Two years after settling into their new home in suburban River Edge, N.J., Becky and Joe Burns, both 43, are still asked by others in town, “Which one of you is from here?”
“There are confused looks when we answer, ‘Neither,’” Mr. Burns said. “A lot of people who live in River Edge have roots in River Edge, and that speaks volumes about a place.”
Fifteen miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan, the central Bergen County borough has a Revolutionary War pedigree, well-regarded schools, impeccable streets and parks and a sizable inventory of mid-20th-century colonials and ranches.
But it was a rare stucco Spanish colonial with three tiny bedrooms that captivated the Burnses, who grew up elsewhere in Bergen County. They had been living in Hackensack, the county seat and River Edge’s bustling neighbor to the south, and frequented River Edge because their parish is there.
The couple paid $460,000 for the circa-1927 house and put $70,000 into an expansion.
Mr. Burns, who works in pharmaceutical sales, calls River Edge “one of New Jersey’s best-kept secrets,” and is untroubled by its one notable shortcoming: the absence of a traditional downtown business district.
“The town makes up for it by being extremely walkable,” he said. “We walk to the park, my daughter walks to school, she walks to the library. I’d rather have that than my being able to go downtown for coffee.”
Eileen Tummino, a sales representative with Weichert Realtors one town north in Oradell, said buyers often choose River Edge for its public schools and commuting options that include two train stations.
Because River Edge and Oradell share a middle school and a high school, it is common for buyers to look at both boroughs. Oradell is larger geographically and River Edge larger in population, with 11,700 residents. Properties are a bit smaller and home prices lower in River Edge. But when River Edge wins out, Ms. Tummino said, it is often about accessibility.
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