Sitting atop a spectacular cliff in a relatively unknown area of Bergen County sits the luxurious town of Alpine, New Jersey, an expensive playground that has recently become the place to be for the very wealthy. Living in Alpine costs more than living in Beverly Hills or West Palm Beach, and may be one of the most expensive towns in which to reside in the U.S. With beautiful tree-lined avenues, quiet afternoons and impeccable mansions each worth an average of $4 million, it is the perfect place for the super-rich to dwell in anonymity.
With a population of slightly under 5000, Alpine and its residents prefer the obscurity and remoteness of Alpine. According to one local real estate agent, Alpine has a few gas stations selling necessities such as ice or milk and the people like it that way. On Alpine’s main street called Closter Dock Road, you will find a car garage, a church, two real estate agencies and a limousine rental service. Nearby Church Street has the town hall, the police station and a Japanese restaurant.
Alpine is so exclusive that it does not have mail carriers. People living in Alpine have no problem with picking up any letters or packages at the post office. Residents enjoy yachting and fishing activities provided by a hidden marina nestled at the end of a long, curvy road. Ironically, the peacefulness and glaringly “un-glitziness” of Alpine is home to such extroverted celebrities as Mary J. Blige, Chris Rock Lil’ Kim and P. Diddy. Past entertainers who have lived in Alpine include Stevie Wonder and Wesley Snipes, who recently made the news when he did not pay his taxes on the $8 million home he owned in Alpine.
Forbes Magazine originally listed Alpine’s postal code as representing one of the most expensive areas in which to live in America, beating Greenwich Village, Duarte (located in Los Angeles’ San Gabriel mountains) and Atherton, a suburb of San Francisco. Sale price for Alpine properties can range from $700,000 on up to a $60 million mansion previously owned by Henry Frick, an industrial tycoon who accumulated his wealth in the late 19th century.
People wanting to live in the secluded, serene borough of Alpine will find homes for sale that are much larger than average, exhibiting immaculately kept lawns with beautiful gardens and elegant fountains streaming with sparkling cascades of water day and night. For those who are searching for the consummate place to live, Alpine can provide the perfect place to reside away from the congestion caused by people, traffic, noise, pollution of metropolitan areas.