Of important note, Glen Ridge is also a borough of artists. Glen Ridge has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Glen Ridge’s character.
Also of interest is that Glen Ridge has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
A relatively large number of people in Glen Ridge telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 29.07% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
In addition, Glen Ridge is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums.
Glen Ridge is a good choice for families with children because of several factors. Many other families with children live here, making it a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families. The borough’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic success. Many people own their own single-family homes, providing areas for children to play and stability in the community. Finally, Glen Ridge’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.
In Glen Ridge, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 35.28 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit. In addition, the borough is also quite pedestrian-friendly, because many neighborhoods are very dense and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.
Despite being a small borough, Glen Ridge has a lot of people using the train to get to and from work every day. Most of these people on the train are using it to get to good jobs in other cities.
