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Are taxes and real-estate rising in these two towns? I know they're still more affordable compared to their surrounding towns. From what I understand, Waldwick is slowly going through a renaissance with its downtown and train station. I hear these towns are becoming inhabited with more and more NYC commuters and more "upper class" than they previously were. Is this true? What is your take?
Are taxes and real-estate rising in these two towns? I know they're still more affordable compared to their surrounding towns. From what I understand, Waldwick is slowly going through a renaissance with its downtown and train station. I hear these towns are becoming inhabited with more and more NYC commuters and more "upper class" than they previously were. Is this true? What is your take?
That already happened a long time ago.
I grew up in Midland Park, a quiet little mostly blue-collar town where many of us were related to one another and had lived in town for generations (I am fifth-generation MP). We had pet chickens in the backyard, and the people behind us kept horses. Now the next house up the street where the horse owners lived is five houses up the street. That all started in the 80s. Waldwick was sort of a sister town, also blue-collar, small, older homes, not much else there.
As older people with property died off and their land was sold, developers came along and started shoehorning big houses into small lots wherever possible. I don't think there is any buildable land left. It wasn't just Midland Park and Waldwick--you would not believe what Franklin Lakes and Mahwah looked like 25 - 30 years ago. Close to rural in some parts, or just large areas of woods that are now cut down and ponds that have been filled in. The biggest business on Wyckoff's Main Street was a feed and grain.
In the late Eighties, Midland Park started being humorously called "Ridgewood Lite" because people who wanted to live in Ridgewood and couldn't afford it chose to live there instead. Waldwick started to catch up a little later, but they are pretty much there now.
There have been commuters living in both towns for decades now. Although the land is mostly gone or all gone, as older residents who owned the older, smaller homes die off or move to retirement homes, people buy up those houses and bump them out and/or add a level. The schools are decent, the commute is reasonable, and there is access to everything. And that costs money. I don't see taxes or prices going down anytime soon, but I don't think either town will ever catch up to Ridgewood in status, either.
Uh, yeah, very much so. Midland Park especially has become more expensive over the past couple of decades. When the 2%ers got priced out of the 1%er towns (which basically surround both Midland Park and Waldwick), they moved into both of these towns.
These towns are hardly the blue-collar affordable towns they used to be. They are both solid upper-middle-class towns with some traces of their blue-collar past. The only reason they're sometimes described as "affordable" or "working class" towns is because they're surrounded by towns of even greater wealth and prestige.
BTW, I lived in Waldwick for seven years and I'd have no problem returning there. Or in moving to Midland Park.
So Waldwick and Midland Park should be considered strictly upper-middle class now? I've certainly met blue collar types from those towns, but I guess they're small traces of the past populace. In comparison to towns in southern Bergen County, Waldwick and Midland Park would be labeled "wealthy" to a certain degree, I'm sure. The real estate and taxes probably won't go down, you're right, but I have the feeling they will rise since Waldwick in particular, is going through a little bit of a renaissance. I never expect them to reach Ridgewood status, that's for sure.
Uh, yeah, very much so. Midland Park especially has become more expensive over the past couple of decades. When the 2%ers got priced out of the 1%er towns (which basically surround both Midland Park and Waldwick), they moved into both of these towns.
These towns are hardly the blue-collar affordable towns they used to be. They are both solid upper-middle-class towns with some traces of their blue-collar past. The only reason they're sometimes described as "affordable" or "working class" towns is because they're surrounded by towns of even greater wealth and prestige.
BTW, I lived in Waldwick for seven years and I'd have no problem returning there. Or in moving to Midland Park.
That's a good point. Former hick towns like Allendale and Wyckoff are now very wealthy, and MP and Waldwick are sandwiched between them and Ridgewood, so some people will see them as "less".
I returned to Midland Park to raise my daughter since my mother is still there and would be there for her while I worked. She did great in the school system, and the small-town feel, while it can be a pain sometimes with everyone knowing everybody else's business, also has a positive side in that you can establish a nice network of parents through school and other activities that gives you that community feel.
That's a good point. Former hick towns like Allendale and Wyckoff are now very wealthy, and MP and Waldwick are sandwiched between them and Ridgewood, so some people will see them as "less".
I returned to Midland Park to raise my daughter since my mother is still there and would be there for her while I worked. She did great in the school system, and the small-town feel, while it can be a pain sometimes with everyone knowing everybody else's business, also has a positive side in that you can establish a nice network of parents through school and other activities that gives you that community feel.
There are talks that some MP kids may end up in RW High. Things are continuing to change MQ.
There are talks that some MP kids may end up in RW High. Things are continuing to change MQ.
Wow, I hadn't heard that. Interesting.
I bailed out of town two weeks after my daughter graduated from high school. It's not an affordable place for a single parent, nor is it a good place for a single/divorced person socially. You're always on the fringes. Was a good town to raise a kid in, though.
I'd never been able to own anything, of course, while living up there, and I knew I could get a condo down in Monmouth County paying the price of a slightly longer commute, so I moved as soon as I could. Plus, I enjoy the fact that the ocean is fifteen minutes away.
There are talks that some MP kids may end up in RW High. Things are continuing to change MQ.
I read about this in the most recent Villadom Times (Wyckoff/MP/Franklin Lakes 3/6/2013 edition) : "District Explores possible send/receive options" -
They basically stated that the MP Board of Ed is "reaching out to neighboring school districts to determine whether they would have any interest in accepting MPHS students on a tuition basis or sending their students to MPHS". They're also checking with Northern Highlands in Allendale to see if they would be interested.
Not exactly sure what "tuition basis" means (ie. does MP pay for this or do individual families pay?) but I don't see how this would work especially if MP picks up the tab. I would think there would be a deluge of students going to Ridgewood/Northern Highlands and none going to MPHS. Conversely, if I were a parent that had a child in NHHS or RHS, why would I ever send my kid to MPHS when both NH and RHS are regarded as some of the best schools in the entire state? I wouldn't expect anything in the short term.
I read about this in the most recent Villadom Times (Wyckoff/MP/Franklin Lakes 3/6/2013 edition) : "District Explores possible send/receive options" -
They basically stated that the MP Board of Ed is "reaching out to neighboring school districts to determine whether they would have any interest in accepting MPHS students on a tuition basis or sending their students to MPHS". They're also checking with Northern Highlands in Allendale to see if they would be interested.
Not exactly sure what "tuition basis" means (ie. does MP pay for this or do individual families pay?) but I don't see how this would work especially if MP picks up the tab. I would think there would be a deluge of students going to Ridgewood/Northern Highlands and none going to MPHS. Conversely, if I were a parent that had a child in NHHS or RHS, why would I ever send my kid to MPHS when both NH and RHS are regarded as some of the best schools in the entire state? I wouldn't expect anything in the short term.
RHS as it is pretty overcrowded and with taxes continuing on the rise I'm not sure how it would work to bring in more kids from a neighboring town. But stranger things have happened. I believe MQ had mentioned that Ho-Ho-Kus at one point in the 70s sent their HS kids to RHS.
Ho-Ho-Kus kids went to MPHS in the 80's and early 90's (I grew up in MP) until the powers that be in Ho-Ho-Kus realized Northern Highlands was a much better school and fit their socio-economic status.
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