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I'm going to be transferring to our headquarters in Marlton, NJ, and I'm trying to figure out where to live. I've read a couple other threads on here related to this but I wanted a fresh opinion. I'm a 27 year old single girl from DC, but I've been living in Europe for a couple years and have always lived in a major city.
I do like a lively nightlife scene (restaurants, bars, etc) so I thought about living in Philly and commuting to Marlton (which when I looked up seemed to be only about 30 minutes; I've had longer commutes going from one end of DC to the other, so this wasn't a problem). I've spent a week in Philly and absolutely loved the city so I would love to live in the center, but I will say that I'm kind of particular in what I would want from an apartment - newer building (preferably), parking garage (absolute must), concierge, stainless steel appliances, etc. From doing a quick search at looking at some newer buildings, it seemed like a 1 bedroom in the center ranges from 1800-2500. I could do 1800 but I don't necessarily want to haha! Are there many people that live in Philly and work in NJ?
I've read Collingswood is a good option - has the train to Philly, somewhat of a downtown, etc, but could anyone please give me a quick run down of Moorestown, Marlton (do people even live there?), Cherry Hill, and Mt. Laurel? I probably wouldn't want a commute to work that's longer than 30-45 minutes and I would like to be in an area where there's a good amount of younger people and things to do. I would also like to be able to go into Philadelphia relatively easily on the weekends/some week nights. Like I said, I have always lived in a major city (when I say DC, I mean DC proper...not Virginia/Maryland) so I wouldn't mind exploring the "suburban options" but I haven't spent any time at all in any of these places in New Jersey so I'm kind of diving into this eyes closed. Any ideas are appreciated!
There aren't really any young people in South Jersey. If you like anything approximating an urban lifestyle, live in Philly. I'm around your age and have lived in SJ for the last year. Most of the under-35 crowd here are married with kids on the way, or grew up here and never left. Most transplants are families. The only town that has any kind of rep for being hip, young, or urban is Collingwood, but even that reputation isn't really earned. Most of Collingswood is still blue-collar families. It's downtown consists of restaurants, a few stores, and the occasional fitness venue. It (like most nearby downtowns) is also a dry town, meaning there aren't any bars. Most places close by 8, pretty much all by 10. Nearby Westmont does have bars, but none that have much of a young crowd like you'd encounter in Philly. Your commute to Marlton would be a bit quicker, but getting to everything else in Camden County (groceries, most shopping) will necessitate a journey through traffic-choked streets in Cherry Hill.
Then there's the issue of apartments. SJ is geared towards homeowners, not renters. Most rentals are dated garden apartments. There are a few exceptions. The Lumberyard development in Collingswood is brand new, has a parking deck, and I think rents sit around 1600-1800 for a 1-bed. There are also new apts. in Westmont on Albertson Avenue which might have some of the amenities you seek. The new Haddon Towne Center project in Westmont just broke ground, so probably won't be ready for your move. Nearby Haddonfield does have the Chestnut House? which I think runs about 1600 for rent and seems pretty nice. Cherry Hill might have a few new developments too, like Dwell off of rt. 70. There's also the Victor in Camden which will give you most of what you're looking for, but you'll have to drive for everything, since you're in Camden.
Conversely in Philly, you'll have one of the best environments for young active people in the region. I imagine it would be much easier to make friends and find stuff to do there, presuming you can afford it (which I imagine you could if you can afford 1800/month for an apartment). If for some reason you had to stay in Jersey, I'd say you're better off living in New Brunswick and commuting down the Turnpike, than living in SJ. What you're looking for just doesn't exist down here.
I think from a financial standpoint, if you work in Jersey, you should live in Jersey. It will save you the additional Philadelphia City Tax that you pay by living there (you pay whether you work or live in Philadelphia). Plus, the PATCO towns, while not "cheap", would still be less than what you pay if you choose to live in the good parts of Philadelphia.
While it is true that even these towns aren't brimming with single young professionals, there are some. And Westmont and Collingswood are short PATCO rides to Philly, so you're never that far away either. Plus, your commute will be shorter.
You will have an easier time finding rentals in Collingswood than in Westmont, although Westmont has some, as the previous poster noted. As also noted, Collingswood is dry, so there are no bars, but I believe a craft brewery is on the way. NJ has weird liquor laws. As far as the bars in Westmont go, my experience from having gone to Pour House, Keg & Kitchen, P.J. Whelihan's, and Irish Mile several times (have not been to any of the others) is that they actually ARE mostly younger people there, so I have to disagree with Highlands on that. I think it really heavily skews young and could not be further from Highlands is saying. Especially for Pour House, Keg & Kitchen, and Irish Mile. A handful of over-35's does not make the bar bereft of younger adults. With that said, it depends what kind of bars you like. These bars are mostly standard sports bar/Irish pub types, with Irish Mile and Pour House in particular being well known for their craft beer selections and Pour House and Keg & Kitchen being known for serving more "foodie" food and drawing heaviest amongst the young and hip types, if you will. You're not going to find a nightclub or a fancy cocktail lounge in Westmont (although you can at least get some pretty regular live music at Pour House and P.J. Whelihan's). For that, you head into Philly.
In regards to Moorestown, Mt. Laurel, Cherry Hill, and Marlton...these are family towns, mostly with houses and where people move to when it's time for their kids to go to school and such. Sure, they have some apartments, but they definitely cater more to the homeowners and not very much at all to young single people (although Cherry Hill actually has the lone nightclub in the immediate area). And yes, people DO live in Marlton LMAO. 46,000 people to be precise.
Just because Highlands also brought up Haddonfield and Camden...Haddonfield is a very nice town with a lot of money and I'd say the best downtown in the area as well (although it too is dry). It's what most people would consider THE elite town in South Jersey. Rent will probably be more in the Chestnut House. Again, like Moorestown/Cherry Hill/etc. it is really a family town. I don't think it's right for you. Camden, on the other hand, isn't right for anyone. Highlands did not specify enough with his/her comments, so I'll do the favor. Camden is a complete hellhole. The area where the Victor is (the Waterfront) is not so bad and has most of the attractions, but even once you get a handful of blocks away from the water, you are in a hopeless, dangerous place. Camden has all kinds of wasted and squandered potential. As a DC reference, it could be Philly's Arlington, but there is a LONG, LONG, LONG way to go before it reaches that point.
If you were working in Philly, I would say live in Philly. But since you are working in NJ, I really don't think it makes sense, and Collingswood and Westmont are your best options and are convenient enough for when you want to go into the city. This is pretty much always the answer every time this kind of question comes up. Also keep in mind that in addition to rent being higher in the desirable parts of Philly, since you need a parking garage, you will have to pay for that on top. Plus tolls every day for your commute. All of that plus the city tax, and I think it's pretty clear that an NJ town is the way to go in this case.
I'll second all of what Leps21 said. Westmont (Haddon Township) and Collingswood are the towns for younger people in South Jersey. There are plenty of 20-somethings who live in Collingswood and Westmont. . If you want to go to philly you can take a 15 minute train ride to center city. To live in Philly you'll pay almost 4% city wage tax (even though you'd earn that wage in South Jersey), and about $100 a month in bridge tolls, and an extra 40 minutes round trip for your commute to Marlton (v. Collingswood or Westmont).
Ultimately this comes down to how much of a burden (money and wasted commuting time) you are willing to accept to live in Philly.
From a financial standpoint beside the wage tax added in the city, you are paying to park your car. That could be a few hundred each month and it will continue to increase as they are building more and more residential in the city.
I think from a financial standpoint, if you work in Jersey, you should live in Jersey. It will save you the additional Philadelphia City Tax that you pay by living there (you pay whether you work or live in Philadelphia). Plus, the PATCO towns, while not "cheap", would still be less than what you pay if you choose to live in the good parts of Philadelphia.
While it is true that even these towns aren't brimming with single young professionals, there are some. And Westmont and Collingswood are short PATCO rides to Philly, so you're never that far away either. Plus, your commute will be shorter.
You will have an easier time finding rentals in Collingswood than in Westmont, although Westmont has some, as the previous poster noted. As also noted, Collingswood is dry, so there are no bars, but I believe a craft brewery is on the way. NJ has weird liquor laws. As far as the bars in Westmont go, my experience from having gone to Pour House, Keg & Kitchen, P.J. Whelihan's, and Irish Mile several times (have not been to any of the others) is that they actually ARE mostly younger people there, so I have to disagree with Highlands on that. I think it really heavily skews young and could not be further from Highlands is saying. Especially for Pour House, Keg & Kitchen, and Irish Mile. A handful of over-35's does not make the bar bereft of younger adults. With that said, it depends what kind of bars you like. These bars are mostly standard sports bar/Irish pub types, with Irish Mile and Pour House in particular being well known for their craft beer selections and Pour House and Keg & Kitchen being known for serving more "foodie" food and drawing heaviest amongst the young and hip types, if you will. You're not going to find a nightclub or a fancy cocktail lounge in Westmont (although you can at least get some pretty regular live music at Pour House and P.J. Whelihan's). For that, you head into Philly.
In regards to Moorestown, Mt. Laurel, Cherry Hill, and Marlton...these are family towns, mostly with houses and where people move to when it's time for their kids to go to school and such. Sure, they have some apartments, but they definitely cater more to the homeowners and not very much at all to young single people (although Cherry Hill actually has the lone nightclub in the immediate area). And yes, people DO live in Marlton LMAO. 46,000 people to be precise.
Just because Highlands also brought up Haddonfield and Camden...Haddonfield is a very nice town with a lot of money and I'd say the best downtown in the area as well (although it too is dry). It's what most people would consider THE elite town in South Jersey. Rent will probably be more in the Chestnut House. Again, like Moorestown/Cherry Hill/etc. it is really a family town. I don't think it's right for you. Camden, on the other hand, isn't right for anyone. Highlands did not specify enough with his/her comments, so I'll do the favor. Camden is a complete hellhole. The area where the Victor is (the Waterfront) is not so bad and has most of the attractions, but even once you get a handful of blocks away from the water, you are in a hopeless, dangerous place. Camden has all kinds of wasted and squandered potential. As a DC reference, it could be Philly's Arlington, but there is a LONG, LONG, LONG way to go before it reaches that point.
If you were working in Philly, I would say live in Philly. But since you are working in NJ, I really don't think it makes sense, and Collingswood and Westmont are your best options and are convenient enough for when you want to go into the city. This is pretty much always the answer every time this kind of question comes up. Also keep in mind that in addition to rent being higher in the desirable parts of Philly, since you need a parking garage, you will have to pay for that on top. Plus tolls every day for your commute. All of that plus the city tax, and I think it's pretty clear that an NJ town is the way to go in this case.
This is pretty fair, I'll admit that I have an anti-SJ bias, and that I mostly see the towns during the daytime, when most people are working (I have an odd work schedule). That said, I still feel like Collingswood and Westmont are pretty quiet, even during the evenings. Some of the Westmont bars might draw a decent happy-hour crowd, though nothing in the area has much going-on on weeknights. Pour House, PJ's, and Irish Mile seem to have a decent vibe on weekends. I'd still love something with a bit more of a lounge or club atmosphere. Yes, I realize you can just go to Philly for that. I still don't think there are that many young people in the area though, both towns seem way more old-stock family-oriented than hip-young-transplant. Most of the good Philly neighborhoods (Center City, Nor-Libs, U City, Grad Hospital, Passyunk, Fairmount, Manayunk) seem like they have a lot more going on for young people and/or transplants. Maybe Collingswood is equal to Chestnut Hill or Mt. Airy, I guess. The financial reasons you and others mention are pretty convincing, bridge tolls alone will run 100$ a month, plus the wage-tax, extra gas, and time wasted dealing with city traffic to get back to your garage if you can find one.
If I was in your shoes, I would choose Collingswood. As others have pointed it, it would just cost so much more to live in Philly with the wage tax, and commuting costs back and forth to NJ (bridge toll I believe is $5.00 a day, plus gas), the higher rent, having to pay for a parking space, longer commute, etc. If you live in Collingswood, you will be right near the Collingswood PATCO station which you can hop on and be in Center City Philadelphia in 15 minutes if you want to go out into a city atmosphere.
Collingswood has a really cute downtown with lots of BYOB restaurants. You also would be close to lots of other nearby towns that have tons of restaurants and bars, like Cherry Hill.
Wow, thank you all so much for your replies! Really helpful advice. I can't get over that Philadelphia wage tax!
When I first found out I would be relocating my immediate thought was already to live in Jersey as it would be closer to work and just made more sense, but when I realized the commute from Philly was only 30 minutes I started thinking of that as an option too. After some thinking, I think living in NJ sounds the best. Wage tax, bridge tolls, higher cost for rent, etc. I looked more into Collingswood and Cherry Hill and I think both places seem like great towns (areas?)! Lots of restaurants, shops, etc. I feel like it might be even a little refreshing to live in "suburbia" for a while after having lived pretty much downtown in big cities for so many years. And it actually seems like a lot of the younger people at work are living in the Marlton/Cherry Hill area.
I talked to my dad (yes, 27 years old, and still getting parental advice/approval haha!) and he suggested living in Jersey for the first 6 months then seeing some options to buy a place in Philly, which I'm totally down with. I found quite a few apartments in Jersey that have everything I want/need so I think I'll start there.
Could anyone recommend some gyms in the area? Some of the apartments I looked at online have gyms but they're pretty basic, as usual. Just a couple treadmills, bikes, and a poor excuse for a set of dumbbells. I'm living in Kiev (can't wait to be back in the US haha) and go to one of those uppity gyms in a hotel that has an amazing pool/sauna/steam/fresh juice bar etc. I'm not that high maintenance, but a gym with a sauna would be nice!
I would 100% look at Haddon Twp (Westmont area). Full of young professionals, with new apartment development only going to bring more to the area. Bars, restaurants, yoga/fitness studios, farmers market and great access to Philly (PATCO). I really like living here, and had similar questions when I moved and was making my decision.
I'll add that if you make sure you're close to PATCO. You can grab that and explore Philly pretty easily and it runs 24/7. It's a very underrated part of the regional transportation system.
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