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My husband and I are looking to move to NJ from Queens, and we are deciding between 3 neighborhoods that are decent in price and have a train station in the town: Woodbridge Proper Vs Clifton Vs Fair Lawn
We both commute in to NYC. I have been around the Woodbridge and Clifton areas a few times.
Regarding Woodbridge:
Is up north of the train station the better area? Further south (past Main Street) look a bit rough. Overall is Woodbridge safe?
Regarding Clifton:
Super confused on this one. We got out the train and it looked pretty terrible, then went a little further down, and was decent? Is Clifton unsafe?
Regarding Fair Lawn:
Looks pretty nice to me. Quiet town?
**We are looking for some kind of walkability, which all 3 seem to have to a certain extent**
**Max price 450-ish**
Please also suggest any other towns you think would fit the bill.
Thank you for your help!
Fair Lawn’s the best of the three towns, hands down, but it’s also the most expensive of the three. It’s a quiet town, although it’s one of Bergen County’s bigger and more populated towns. Some parts of the town are nicer than others, but the whole town is fine. 450 for FL might be a stretch right now, as prices have increased rapidly in the town over the past 18 months or so. The schools are very good. As for Clifton and Woodbridge, they’re big suburbs (much bigger than Fair Lawn) with multiple sections, and some are better than others. Schools in Clifton overall are a bit below average. Woodbridge schools I would say are around average overall, but it’s the town I’m the least familiar with of the three. However, Retriever’s a Woodbridge expert, so I’m sure he’ll be here with some good advice soon.
When I started my home search last September I had no location criteria other than Northern NJ and maybe parts of Central NJ. I placed offers on houses in all the towns you mentioned here (along with West Orange and Hasbrouck Heights). The winning bid was in Fair Lawn which is where we landed. Granted, the Fair Lawn house cost us over 100k more than the offer we put in for the Woodbridge, and 55k more than the Clifton house. But I’m glad it worked out that way. Fair Lawn is regarded as the better town of the 3 and Bergen County is an area I’m much more familiar with and have friends/family in.
Zhelder’s post is spot on. I can’t comment on commute to NYC because I’ve never done that from any of these towns. All I can really say is that your 450 budget will buy you the most house in Woodbridge. While you can get a similar house in the nicer part of Clifton for less than you would in Fair Lawn, it’s pretty close so you might as well spend the extra 30 or 40k and buy in Fair Lawn if it comes down to those two.
Thanks for your input.
I wouldn’t mind spending more to get a little less house if the neighborhood is much nicer.
Are there better areas of fair lawn than others? From what I’m gathering there are 2 train stations; Broadway and radbudn. Is one area better than the other ?
The Milnes and Radburn neighborhoods are the nicest (and most expensive). The rest of Fair Lawn is fine but more of a mixed bag in terms of aesthetic appeal depending on what street you're on. There's no part of town that's run down or that seems unsafe, just some parts have more modest homes that are sometimes not maintained as well as others. I live in Warren Point and I'm still the new guy around here (only moved in late April) but so far it has been a very welcoming environment.
Yes, Woodbridge is--overall--a safe town. As long as the OP isn't seeking top-notch schools, Woodbridge (whose schools are--at best--average), might be a good fit. I can't comment about the other towns.
I would choose Fair Lawn over Hackensack for safety.
Not that Hackensack is overall unsafe, but they have a higher poor and homeless population and sometimes safety issues go along with that.
Let's put it this way, anecdotal information, of course.
I used to belong to a church in Fair Lawn that was part of a large interreligious group of churches, synagogues, and even a Sikh temple that fed about 125 homeless/poor people every day in Hackensack. This organization has now become something else but does the same thing. I believe they are up to about 180 people coming for meals per day.
I am sure there are people struggling financially in Fair Lawn, like everywhere, but as far as I know, there's nowhere in Fair Lawn where 180 people are lining up outside a building to get dinner every day.
A quick lookup shows that Hackensack's crime rate for violent and property crime is 14 per 1,000, while Fair Lawn's is 7.
Last edited by Mightyqueen801; 02-10-2022 at 10:48 AM..
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