When embarking on a home search, what do you consider? The property, of course—how many bedrooms and bathrooms, size of the backyard and whether the house has a finished basement. Price range, sure. Town, definitely. But wait a minute—are you really sure the town matters? If you’re looking in the “Tri-Town area,” it might not.

Teaneck, Bergenfied and New Milford—this is Tri-Town. Think about it. People who live in these towns often send their children to the same private schools, eat in the same restaurants, shop in the same local supermarkets, pray in the same shuls, cross invisible town lines to have meals on Shabbat. We support the same charities, spend holidays together and even share information on Facebook about our favorite doctors and plumbers.

We eat, pray and live together. So when looking for a home, does the town really matter?

Once you have your wish list of your dream home, and a general idea of where you want to live—near a certain shul, near family or special friends—keep an open mind about which town your house might be in. It can open you up to a plethora of house options that you might not have considered otherwise.

There are certain things that each town affords its residents—Teaneck offers busing to local and private schools and offers the much-loved Sports and Arts summer camp. But Bergenfield can offer more house for the same dollar and has free garbage removal—isn’t that tempting? You can often live closer to Teaneck’s Keter Torah if you live in New Milford. How ironic is that? Literally, one side of Briarcliff Rd is in Bergenfield and the other is Teaneck. It might not matter what side of the street you live on. Narrowing your property search to just one town might be preventing you from finding your dream home.

I, myself, always thought I would live in Teaneck. When I didn’t find the house I was looking for, I opened myself up to the possibility of the North-of-New Bridge area in Bergenfield. As it turned out, the perfect home for my family ended up being south of New Bridge. Did I settle? No way. But once I was open-minded to all possibilities, I ended up with exactly what I needed.

And if three towns isn’t enough for you to consider, these towns are actually broken down into distinct neighborhoods. Just as Manhattan has its SoHo and the Upper West Side, Teaneck has its West Englewood section, Country Club, South of Cedar and more. Bergenfield has North and South of New Bridge. There are nuances to each of the numerous neighborhoods. I’ve been selling real estate since 2007, and being a top agent in Tri-Town, I can familiarize you with all of these unique areas.

If the Tri-Town area is where you want to live, give me a call. I can explain what each of these towns has to offer and help you explore which neighborhoods and homes might be right for you. Perhaps one town might be better than another for certain reasons, but you might be surprised that you can find your dream home across the border from where you expected.

See this video: https://vimeo.com/379463576

Three towns… one big, warm community—that’s Tri-Town.

By Linda Stamker