Salem County? (Phillipsburg, Hackettstown, Washington: for sale, renting, violent crime)

[Orwelleaut]

Wondering what Salem County is like these days? Is this section still farm country and quiet little towns? What is this area like?

[sheairs]

My wife and I have been looking for homes in Salem county for weeks now, and we're starting to get to know the area. Looks like many of those farm towns are being sold off and turned into high-end developments (starting prices of $300k+).

The good news -- to the direct opposite of many alarmists on this forum -- is that the crime stats for Salem County just don't support what many people are saying. According to state police records (just do a Google search, you'll find them), Salem County only had one murder in 2007 (up to June), and one murder in all of 2006. Compare that to 10 in Cumberland County (2006) and the 14 in Atlantic (2006)!

Along with that, non-violent crime is also pretty low, especially compared to some of the other counties in the state.

It looks like there is a lot of development in the major cities of the county, so I would suspect that within the next 10 years you'll see some major movement into the county -- possibly decreasing all of the open farm land that's currently down there.

But the wife and I are certainly still looking, and hoping to find that diamond in the rough!

[mike0421]

The only two places in Salem County I would NOT live would be Salem and Penns Grove. I've always considered Salem County to be one of the best kept secrets in NJ, particularly if you can land a high paying position in the Philly suburbs on the Jersey side.

[jersgrl1969]

We moved here in Pittsgrove from Cape May County a few years ago, and even though the area is nice, we're not entirely satisfied living here, especially if you plan on renting. The #1 complaint we have is that there is no trash pickup-you have to either pay for it or haul it to the dump yourself-not a pretty task in mid-summertime. Also we live right near the border of Cumberland County, and we must travel from one side of the county to the other whenever we must visit a county office-very inconvenient, esp. since Cumberland County's offices are right down the street from us. We must pay a non-resident fee to use the Cumberland County library, (the Salem County library is, like everything else county-related, all the way over in Salem City). Plus the water supply in this area comes from wells, and the water is either rusty and/or smells like sulfur. We have an excellent school district, but I would not own a house here because taxes seem to go up every year and I don't know where the taxes go...like I said, you don't even get your trash picked up here. The streets are not in the best shape, either. So if you want to move here for a year or two, fine, but I wouldn't buy here.

[MoorestownResident]

Originally Posted by mike0421

The only two places in Salem County I would NOT live would be Salem and Penns Grove. I've always considered Salem County to be one of the best kept secrets in NJ, particularly if you can land a high paying position in the Philly suburbs on the Jersey side.

Salem has a lot of potential. County officials are trying to 'brand' Salem as a tourist destination. I agree it is a best kept secret in NJ. Counties like Salem put the 'Garden' in the Garden State.

[Gulf of Aden]

What is Salem County like in 2018?
Which is more rural: Warren County or Salem County??

[Leps12]

Originally Posted by Gulf of Aden

What is Salem County like in 2018?
Which is more rural: Warren County or Salem County??

Depressing. Poor. Boring. Dying. Losing population. And definitely not going to improve, probably ever. Things will only get worse as the aging remaining residents move out or die, and Salem County is anathema to what the current generation of homebuyers want. The power plant is the only major employer paying decent salaries in the whole county. There is no economy otherwise, save for agriculture.

Salem is still more rural than Warren, maybe still the most rural county in the state. You have more industrialized suburbs running along the Delaware River, but once you get away from the water, it’s all rural except for isolated pockets of Salem City and Woodstown, which is the only place in the county even remotely resembling a healthily functioning “town.” Warren has far more “civilization” with Phillipsburg, Washington, Hackettstown, Belvidere, and Blairstown.

Warren County is in trouble. Salem is straight-up screwed.

[NJBoy3]

The Salem nuclear power plant is a concern. Salem has had issues with tritium leaks. Make sure you do a Google search on this topic.

[Gulf of Aden]

Originally Posted by Leps12

Depressing. Poor. Boring. Dying. Losing population. And definitely not going to improve, probably ever. Things will only get worse as the aging remaining residents move out or die, and Salem County is anathema to what the current generation of homebuyers want. The power plant is the only major employer paying decent salaries in the whole county. There is no economy otherwise, save for agriculture.

Salem is still more rural than Warren, maybe still the most rural county in the state. You have more industrialized suburbs running along the Delaware River, but once you get away from the water, it’s all rural except for isolated pockets of Salem City and Woodstown, which is the only place in the county even remotely resembling a healthily functioning “town.” Warren has far more “civilization” with Phillipsburg, Washington, Hackettstown, Belvidere, and Blairstown.

Warren County is in trouble. Salem is straight-up screwed.

My goodness, I feel so sorry for Salem County. Are there malls, etc there?

[Leps12]

Originally Posted by Gulf of Aden

My goodness, I feel so sorry for Salem County. Are there malls, etc there?

Not much of anything. No mall in the county, although maybe that’s not the worst thing since malls are dying all over the country. Residents would either go to Cumberland Mall (which is sad and that county is plagued with all of the same problems as Salem), Deptford Mall, or Christiana Mall in DE.

What’s happening in Salem and Cumberland, but also Warren and Sussex, is emblematic of the collapse of rural America all over, and this has been decades and decades in the making. Rural has generally always meant poor anyway, at least as far back as the Industrial Revolution. It’s just been a gradual eroding over time.

However, until recently, rural areas were able to prevent a full on collapse. Things have hanged with Millenials, who are the main homebuyers in the market now. Their preferences are different from the previous generations, and they REALLY don’t want to live in rural areas, so there is no demand at all for these areas, and they will just completely wither away. Cities and inner ring suburbs’ gains are losses for exurbs and rural areas.