Cherry Hill?

[amgoff]

Cherry Hill has some of the higher property taxes in South Jersey... Have you looked anywhere else? How far are you willing to travel? There are plenty of other nice areas in South Jersey that aren't quite as expensive as the Cherry Hill area. It all depends on what you're looking for exactly...

[MRC0224]

Have you thought about Gloucester County, NJ. My husband and I used to live in a townhouse in Mt. Laurel. Three years ago we moved to Woolwich. It is located at exit 10 on 295. It is about a 30 minute commute to Philly but you get SOOO much more for your money. It is a kind of rural area now but it is expanding at a very fast rate. And everything is new. I don't know if you have kids or not or are planning on it but the schools are great and it is a VERY family oriented town. Let me know if you want more info.

[hjb091005]

I just moved to Cherry Hill. I used to live in NYC. I am trying to decide between Cherry Hill (East) and Voorhees. Does anyone know which schools are better and what some of the advantages/disadvantages to each area are. Things that I am concerned with are schools and young developments. Any help is greatly appreciated!

[MoorestownResident]

Voorhees and Cherry Hill are similar towns, upscale addresses with good schools. If you mean HS, I'd stick to CH East. Both towns are currently building town centers - Cherry Hill's is a massive project of upscale strip mall/restaurants/townhomes at the old Garden State Racetrack. Voorhees town center will be similar but on a smaller scale in the old Echelon Mall. The CH Mall is undergoing a renovation and expansion as well. The CH Mall is the oldest mall in the country. Voorhees IMO is a bit more laid back with horse farms on the edge of town and some nice developments built in recent years. CH is older and more developed with lots of traffic.

[doubledownmom]

Check out Haddon Heights...cherry hill and voorhees seem like strip mall wasteland...haddon heights has big tree-lined streets and sidewalks and a cute downtown area and great public schools and a very easy commute to the PATCO...

[solibs]

My parents are moving from North Jersey to the Philly suburbs on the PA side. They looked in Bucks, Montgomery and Delaware Counties before settling on a place in Chester County. If you live anywhere in PA that's within a reasonable commute from Center City you'll find the property taxes only slightly less than in New Jersey and your overall tax bill will also be pretty close. To me it's not worth the reduction in state and municipal services you experience in PA. That's the just the way I look at it, if you want to live in a First World state you should expect to pay First World taxes . . . and i've been living in PA for 7 years now.

People in South Jersey complain about the traffic, and it can get bad but compared to most other metros of a similar size (and even smaller) it's really not that bad on the Jersey side.

If you're trying to position yourself for an easy commute to Center City I would recommend Collingswood, Westmont, Haddonfield, Haddon Heights, Audubon, the area in Cherry Hill around the Woodcrest and Ashland train stations and the part of Voorhees around the Ashland train station.

These are basically the towns along the PATCO rail line. PATCO :: Port Authority Transit Corporation

A few caveats, Collingswood High School is improving but isn't on par with Cherry Hill but the neighborhood (elementary) schools are golden and as a town, in my opinion, it blows CH out of the water.

Audubon and Haddon Heights don't have their own train stations but it's a short drive (2 miles or less) to the Haddonfield or Westmont stops.

Westmont is a part of Haddon Township. The other parts of Haddon Township are less desireable (aka - cheaper) but still part of the HT school district.

Haddonfield has some out of sight property taxes but you def. get what you pay for there.

As for living in Philly, some neighborhood schools are good. Some high schools, like Central and Masterman, are some of the best in the country and better than any school in the suburbs, but good luck on the waiting list. The more family friendly neighborhoods in the city are in the far northeast and in the northwest. In the northwest it's East Falls, Roxborough, Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill. The property taxes up there range from $2000/yr to $4000/yr depending on which neighborhood/how expensive the house. Easy train rides into Center City.

Also, If you live in this neighborhood in West Philly your kids will go to the Penn-Alexander school. It was already a gorgeous neighborhood but prices there really shot up since they introduced the school. Still might be in your price range, though.

here is a link to some pictures of the neighborhood . . . http://phillyskyline.com/photo/joemi...urb/spruce.htm

[Pixel97]

Originally Posted by JerzBoy

Some people like the convenience of being in that "town center" type of development. If she were to live there, she wouldn't really have to do much driving, you can walk to all the stores, restaurants, etc. so traffic wouldnt be that much of a concern. If I could afford it, I would consider living in those new townhomes/condos.

Plus the commute into center city Philly is very easy. Much better than commuting from the PA burbs.

That's exactly what I was thinking, I love all the things located so close. I don't tend to like the single family homes in Cherry Hills, I don't want anything built in the 70s lol. I just tend to not like how it's laid out nor how it looks on the outside.

As for the HOA that doesn't bother me, as you pay that money anyway. Or I do, I pay someone to do the lawn, etc. because we're both very allergic to grass.

It's good to hear the commute is easy. I don't know, I just really liked those townhomes. And it did occur to me that the property tax IS tax deductible, where if we buy in Philly we wouldn't be paying property tax so would lose that deduction which could be a big deal.

Also, my husband's employer is paying the philly wage tax for him or will be.

I guess the things that are most important for us, it has to be new or nearly new construction (like I said I hate older houses, too much upkeep), has to be easy to get to center city AND the airport, and would like a family friendly feel. I come from Texas, land of shopping lol. That's why the whole Garden State Park thing appeals to me, it's what I'm used to. Those townhomes are going to have a pool, community center, fitness center, playground/park for kids, and an outdoor amphiteather. Plus the Cheesecake Factory is just down the street lol. What could be bad about that?

It's my impression crime is a bit reduced over there as well, is that true?

Thank you all so much for your feedback, it really helps! I'm sorry I haven't responded in a few days, I didn't realize there were more pages of responses lol.