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My wife and I are planning on moving from Sussex County to Bergen County. We both work in the Edgewater area and we are looking for roughly a 35-40 minute commute to a family-oriented locale in Bergen County with great schools and a lot to offer younger families. With all of the towns in the area, it is extremely hard to make a choice where we should focus our attention in our search. Some of the places that we have been considering are Fair Lawn, Ridgewood, Oradell, River Edge, and Hillsdale, Emerson, River Vale, the Township of Washington, and Westwood, and Paramus, however, I am strongly leaning toward Emerson and Westwood. Tenafly might even be an option. Anyway, I am looking for some advise and opinions on sorting through these locals. Opinions on the specific schools, commute time and considerations, family programs, best tax base, hospitals, local parks and nature, etc. would all be great.
Have you considered Mahwah? There are low taxes in Mahwah compared to the otehr areas yo umentioned. I am not sure the gae of yoru kids but in Mahwah there is free daycare for children under 3 I believe. I have a friend who actually has a house for sale in Mahwah.
Well they closed Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood late last year. Its being auctioned off and no idea what exactly its going to be used for yet. Westwood has a nice, walkable town town. There is a train in the center of town that goes into Hoboken I believe. Schools are decent, but not great.
My section of Westwood has Pascack Brook Park nearby. There are other small parks in town including the one in center of town where they have flea markets, live music in the summer, and other events. Taxes are expensive but not that bad. My house is worth about $400k and my taxes are a little over 6k.
Last edited by Kevin1975; 02-27-2008 at 12:35 PM..
Reason: insertion of keyword
Raised my kids a few years in Westwood. It is a really friendly and family town. I knew all my neighbors and we had a block party every year. It's just unusual that way. Lovely and homey town center.
I also just got hired to teach at Emerson High School. It's also a smaller town and I can definately tell you that the teachers are extremely caring and wanting the success of their students.
Paramus has great schools but I feel that it is more isolating and I still do not really know most of my neighbors.
Best to you! My Victorian home in Paramus in walking distance to Van Saun Park is going on the market soon. Let me know if you have any interest.
Go to the Ramsey/Mahwah area its closer than you would think to commute to, and it is the middle of Bergen County's Mountians and parklands, just a beautiful area to raise a family.
Pascack Valley Hospital will be a medical school, and I think it will have emergency room facilities.
I would concur with the recommendation of Westwood. I live in Washington Twp., which is the next town over. Lovely town, your budget would get you a very nice house, but our local government is one-party, no accountability, runs unopposed every year. Westwood taxes are lower because of ratables. Both towns are about 5-10 minutes to GSP or Route 17.
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Westwood and Emerson
