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I'm not from NJ but NY (originally) but wound up in New England 3 years ago. We want to come back to the Tri-State area but I don't know enough about Southern Jersey. (Not interested in NYC/Northern Jersey).
I'm interested in a decent middle school, high school (who isn't as parent) in a midsized town. I don't want the school to be HUGE, or tiny...just mid sized offering language, special ed. I want my son challenged and on a track to college.
The second criteria is I don't want a 'rural' town or somewhere with high rises. Again, a normal suburban town with a few supermarkets (I don't want to drive 1/2 to get to the supermarket like we have to do now).
We have a dog, so we like to go to the parks/lakes, are avid users of the library (how are they in NJ?), and would need to find a rental apt. (again, no high rises).
Until we get offered jobs it is hard to pin point EXACTLY where to live but a few suggestions would be great.
Congrats on your move. Check out Haddonfield (top schools, also quite expensive, about 20 minutes to Center City Phila), Haddon Township (HT has various sections - you might want to focus on Westmont or Haddonleigh sections) - from what I understand Haddon Township schools are mid-sized and not huge compared to some of the other NJ schools. Haddon Heights is another area worth looking into. Each of these areas has good schools, is walkable, has lots of supermarkets ranging from local butchers, bakeries, to the large chain stores. Plus, they are within 5-10 minutes of one another. The streets are tree-lined, lots of parks, and sidewalks - great for dog walking. Haddonfield will be the most expensive.
Moorestown is a bit further out (maybe 30ish to up to 40) minutes from Center City Phila, but also has great schools and everything else you are looking for. It is a very quaint town. The last area you might want to look at is Cherry Hill. From what I understand Cherry Hill school district is broken down into CH East and West, with the one being superior to the other (I can't recall which). Cherry Hill is a nice area, though sections of it have tons of big box type stores; whereas the other areas I mentioned tend to have local retailers. Cherry Hill is fairly close to the Haddons.
The kicker with these neighborhoods is that the yards tend to be on the smaller side (with the exception of perhaps Cherry Hill). If you are looking to move to a place with larger property, you'll be looking to move a bit further from Center City Phila at places like Woolwich Township, Swedesboro, Vorhees, Marlton, Medford or Mullica Hill).
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Originally Posted by GypsySoul22
I'm not from NJ but NY (originally) but wound up in New England 3 years ago. We want to come back to the Tri-State area but I don't know enough about Southern Jersey. (Not interested in NYC/Northern Jersey).
I'm interested in a decent middle school, high school (who isn't as parent) in a midsized town. I don't want the school to be HUGE, or tiny...just mid sized offering language, special ed. I want my son challenged and on a track to college.
The second criteria is I don't want a 'rural' town or somewhere with high rises. Again, a normal suburban town with a few supermarkets (I don't want to drive 1/2 to get to the supermarket like we have to do now).
We have a dog, so we like to go to the parks/lakes, are avid users of the library (how are they in NJ?), and would need to find a rental apt. (again, no high rises).
Until we get offered jobs it is hard to pin point EXACTLY where to live but a few suggestions would be great.
Thanks.
My sister is still sick, so haven't gotten the special ed info yet. I'd suggest the section of Barrington which is next to Haddon Heights. Barrington kids go to Haddon Heights for high school. Pitman has good schools. The high school for Voorhees is Eastern Regional. I don't think that it is what you're looking for.
Thanks a lot.
Oh, and I want to avoid 'tourist' towns if that is possible. Right now I live in a tourist area and where I rent, every day we have strange people coming in going in sublets and 'vacation' apartments.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,702,154 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GypsySoul22
Thanks a lot.
Oh, and I want to avoid 'tourist' towns if that is possible. Right now I live in a tourist area and where I rent, every day we have strange people coming in going in sublets and 'vacation' apartments.
Based on what you have said here and other places the best area I can think of for you is going to be in the traditional Camden County communities: Collingswood, Haddon Twp., Haddon Heights, Audubon and Barrington. All of them offer exactly what you are looking for; good schools, community feel, suburban, but not rural and walkable.
Many people will suggest Haddonfield, Moorestown and Cherry Hill as well. Nothing wrong with any of those communities, but I don't think they have what you want. Haddonfield is very nice, but also very expensive with few rentals. Moorestown is fantastic, but is also a very expensive town. You keep angling toward affordable and rental, which is why I would caution against Haddonfield/Moorestown. Great towns, but I'm not sure you are socio-economically setup for those towns...most aren't. Cherry Hill is very spread out and the schools are large and rentals that aren't in high rises are tough to find easily. The rest of Burlington County is a lot like Cherry Hill for the most part.
I think the best place for you is Haddon Twp. It has the very good schools and services you need with a small local vibe and is located in a great area convenient to everything. They also have at least one normal non-hi-rise rental apartment complex in a great area. The apartments are called Haddon Hills. They are directly across from a large park and swim club as well as a shopping plaza with a supermarket and within walking distance to the elementary/middle/high school as well as the county library and the PATCO speedline into Philly.
It is an older complex and not as aesthetically/amenity "nice" as others, but you can't beat the location with a stick. They have everything from 1&2 bedrooms to 3 bedroom townhomes that overlook the park and the rent is very affordable for the area. As a bonus you are literally on the border of Haddon Twp. and Haddonfield and could even walk to downtown Haddonfield if you wanted to take a long stroll.
PS One of the nice things about not living in Haddonfield/Cherry Hill/Moorestown is that there are a lot of more affordable places that are very nice immediately surrounding those areas and you are a quick walk/drive away from everything those towns have to offer in the way of shopping/dining/entertainment and events.
Thanks, it's like a needle in a haystack when you don't know an area. We came up to VT on a crapshoot but at least you know in Vermont there is very little crime and you don't normally wind up in a 'hood' with gangs...NJ, well, being from NY I am a bit more wary, though I know Southern Jersey is nothing like N. Jersey.
I am finding problems with dog friendly places, though.
Will not give up our dog...so the search goes on.
Last edited by GypsySoul22; 05-17-2010 at 10:23 AM..
The dog (depending on size) will certainly make it harder to find a complex to rent in. The only other thing I would suggest is contacting a local realtor in one of the towns and asking them about rentals. There are a lot of private homes (everything from twins/townhouses to large single family) that people keep as rental/investment property. Generally these folks may be a little more lenient with a dog and may just charge an extra deposit/fee for having the dog. The only thing to be aware of is that many of these types of rentals are easily in the $1,200 - $1,600 per month range in these towns. The only benefit is that it will definitely feel a little more home like than a large complex.
I second the suggestion to try a realtor. I found my apartment through a realtor, the owner did not even have it advertised because he didn't want to do the background checks, etc but wanted it all the be handled by a realtor.
Thank you both, I agree. I had to do this originally when we moved up here to this area (find a private real estate) not because we had the dog but because rentals where we moved were few and far between.
My husband prefers we NOT live in a complex, so we'll take your suggestions once we narrow down an area (it would be based on jobs & good schools).
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