Montvale/park ridge/mahwah /hillsdale comparison (Ramsey, Woodcliff Lake: fit in, real estate, apartment complexes)

[Jpjess]

Looking to compare BC towns Montvale, Park Ridge, Mahwah & Hillsdale NJ in terms of schools, sense of community and decent property for around $600k. Which is best and why?

[JerseyGirl08]

These are all very nice towns. Mahwah has good schools and lower taxes but it is a bigger town with more industry compared to the others.

Just in my opinion based on what the people I know have told me, Park Ridge has a smaller town feel and really nice sense of community. It also has good schools.

I think Hillsdale has the highest taxes followed by Park Ridge and Montvale.

[EANJ]

I am not a real estate agent/broker, so I can't look at comps, what's out there, etc. -- but just from my own personal experience, having friends who live in each town, friends who have moved into and from each town, and I too live in Mahwah for many years now.

So, Montvale -- what I like about Montvale, and I don't know you'll get it for $600k, is that there is land! You can actually find houses with nice pieces/size property. My friend just sold his house in Montvale (about $1mm) and he had a nice piece of land, and potential buyers, who were looking in nearby towns commented on that. Park Ridge -- you can find that, but I am told less. Both nice towns, nice neighborhoods. Hillsdale, personally, I view as a notch down. Sure, there are nice, high-end neighborhoods there, but for the most part, I think it's more "affordable" and there's more inventory in a lower price range. Mahwah, I would put on even rank with Montvale and Park Ridge, perhaps even a notch higher. Again, I don't know if that applies to you and your price range, but Mahwah is the largest town in Bergen County. You can find everything -- even a high-rise, LOL, in Mahwah.

Mahwah does not have a "real small town" kind of feel to it -- and it's not. Sure, there's plenty of shopping, on main streets (Franklin Tpk.) and shopping plazas, but unlike neighboring Ramsey, which has a nice, walkable downtown, Mahwah is more vast and more spread out. You can find land there as well, but again, I don't know what you'll get in the $600k price range. Don't get me wrong -- you'll find nice homes and you'll enjoy living there. In Mahwah, you can find a condo/townhouse for $600k or a single family home.

I would look at 2-3 homes from each town, same price, and see how much house you get. Then of course you still have to look at each town -- lifestyle, schools, shopping, people, and so on.

For my personal taste -- I'd aim for Montvale, Mahwah, possibly Park Ridge, and then Hillsdale, but that's just me.

Good luck.

[46H]

Hillsdale, Park Ridge and Montvale are all very similar - a couple of square miles, 8-10k population, all have train station downtown areas, and great schools. Mahwah is a big, spread out town of 25K people, bisected by Rt 17, lots of shopping and commercial, with some tough traffic at times, also great schools. There is a very different feel between the first 3 and Mahwah.

As far as schools - all have great K-8 and decent high schools. Montvale and Hillsdale are part of the Pascack Valley Regional HS system, Montvale shares Pascack Hills (around 800 students) with Woodcliff Lake and Hillsdale shares Pascack Valley (1260 students) with Rivervale. They do share some programs and sports teams. Both have been highly rated over the last few years in the various polls.

Park Ridge HS is a small HS - around 400 students 9-12. Small HS supported by a single, small town might not have enough $$$ to support the programs/building needs found in regional systems or larger high schools in larger towns like Mahwah. The PR HS has been highly rated at times.

Mahwah has about 1030 students in the HS.

For that small town feel - Montvale or Hillsdale with Park Ridge 3rd because of the HS. Mahwah is an entirely different feel from the other 3 due to its size. You will find decent housing for 600K in any one of these towns.

[Post31]

Originally Posted by Jpjess

Looking to compare BC towns Montvale, Park Ridge, Mahwah & Hillsdale NJ in terms of schools, sense of community and decent property for around $600k. Which is best and why?

Your taxes in Mahwah would be much lower, enabling you to spend a bit more if you chose to. All of the other towns don't have the rateables Mahwah does.

The industry in Mahwah is tucked into lush lawns with white pines and acreage before you could possibly see ie Jaguar, Striker and other large corporate offices.

Our home is just on the market for 799k, taxes are 10,800. Compare that to the ones you're looking at in the 600k mark in other towns.

Good luck!

[Nmc400]

They are all great towns with great schools. I personally think Montvale is the nicest, but that's just me. As noted, Mahwah being the largest is least like the others and the feel of it really depends on where/what you buy in town-Mahwah has everything from apartment complexes to 20 acre estates.

[lzy]

have heard that PR high school kids have had tough times when going to college the first year... between size of school and the quality of education... many who were straight As struggled the first year in college... am also looking for a place...
Also, houses in PR area are losing their value what was a 700k house a year or 2 ago now is being sold 100-150k less.. so you may be lucky that way
Montvale has a good school and a good special ed programme as well. However, it depends on what your budget is - the prices are high
Hillsdale is a nice town all in all, a great little downtown area and good school district...
if you have a child with special needs i would stay away from Park Ridge i heard, very clicky and snobby towards them and the child will not fit in well...