Difference between Essex and Bergen (Newark, Paterson: middle-class, crime, roughest)
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My family and I are relocating to the area. After talking to the realtor she suggested Essex and Bergen Counties. What are the differences? Are the people different in these neighborhoods? I'm trying to get the local flavor. Thanks for the help.
The biggest difference is Essex is much more urban. You have Newark, East Orange, Orange, Irvington. In Bergen County, Hackensack is really the only "major" city. Bergen is more rural as you go to the north.
Bergen also has blue laws, so no retail shops are open on Sundays. I think this law is still in effect. So, no target, no malls, nada on Sundays. I think grocery stores are open. I couldn't live somewhere where I couldn't access stores if I need to on Sunday.
Both counties have astronomical property taxes and cost of living in general, for any decent area. Both are very crowded and full of traffic everywhere. But in Essex County you have the Newark element there and all the garbage that goes with that. Bergen doesn't have that. Have to disagree with the above poster, Hackensack doesn't seem all that urban, and the only Abbott school district in the county is Garfield. So overall Bergen is probably a better choice since it has a much lower crime rate, but it's rather ugly with gaudy development in most places. (Western) Essex County has some areas that are much more visually appealing IMO, but you're never more than five miles away from the ghetto.
Having lived in Bergen County most of my life, and being pretty familiar with Essex County having worked there for many years, here are what I think the major differences are.
Bergen has no truly bad towns. Hackensack, Garfield, Lodi, Wallington, and parts of Englewood are probably Bergen's roughest towns, and they're not so bad. Essex, on the other hand, has a quartet of the roughest towns in the state, if not the country: Orange, East Orange, Newark, and Irvington.
Another key difference between Essex County and Bergen County: in Essex County, you have some truly beautiful towns right next to one of the "quartet", with no borders, barriers, etc. You just KNOW when you've entered one of the quartet. As a result, some of the nice Essex County towns have quite a bit of "spillover" mayhem. In Bergen, there really aren't a lot of examples of two towns strikingly far apart on the socioeconomic scale being next to each other. The shift tends to be more gradual. For example, from many of Bergen County's affluent burbs, you'll travel through some more middle-class or working-class towns before you get to one of Bergen's rougher towns (which, again, have nothing on Essex's rough towns). Teaneck and Hackensack are about as much of a contrast between two bordering Bergen towns that I can think of, and that difference is far less great than say Maplewood and Irvington or West Orange and Orange in Essex County.
Traffic is horrible in both counties, but honestly, I think traffic is worse in Essex County, even in the burbs. The western part of the county, away from the "quartet", is more manageable trafficwise.
Prices are horrible in decent towns in both counties. But nicer towns in Essex tend to be more affordable than Bergen's nicer towns, where the prices can make your head explode (except for perhaps Millburn/Short Hills, which can roll with Bergen's most expensive towns). For example, Livingston is more affordable than Ridgewood, even though both towns are pretty darn close on the socioeconomic scale. Schools in the best districts in both counties are comparable.
Personally, I greatly prefer Bergen County, but Essex County does have some nice towns with some more affordable housing.
Zhelder hit it pretty much on the nail I personally would only live in these 2 counties (save for parts of morris, passiac and union) I personally prefer the essex suburbs but you cannot go wrong with Bergen. Which towns in particular are you looking for?
My family and I are relocating to the area. After talking to the realtor she suggested Essex and Bergen Counties. What are the differences? Are the people different in these neighborhoods? I'm trying to get the local flavor. Thanks for the help.
Passaic County also has some nice towns and property taxes lower than Essex and Bergen Counties. And no I am not referring to Paterson.
Passaic County also has some nice towns and property taxes lower than Essex and Bergen Counties. And no I am not referring to Paterson.
We need more info. What is your daily commute?
Yeah I would suggest Passaic County as well. Definitely more bang for your buck. Look at Little Falls, Woodland Pk, Wayne, Totowa and parts of Clifton. LF is beautiful, and right next to Montclair, good for commuting, there's a train station there and you have the Rt 46 corridor as well.
Bergen -- pro: Nice towns/sports hub
con: suburban drug trade/traffic
Essex -- pro: Nice towns/NJ's transport hub
con: urban drug trade/very undesirable areas
PS: Believe it or not, there are parts of Orange and East Orange that are affluent. I wouldn't necessarily group Orange in w/ the likes of Irvington (especially Irvington).
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