Glen Rock vs Fair Lawn vs Ridgewood

[rocknyc]

Originally Posted by ArcticBlast

Commuting by train is much better than commuting by bus. I did both so I am speaking from experience here. There are always traffic related delays during rush hours when you travel by bus to port authority (even on XBL).

I've been commuting by bus to the Port Authority for over 3 yrs now and I'd say there have been less than 10 instances of a bus breaking down in the XBL (but this is most likely due to the time I take the bus b/c I do read reports of delays due to broken down buses in that lane)

Additionally, from a cost perspective, it's much cheaper for me to take the bus to PA and then walk to my office (Rock Center area) vs taking the train to Penn Station and taking the subway up from there.

[GiantRutgersfan]

600-850k seems like an awful lot for Fair Lawn. Might be a handful of houses you can find on the Bottom of that range, but the vast majority go for under 500k.

Nice town, but I don't think you would see appreciation spending that kind of money because it's simply not the kind of town where people spending that much live

[cukcoo_nest]

Originally Posted by ArcticBlast

Commuting by train is much better than commuting by bus. I did both so I am speaking from experience here. There are always traffic related delays during rush hours when you travel by bus to port authority (even on XBL).

can you please share the specific morning and evening times (from fair lawn and PABT) you got into the bus...it will be very helpful to get a better perspective of when not to take a bus


My experience:
Morning 6.50 to 7.10 buses --> 35-40 minutes tops (usually a few minutes ahead of schedule to reach PABT)
Morning 7.20ish --> usually about 10 mins late on schedule to reach PABT


Evening: anything before 5.10 from PABT on time. cant comment on later times as no recent expereience.

[Busch Boy]

Originally Posted by GiantRutgersfan

600-850k seems like an awful lot for Fair Lawn. Might be a handful of houses you can find on the Bottom of that range, but the vast majority go for under 500k.

Nice town, but I don't think you would see appreciation spending that kind of money because it's simply not the kind of town where people spending that much live

I agree. With your price range, you can do better than Fair Lawn. Ridgewood and Glen Rock are two good options. I would also look into Ho Ho Kus and Allendale.

[jpf723]

I would choose Ridgewood hands down over Fair Lawn, and by a narrower margin over Glen Rock.

Regarding the 2 trains in Glen Rock, they're at different locations w diff parking lots so it's not like you can just hop to the 2nd station if you miss the train at the 1st one. Those two train lines are actually on the same track at Ridgewood and split when it gets to Glen Rock, so the Ridgewood train station is better in terms of flexibility and options regarding the train schedules.

[nycwebe]

Thanks. I checked out homes in Glen Rock (walking distance to train) and the train whistle seems pretty loud and annoying. Is this something to be concerned about or do you get used to it.

Are there any advantages to GL vs RW? It does seem that most rank RW a little ahead of GR.

[cukcoo_nest]

Originally Posted by nycwebe

Thanks. I checked out homes in Glen Rock (walking distance to train) and the train whistle seems pretty loud and annoying. Is this something to be concerned about or do you get used to it.

Are there any advantages to GL vs RW? It does seem that most rank RW a little ahead of GR.

train whistle is not something you get used to...you just decide to live with it. I would stay away. Moreover there is a reason why houses near train tracks are more affordable than the comparables a little further away.


with your budget you should have good options in GL and RW. But I would say take a look at Fair Lawn as well, there may not be many homes in FL at your price range, but it only takes one good home of your choice that checks all your boxes. Good luck with your search.


Look at this website to get an idea about how the socioeconomic status has been changing over time: District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts


All 3 seem to be moving up the scale:


[SIZE=2]District[/SIZE][SIZE=2]2000
[/SIZE][SIZE=2] DFG[/SIZE][SIZE=2]1990
[/SIZE][SIZE=2] DFG[/SIZE][SIZE=2]Fair Lawn Boro[/SIZE][SIZE=2]GH[/SIZE][SIZE=2]FG[/SIZE][SIZE=2]Glen Rock Boro[/SIZE][SIZE=2]J[/SIZE][SIZE=2]I[/SIZE][SIZE=2]Ridgewood Village[/SIZE][SIZE=2]J[/SIZE][SIZE=2]I[/SIZE]

[Nmc400]

Originally Posted by jpf723

I would choose Ridgewood hands down over Fair Lawn, and by a narrower margin over Glen Rock.

Regarding the 2 trains in Glen Rock, they're at different locations w diff parking lots so it's not like you can just hop to the 2nd station if you miss the train at the 1st one. Those two train lines are actually on the same track at Ridgewood and split when it gets to Glen Rock, so the Ridgewood train station is better in terms of flexibility and options regarding the train schedules.

I'd agree with this sentiment. GRock is a essentially a less tony version of Ridgewood, why not go with the real deal? GR also has higher tax rate than RW.

[ArcticBlast]

Originally Posted by cukcoo_nest

can you please share the specific morning and evening times (from fair lawn and PABT) you got into the bus...it will be very helpful to get a better perspective of when not to take a bus


My experience:
Morning 6.50 to 7.10 buses --> 35-40 minutes tops (usually a few minutes ahead of schedule to reach PABT)
Morning 7.20ish --> usually about 10 mins late on schedule to reach PABT


Evening: anything before 5.10 from PABT on time. cant comment on later times as no recent expereience.

I should have been more specific in my original post. I have experience in commuting by train and bus from Hackensack to Port Authority. The XBL line is shared by all the express buses (whether they come from Hackensack or from Fair Lawn). So you can expect similar timings from Fair Lawn as well.

Going from Hackensack to Port Authority (by bus):
Before 7 am - takes about 30-40 minutes
Between 7 - 8:30 am - takes anywhere between 40-60 minutes with time progressively increasing as you get closer to 8:30 am.

Coming back to Hackensack from Port Authority (by bus):
After 7 pm - takes about 30-35 minutes

The above is on a normal day with no excessive traffic, no adverse weather conditions (such as rain or snow), no accidents and breakdowns etc., But delays occur more often than not. There were instances where I got stuck on the bus for 2 hours.

The train experience might be different since they are on different lines. But they are always on time and very minimal delays. The ride is also more comfortable. It is also costly compared to bus.