Alternatives to Montclair - Westfield, summit, Crawford, Ridgewood, Madison? (Orange: high school, taxes)
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I was born in Ridgewood (Valley, returned like a salmon to give birth there 33 years later) and lived in an adjacent town most of my life. There is some snobbery but it's not as bad as some make it sound. One of the oldest NYC commuter towns, going back to the 19th century, and the train line is reliable and frequent. Best commute for downtown. (Hoboken Terminal then PATH or ferry. Easy escape to upstate New York from there, too.
Found the remark about no bookstore alarming, since Bookends has been fixture in Ridgewood for so long so I checked. It is still there.
Bookends is an amazing independent book store. They get lots of visiting authors for signing events.
I love Bookends. I met Geddy Lee from Rush there at a book signing three years ago, and it was a highlight of my life. I don’t know how they’re managing to keep on keepin’ on with the great events in this environment, but I’m glad they are.
Bookends is an amazing independent book store. They get lots of visiting authors for signing events.
I know! It's known for that. It's a way to keep an independent bookstore in business.
Also missed the desire for a Jewish presence. Ridgewood has a temple and JCC. Out of curiosity, I looked up the percentage of population who are Jewish, and it's a little more than 4%. Out of a population of around 25K, that's about a thousand.
How about the vibe? Do you think Summit has more working moms? People who'd be more into the arts vs sports/golf? More Manhattan types or Park Slope types? I've visited Ridgewood and it's really hard to gauge who lives there as most of the people in town were probably from adjacent towns and same in Summit.
The more encouraging signs in Summit: a woman reading the New Yorker in a coffee shop, a church with an LGBT rainbow flag, etc. I didn't really see any of that in Ridgewood...
The more encouraging signs in Summit: a woman reading the New Yorker in a coffee shop, a church with an LGBT rainbow flag, etc. I didn't really see any of that in Ridgewood...
For reference we're looking more for the Park Slope/Cobble Hill/UWS vibe vs the UES vibe. It's really hard to distinguish the personalities of these two towns as they seem so similar yet must have subtle differences.
It does seem like Summit is a bit more Jewish too...
I know it sounds ridiculous but I really want to make friends in a community - I grew up in Bergen County (had friends from across the county) and I can tell you there are many towns I wouldn't live in, because people's priorities centered around cars vs quality of education, people were scared to go to the city (their parents never took them to museums, theater, etc). They had zero interest in seeing the world or leaving Bergen County...so yes I'd like to live somewhere people keep up with current events, are informed, liberal, read books, etc. My parents never made friends in our town, my mom was the only working mom in NYC of my friends, etc. We just never fit in.
I don't think Ridgewood is like what I'm describing above at all, which is why I'm looking here. It's a beautiful town with amazing schools. I'm just trying to understand the subtle differences. Basically which of the two places, would someone who likes Montclair like 2nd best.
I'm probably (definitely) biased here 1) because I don't like montclair but also because I enjoyed growing up in RW enough to move my family across the country for the same experience.
I grew up in rw in the late 80s and 90s and my experience couldn't be more different than what you're describing. We were on the train to manhattain (without parents) in our teens at least once a month. Most families were/are here for the schools. Parents were/are involved in activities with the kids. I'm not jewish, but i know and grew up with a lot of jewish families in RW.
Summit is also a very nice town, but I dont know it well (aside from one of my favorite diners - summit diner.
For what its worth, my sister lives in brooklyn (off fort green park), so I can picture what you're looking for.
I know it sounds ridiculous but I really want to make friends in a community - I grew up in Bergen County (had friends from across the county) and I can tell you there are many towns I wouldn't live in, because people's priorities centered around cars vs quality of education, people were scared to go to the city (their parents never took them to museums, theater, etc). They had zero interest in seeing the world or leaving Bergen County...so yes I'd like to live somewhere people keep up with current events, are informed, liberal, read books, etc. My parents never made friends in our town, my mom was the only working mom in NYC of my friends, etc. We just never fit in.
I don't think Ridgewood is like what I'm describing above at all, which is why I'm looking here. It's a beautiful town with amazing schools. I'm just trying to understand the subtle differences. Basically which of the two places, would someone who likes Montclair like 2nd best.
I think that between Ridgewood, Summit, and Westfield, you are honestly splitting hairs about the differences between them when compared to Montclair. They are more or less interchangeable with each other vs. Montclair. But you could be more Montclair-like in either South Orange or Maplewood. Cranford is a notch below that but still more Montclair-like than Summit, Ridgewood, and Westfield. Same goes for Morristown.
Summit may seem architecturally a little more urban in its downtown, but that aside, I don’t think the “vibe” is different as far as people’s attitudes go. I would not consider one of the three and immediately write off the other two. You can think about some logistical things to separate them, i.e. Summit has midtown direct for the train, while Westfield and Ridgewood require transfers.
The parts of Bergen County you are describing in close-minded terms sound more like perhaps Wyckoff or Oakland. I don’t think they describe Ridgewood all that well. For what it’s worth, since you are so convinced Summit is more progressive than Ridgewood, although I know it’s not a perfect barometer, in 2016, Hillary won Summit 60-34 and won Ridgewood 60-35. In 2020, Biden won Summit 67-30 and won Ridgewood 66-32. Pretty damn close.
Last edited by Leps12; 02-07-2022 at 03:38 PM..
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