SperlingViews - Westwood, New_jersey

the Pascack Valley region of Bergen County, NJ is THE place to be! It encompasses River Vale, Hillsdale, Westwood, and Emerson with Westwood being the epi-center. I grew up in River Vale and currently live in Westwood. The whole area is very close-knit community, EXCELLENT schools, but VERY expensive housing. the area has steadily risen throughout the years. For instance, my parents purchased their 2 acre ranch style home in the mid 70's for about 75k.... they sold it in 2002 for over 800K!! the average house cost is 600-700k. You can get a very crappy fixer upper for about 400-500k. Property taxes can be from 10k - 18k per year. Sales tax is 8%. there is NO TAX on clothing!. But Blue laws prevent any business from being open on Sunday. Luckily this area of bergen county borders NY State where you can easily access to shop major malls and stores on sundays. Easy access to upstate NY, Tappan Zee Bridge / Westchester / Manhattan. Super close and easy commute to NYC. Most people who live in this area of NJ commute via train or bus to NYC for work. Very easy and fast commute (30-60mins) but also costs money for the train/bus/etc... Often considered the Best area in Bergen County, with easy access to shopping in 3 area malls, and major routes 17 & 80, and the Garden state parkway and turnpike. Homes have good size .5 to 1 acre + most sought after area, the housing prices alone prove it - property value is enourmus!!! it will always go up! this area has been around forever since the 1700's when george washington crossed thru during the revolutionary war. many historical sites. amazing place to live and raise a family. excellent quality of life, but you gotta have ALOT of money!![read more...]

The change of seasons used to be exciting, but now the winters are so dreary. Summer comes and goes so quickly. I always hate to see it end. I just want to live somewhere warm, where there are more nice days.[read more...]