Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Commute to hoboken (where i work):
Woodridge hands down - not only is it a 5-10min walk to train station, the train ride itself is <30mins. Allendale i need to drive to waldwick train station, park, take train that is ~50mins ride.
School:
Allendale hands down, wood ridge school is below average.
Property itself:
This is personal preference, but i prefer allendale's new townhomes - no yard work, nicely landscaped abit cookie cutter gated community.
Ongoing cost:
Woodridge wins here low property tax, allendale tax is almost 2x + maintenance fee for townhomes.
Area/neighborhood:
Allendale hands down obviously, as it is in a much more "prestigious" area.
Looking at my own list - much shorter commute time and property tax is the main draw to woodridge, but those 2 are big ones.
Allendale has its own train station, why would you go to the Waldwick one?
There is very little comparison between the 2 towns. Allendale is far more affluent than Woodridge and has a completely different feel.
The drive from the towmhome to allendale and waldwick train station is similar, but waldwick has a lot more trains so seems to be the better station to take trains from.
sounds like you are all saying allendale is the better option? despite the much longer daily commute?
mightyqueen, which would you pick if you are buying..if you have to commute to hoboken station every day for work.
I would live in Allendale. And FYI, I have commuted, mostly to Hoboken TERMINAL (sorry, I'm in public transportation and know the correct names for most of the facililties in the region, hehehe) for more than thirty-five years. Much of that time was from Ridgewood, on the Bergen/Main lines, which is the same line you would take for Allendale. The trains are frequent, and there are a number of expresses during rush hours that skip over stations further down the line, making for a faster commute.
And now...I live in Monmouth County and commute even further.
But Allendale is a nice town, a generation out of small/semi-country town (my sister kept her horses on an Allendale farm in the late 1970s, and I believe condos stand on that farm now.) It still retains some of that small town feel, even though it's gone upscale now.
Allendale: Watch out for the trains running behind that townhouse complex. There's a NJ Transit train crossing right where the Whitney is so they'll blow their horns all day long. Some of the condos up along the tracks are low income rentals (I believe there's a state mandate for low income housing for new developments).
There's also a factory right next to the development on the south side. You should weigh all those things before jumping on the Whitney. There's a reason more than half haven't sold yet. We looked at these townhomes back in 3/2012 and couldn't stomach the train/factory.
There's another poster on this board that considered the Whitney but ultimately chose to buy a SFH in Hohokus. I went with a SFH in Wyckoff. For what it's worth, I know someone that's been living there for over a year who can't wait to get out (they're renting from their relatives). They have a baby so they ultimately want to buy a home.
One other thing to consider regarding the commute: Allendale is on the Main/Bergen train line which is FAR more frequent and reliable than the Pascack Valley train line, which is what Woodridge is on. If you can time it in a way where you get the fast train from Allendale (express after Ridgewood), the commute won't be that much longer than Woodridge, if at all. I would check NJ transit.com train schedules for more info that's relevant to your commute.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
