Wayne is about 20 to 30 minutes away. I live in West Milford (used to live in Totowa) and miss the closer commute to the shopping centers. Compared to West Milford, Ringwood is a better alternative if being closer to shopping centers is your focus. Riverdale and Kinnelon (only 10~15 minutes away from Ringwood) have large "big box" shopping (Target, Walmart, Sports Authority, Borders, Pier 1 Imports, Lowes, Home Depot, BJs). If you go south on 23, then you have Willowbrook Mall and Wayne Towne Plaza in Wayne (and the large theatre with arena style seating). Ringwood is not as remote as people tend to believe. There' s been a lot of commercial development near route 23 and 287 (Riverdale and Kinnelon as stated before).

If you want more rural, then consider West Milford. Nice town with lots of neighborhoods and some lake communities, but not at all close to shopping centers the likes of Riverdale or Wayne (except for the Shopright in West Milford proper or the A&P in Hewitt - a town within the confines of West Milford proper).

Taxes are on the high side as another agent stated, hey but that's North Jersey (get used to it), Not much we can do about taxes in North Jersey.

Also, consider that some homes are heated by oil, so consider the high cost of oil now when looking for that home in Ringwood or any of those rural towns/neighborhoods.

Good Luck, Muffy and all the best.

Carmelo Torres
A Home For Sale Realty
973-986-7901

Wed Jun 11 2008, 18:36

Yes, Ringwood is very rural. One of its positives is that it's rustic and kind of remote. One of its negatives is that it's rustic and kind of remote. The taxes there are also known to be quite high, partly because of a lack of commercial ratables, and partly because much of the land is tied up as watershed. There is no downtown at all, just a few strip malls. People move to Ringwood for peace and quiet. So if you need more complete shopping and services, you might have to look to West Milford, Wanaque, Pequannock, Riverdale, etc.

-Marc

Fri May 9 2008, 11:39

Ringwood is spread out and a bit more rural than nearby Bergen County. The nearest malls would probably be the Palisades Mall (jump back on 287 N) or Willowbrook in Wayne. If having things very close by appeals to you, you can look around in some of the surrounding towns. If you'd like some additional suggestions please feel free to get in touch with me.

Karen Lampiasi
Broker/Manager
Coldwell Banker - Mahwah
Karen.Lampiasi@CBmoves.com

Fri May 9 2008, 11:36

No its not so bad, i live right next to Ringwood in West Milford and from ringwood you have acces to 287 which go's into bergen county and RT17 which takes you out to paramus and all the shopping malls you want.

Fri May 9 2008, 11:36