NYC beckons new parents as North Jersey suburbs no longer seen as only place to raise kids
Sunday February 17, 2013, 12:35 AM
BY DAVE SHEINGOLD
STAFF WRITER
The Record
In a striking reversal, growing numbers of young parents are choosing the bustle of New York City over the calm of suburban life as a place to live, a trend that is already changing the face of some neighborhoods across North Jersey and could have long-term implications for schools, the housing market and beyond.
The number of children under the age of 5 has fallen 20 to 40 percent in many wealthy communities, with an overall drop of 12 percent across Bergen and Passaic counties since 2000, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. At the same time, middle- and upper-income areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn have seen virtually the opposite shift in both the number of young adults as well as preschool children, an analysis of the data by The Record found.
The trend, a break in a pattern that has held since before World War II, has left Bergen County with 6,000 fewer children younger than 5 years old than it had in 2000. Passaic’s figure, meanwhile, has slid by about 6,000 since 2005. Similar declines have appeared in suburban Westchester and Nassau counties in New York, the analysis found.
This is simple economics…when the quality of life benefits outweigh the hassle and expense of commuting, NYC professionals will choose to raise their families in towns like Ridgewood. However, when property taxes reach a point that the quality of life benefits no longer seem so obvious, they will move to NYC or never come to towns like Ridgewood in the first place. That is where we are today. If we don’t wake up and do something about it, Ridgewood will continue to experience a long slow decline, from which it may never recover.
In NYC, residential property taxes are very low. Its ‘political football’ in that the commercial buildings bear the burden of the taxes since ‘they’ dont vote. However, if you live in the city, your child will require private school. The ‘right’ kindergarten or preschool in the upper east side exceeds $30,000 per year. So the suburbs are still a bargain, but I do agree with #1 in that property taxes here are rising to the point where it makes sense to stay in the city.