area of Newark - Ivy Hill - that had declined and now stabilized but crime issues remain. Hopefully this area will get much better because there are some lovely blocks of homes there. The contrast is pretty big as you go from Newark to South Orange.
Each town has a decent to very good college campus and fine examples of Victorian and turn of the century architecture.
My main beef with Montclair is a few residents (of whom many are New York City transplants) can be a bit snobby - I have experienced this as a kid from Kearny and dealing with the old music teachers from there and in the past few years. I recall a racially mixed couple who bought a house in the Arlington section of Kearny and then neglected a fine treasure (tin ceilings, wonderful Tudor touches and nice back and front yards) because one of them felt Kearny wasn't progressive enough and not "with it" in terms of health and political trends. On the other hand I have known people from Montclair who are extremely down to earth and wonderful company. One good friend of mine got a house on Grove Terrace in an old racially-mixed middle income blue/white collar community just north of the traditionally "bad" part of Montclair. He got a bargain in 1998 but had to do a lot of fixing up. No matter, he was living in Sunnyside Gardens, Queens beforehand and wanted the leafy streets and older homes that that area of Queens offered but with much more space.
So, look at the taxes first for all three communities and then here is how I could sum it up
Montclair - much more spread out with some insanely wealthy areas (Upper Montclair) as well as some down to earth middle class/professional- blue collar communities on the east side of the Lackawanna train station (and possibly along the Bloomfield border). Home prices are high though and you would have to look hard for a good deal. However the arts community is the most developed here - Montclair State University has a good music program, a good museum, and not far from there is the Paper Mill Playhouse (also this isn't too far from South Orange and Rutherford). The Watchung Reservation - a good-size wildlife preserve is not too far.
Rutherford - Gorgeous Victorians along and near Ridge Road, very laid back town that attracts a mix of upper/middle class with a small town center offering some pleasant, modest nightlife on weekends.
Generally the homes get cheaper as you head toward the Passaic River - this is due to flooding in some spots, but if you stay on or above Passaic River you should be fine. Parks intermittently line Passaic Ave with one large one with a dog run, large bbq areas, and open lawns in North Arlington. Further south the town of Kearny has an almost continuous line of parks along the Passaic which are good for dog walking, in a few spots bar-b-que areas, and at its end an archery area and sports rink. You can save money shopping in Kearny around there as they have a large ShopRite and some inexpensive chain restaurants. Rutherford itself can be a little more expensive but it will have more coffeehouses and sophisticated dining. Rutherford has a small arts center and movie theater and nearby is Clifton Commons for more affordable shopping options.
Finally, as I grew up there so I do have a bias, consider other areas - Arlington section of Kearny have buses directly to Port Authority and buses to Newark and Harrison PATH. Some excellent homes and the town while not offering as extensive arts and culture as the other three towns, nor as affluent, is the most laid back and one with equal blue collar/white collar mix. It isn't perfect, the main crime problem is occasional house burglaries when people are not home. Not high at all but in the 40 years I have talked to my family who have lived there I have heard of about a dozen attempts on our block ( so that comes to about 3 -5 per decade). Also the area near the East Newark border has some crime - comparable to some of the "bad" areas of Montclair. The home prices are quite reasonable between 330k - 450k gets you a nice home with a front and back yard. Also in the Arlington section is a great playground/small park as well as access to the parks along the river. Kearny has been invigorated with Brasilian, Portuguese, and Central American families and singles moving in - usually in the area south of Midland Ave. O Calamares offers an excellent taste of Central American food and for South American Argentinian empanadas place over on Elm Street. The old Scottish/Irish places remain with the Argyle offering fish and chips and offering haggis on Robert Burns night and an excellent Scottish bakery on Kearny Ave. Nevertheless, the retail could use a significant boost but North Arlington and Lyndhurst to the north have gotten a little more dining options and are diversifying - an EXCELLENT coffeehouse and restaurant that would be at home in Montclair, downtown Rutherford, South Orange called The Angry Bean. And again I have a bias as they were one of the few places open during the blackouts after Hurricane Sandy and where a godsend for my family in Kearny.
PS.
Ok, pardon the digression on Kearny and other towns outside the ones you mentioned. As for Maplewood, I have heard the area near the Newark border is not as good as it used to because it is near a once middle/upper middle income area Weequahic that has declined quite a bit - more crime. This was several years ago so it may have changed.
Maplewood does have the direct train, but it is by far the farthest way from the city at 21 miles(2 of which can be spent driving down Springfield ave through scenic Irvington, Awesome!!!). Even though it has direct train service it will still take you 30% longer to get into the city than Rutherford. Taxes are high, but my take on property taxes is that as long as you are getting service for it than there are worse things you could spend your money on. I mean the government is going to take your money regardless of it's in property taxes, income tax, sales tax etc. At least the majority of property taxes are spent in the immediate area and they are a direct credit to your AGI. Same is basically true for South Orange, except exchange the scenic drive portion to Newark.
Rutherford is less than 10 miles from midtown, has 28 minute train or bus commute. It has a nice downtown, good schools, and fairly "reasonable" housing prices. As a Bonus you are nowhere near Irvington and Cafe Matisse is one of my favorite restaurants in the NYC/NJ area. It's location also gives you easy access to all highways so no matter you are going you get there faster. Rutherford does not carry the panache of some of the other Bergen county towns or the midtown direct towns like Montclair, Maplewood, South Orange etc. Yes taxes are high but they are mild compared to others.
Verdict: As long as they maintain the quality of the schools in town the long term prognosis is absolutely UPSWING.
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