40-something woman reinventing her life in Philly/SJ needs relo advice (Camden: houses, neighborhoods)

[Hooper's Judge]

Hi, I am relocating to the Philly burbs leaving my old husband, house, and job behind. It will be me and the dogs. I don't know the area that well and appreciate any advice on neighborhoods I should focus on. I am looking for a charming older house/twin in the PA/NJ burbs or row home in the city. I need a backyard, downtown area with quaint shops, dining, nearby farmer's market, etc. I'd like to walk to the train in town and go directly to Center City, ideally in 20 min or less, but could go 30 min if I had to. My budget is $350-$450k... I prefer upscale but not snobby towns where I can meet and make new friends and where it is safe. All advice welcome. Thank you!

[SweepTheLeg]

Camden County?

[Hooper's Judge]

Originally Posted by SweepTheLeg

Camden County?

Yes, but which towns?

[FromDaSack]

I dont know that area that well.. but i know a friend who lives in Woodbury, Nj and its a really nice town from what i heard. Nice areas and its diverse.

might want to research more on that though just in case.

[Sassygirl18]

Collingswood and Haddonfield are exactly what you are looking for. Both are old towns with a charming main street. Collingswood has an outdoor farmer's market every weekend (not winter, though). Both have the PATCO High Speedline running through them which can zip you into Philadelphia in 15 minutes.

The difference between the two towns is Haddonfield is a little more uppercrusty and expensive. Collingswood is more middle class and also more hip.

Another town you might want to check out is Haddon Heights. It's also a charming old town, a short drive to the PATCO line and has a cute downtown, although it's smaller than Haddonfield's and Collingswood downtown. Haddon Heights is probably my favorite of the three. It's more upscale than Collingswood but not richy-rich like Haddonfield.

You could get a nice house in Collingswood and Haddon Heights for your budget. Just be warned...property taxes are HIGH in NJ. Expect to pay somewhere in the range of $5,000 - $10,000/year.

[Hooper's Judge]

Thank you. I posted on the Philadelphia forum and a number of people over there recommended Collingswood and Haddonfield. I visited Haddonfield this weekend and thought it was charming. Looking online I can see that I can get more house for my money in Collingswood but I have not viisted it yet. Yes - the taxes are killer!!! Definately cheaper in PA. What about Haddon Twp? I've seen this on realtor.com and wondering if it's like Haddonfield and Haddon Heights and if it has a train. Thanks much!

[Sassygirl18]

Haddon Twp is, I believe the same thing as Westmont, which is a decent area. Some neighborhoods are prettier than others so you'll want to drive around and check out the whole area. The houses tend to be very close together. Westmont does have a PATCO station and is very conveniently located to everything. It doesn't really have a clearcut downtown, but Haddon Avenue which is the main drag that runs through it has several strips of shops and restaurants.

I still think Haddon Heights is the best choice of all these towns, although nobody would argue that Haddonfield is the prettiest.

[solibs]

Haddon Twp. has three parts to it.

Westmont is the main part of town centered around the train station.
Shown here - http://pics2.city-data.com/tnmaps/tnm12505.png

West Collingswood Extension is the area between between Route 168 and the train tracks that is bisected by Route 130.

West Collingswood Heights is between Route 130 and Route 168.

This shows all of Haddon Twp. in its three separate parts
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...New_Jersey.gif

It's all the same school district but the areas aren't contiguous with Westmont. You'd have to drive through Oaklyn or Collingswood to get there.

Speaking of which, Oaklyn and Audubon are also worth looking into.

100+ years ago most of western Camden Co. was just Camden, Delaware Twp.(now called Cherry Hill) and Haddon Twp.

Because Haddon Twp had two rail lines running through it there was a lot of development around the stations so the township broke up into a lot of smaller boroughs centered on the stations. Parts of the Twp. wound up left behind/isolated.