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So many beautiful homes, soo many for sale!! What are the issues with Sicklerville? I have read many people talk about the school systems and such... I guess I just cant imagine why? Thoughts?
Family with children looking to move. One commutes to Center City and the other to Pottstown. Pottstown willing to travel an hour and 15 min tops... is that even possible? Thoughts on Deptford, Swedesboro, Blackwood, Turnersville?
Looking for home with $325k max. Newer homes, no more than $8k on property taxes.
Catholic or Private School is doable if not too expensive.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Originally Posted by RisingSun76
So many beautiful homes, soo many for sale!! What are the issues with Sicklerville? I have read many people talk about the school systems and such... I guess I just cant imagine why? Thoughts?
Family with children looking to move. One commutes to Center City and the other to Pottstown. Pottstown willing to travel an hour and 15 min tops... is that even possible? Thoughts on Deptford, Swedesboro, Blackwood, Turnersville?
Looking for home with $325k max. Newer homes, no more than $8k on property taxes.
Catholic or Private School is doable if not too expensive.
Please help!
With a commute to Pottstown, you'd be better off looking at the usual locations in Camden County and in Burlington County.
The plan for the Pottstown commute is only for a year. Currently, the commute is 50 minutes so I dont think adding an 10-20 minutes would be a problem. Any thoughts on Sicklerville?
No fiirst-hand info about Sicklersville here, but when we were looking for a place to call home in NJ, I eventually avoided Camden County; the thought of going into Camden for Jury Duty or what have you made me cringe, lol... ( but hey, I am sure there are wonderful towns there, just my own sensitivities at play...)
Here you might be some useful info, if you havent already: Sicklerville Community Info - crime statistics, demographics, and census data - Trulia.com
Yes. My own sensitivities as well!! I am going through ziprealty and picked 20 miles outside of center city. We are not so much focused on a particular area. The wishlist is $325k and under, newer home (PA just doesnt have that), decent school system, 8k in taxes, low crime of course, etc.
Sicklerville is part of Winslow Township. Overall, the only real hit on the area is the school system, which ranks very poorly compared to other school systems in the area. I hate to say it, but part of the image problem with Sicklerville is that it is a very diverse community (around 55% caucasian) and that combined with the poor performance of the school district leaves it labelled as undesirable for most people. There are no real crime issues and it is much like any other NJ Philly suburb except for the poor schools and diversity.
Personally, I wouldn't live there because of the school system as there are locations that offer similar pricing on homes and taxes that also deliver quality public schools. If I did live there, I would consider private school a must. The only private school I am familiar with in that area is Saint Joseph's Regional Elementary and High School both of which are located in nearby Hammonton.
The commute to Pottstown will EASILY be more than an hour from any point in South Jersey. My brother spend the better part of 15 years commuting to the King of Prussia area and it was not uncommon for his commute to be 1 hour 30 minutes or more. Pottstown would easily be another 30-45 minutes on top of that. I can't see anyway to get from South Jersey to Pottstown in an hour and 15 minutes unless you are commuting off-peak and even then, an hour and 15 may be pushing it.
Of the other locations you listed, the two I think are best in terms of community, schools and affordability are as follows:
Turnersville - This is actually a census designated area within Washington Twp. So, the actual town is referred to as Washington Twp., though some places use the Turnersville name. Washington Twp. is a collection of developments along the Black Horse Pike corridor. There is a ton of shopping and dining options along the Pike and a decent variety in housing stock within the Township. Though, I don't think you will find much "new" as most of the developments date from the 80's. The school system is considered good and consistently well ranked. The commute can be a bit of a pain depending on where you live as your options are a little limited and the 42 Freeway that goes from the area in and out of Philly is known for its long traffic jams.
Swedesboro Area - This area is made up of several townships all centered on Swedesboro and sharing the Kingsway Regional High School. The three I would most recommend are Logan, East Greenwich and Woolwich. Logan is the oldest developed area, but also has the most shopping and dining options, the lowest taxes and ease of access to major roads. East Greenwich has good access to roads and some newer developments. Woolwich has the bulk of the newer developments, but the highest taxes. The schools in all the towns are pretty equal and Kingsway Regional is currently ranked as one of the better high schools in South Jersey. For commuting, the person going to Center City would have easy access to 295, which they could take to Walt Whitman or to a PATCO station. Getting to Pottstown would mean crossing at the Commodore Barry Bridge (in Logan along 322) and then picking up 476 North to 76 to 422. Not an easy commute at all, but arguably better than coming from Camden or Burlington County.
I live in Logan and find the mix of housing and the insanely low taxes combined with the excellent schools to be a major advantage. We don't have any major retail (Target, Lowe's, etc.) in the area, but it is within a 30 minute drive to either Delaware or Deptford. Here is an example of a house in Logan that might interest you:
NJGoat idefinetly sounds like a good resource. We moved into Mantua Township and my commute to the Center City Philla area is usually about 30 minutes. Going home (via the Whitman), about 45 to an hour if I leave at 5pm. (i drive Rts 55 and 47, 0r 45, to 130 or to 42 up to 76 to the Benny).
The Mantua schools appear wonderful; have two under school age but feeling secure about their educations (8+ stars in GreatSchools.net); extreemly low crime, close to Deptford (6 miles) or Mullica Hill (7 miles) or Turnersvile (about 10 miles)... 1/4 + acre and about $4200/year taxes. I just am sso happy to have found the area. Might nbe worth a look?
Ouch, I agree with the other posters - a South Jersey to Pottstown commute will be tough.
Once you get into PA, your toughest spot in the morning will be at on I76 Westbound in the morning, after the Route 1 interchange. After this point you should have smooth sailing because you are going against traffic, but you'll be driving for another 30!! or so miles.
PM will probably be worse, and I imagine it will be smooth sailing all the way Eastbound on 422 but 76 will be generally terrible. I couldn't imagine adding a bridge commute to that as well but it's only temporary and you seem OK with it. Regardless, good luck with your move!
NJGoat idefinetly sounds like a good resource. We moved into Mantua Township and my commute to the Center City Philla area is usually about 30 minutes. Going home (via the Whitman), about 45 to an hour if I leave at 5pm. (i drive Rts 55 and 47, 0r 45, to 130 or to 42 up to 76 to the Benny).
The Mantua schools appear wonderful; have two under school age but feeling secure about their educations (8+ stars in GreatSchools.net); extreemly low crime, close to Deptford (6 miles) or Mullica Hill (7 miles) or Turnersvile (about 10 miles)... 1/4 + acre and about $4200/year taxes. I just am sso happy to have found the area. Might nbe worth a look?
Mantua Twp. is another nice area. I didn't mention it since it wasn't in the OP's list, but definitely worth a consideration if you are looking at Washington Twp. and Swedesboro-Woolwich as the areas are pretty comparable. Mantua Twp. is part of the Clearview Regional system shared with Mullica Hill (aka Harrison Twp.), so the school system is pretty highly rated. It's a nice area and definitely worth a look. Definitely higher on the list than say Deptford or Blackwood given what the OP is looking for; affordable newer housing, low taxes and good schools.
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