Possibly relocating to Camden- where do we live? (Woodbury: rentals, evictions)

[MoorestownResident]

Originally Posted by Newarkbomb

Never resort to Camden.
Camden is probably the most rundown ghetto in this country.

I heard Woodbury is nice.. Diverse, nice, cheap town. It's a great commute to both Camden and Philly.

i don't know much about that particular area except Woodbury because i have a friend who lived there. I thought it was a nice small town.

I wouldn't call Woodbury nice, it is better than Camden as a whole but there are parts of Camden actually nicer than Woodbury.

[Katisu]

Originally Posted by Sassygirl18

If you can afford $2,000/month for an apartment, you can afford more than $150,000 for a house. I can't think of any decent area where you can get a house for $150K. Sure, you can buy in Camden for that, but trust all of us - you don't want to live in Camden.

If you don't have a lot of money saved for a downpayment on a purchase, I would suggest finding a nice rental in or around Collingswood or Westmont for $1000/month or so and saving as much as you can for awhile so you can buy a house in a couple years. You'll want to shoot for at least $200K for a starter home, maybe closer to $300 these days.

A down-payment shouldn't be an issue, provided that we sell out current home in a reasonable amount of time. If we had to go $300,000, then the down-payment would become more of an issue. I honestly think that if we had to spend that much on a home for a few years, we could do it; I think we may rent, though, if that's the case. Unless we fall in love with the area, I can't see us staying after school ends.

And guys, thanks so much for all of your help. You're making this so much easier. There's only so much I can find online.

I am not against living in a poor area and having to have a security system on my house/car. We have no children to protect and I feel like our dogs would try to defend us if it came down to it. What I'm not willing to compromise on is safety outside the home in our own neighborhood. I don't want to be forced to stay inside once it's dark out because I'll be attacked walking from my house to my car. If there are areas in Camden where I would be relatively safe walking a short distance ( even after dark), then we could probably do it. I'm ok with having a security system/bars on windows just to keep peace of mind when we're not home/asleep, but I don't want to be a prisonerin my own home. If we run out of milk at 8pm I want to be able to hop in the carand run to the store.

[Sassygirl18]

Please please please scratch Camden off your list. It truly is one of the worst cities in the country, let alone the state. It's a run down pit and the most depressing and dangerous place I have ever set foot in. I worked in Camden at one time. I went to Rutgers in Camden. My parents grew up in Camden. I also ride the PATCO High Speedline every day and it goes right through Camden. It's a hell hole, plain and simple - bad crime, drugs, burned out, boarded up, dilapidated buildings. And if you do find a half decent section of Camden to live in, you're going to be only steps away from a really dangerous section. Not even worth considering unless you are so dirt poor that you have no other options (which sounds like is not the case for you). It's not a matter of being comfortable around poverty. It's about safety.

If I can remember, tomorrow I will take some photos as the train goes over Camden and will post them on here (if I can figure out how to do it) and you can see what it looks like.

[DailyJournalist]

Originally Posted by gradstudent77

I tend to "spitshine" Nj's urban areas a little bit, because there will be ten people who have barely ever set foot in them who will make asinine comments like "every square inch of Camden is hell on earth". I think the OP understands that, as a whole, Camden is a dangerous city. That does not mean that there are not great places within the city, though. Especially since the OP does not have children, she might be able to find a place that is right for her in Camden.

I agree!

[Katisu]

I'm torn! I keep going back and forth as you guys post different things. I'm not a naturally scared person but I am a very cautious person. On the other hand, we are both tiny people who could be easily overpowered.

Obviously we won't know for sure until we look in Camden and the surrounding towns. And who knows if that's where we'll end up. He has it narrowed down to a couple of schools that gave him yesses, some that waitlisted him, and we still have a couple that have said nothing yet. Over all, I think rutgers is his second pick, my third if I were choosing. I'm not, though. He was a little apprehensive about Camden, but we're not going to let the town be the decision. (obviously) The only school he'd rather go to is tulane, so either way we're going to be surrounded by poverty and crime.

[GoPhils]

I'm not totally sure about this, but isn't most of the (violent) crime in Camden drug and gang-related? Yeah, you definitely might have the risk of getting mugged or having your car or house being broken into, but I don't think they will shoot you for no reason, unless of course you are into the whole drug and gang thing.

[Katisu]

Originally Posted by GoPhils

I'm not totally sure about this, but isn't most of the (violent) crime in Camden drug and gang-related? Yeah, you definitely might have the risk of getting mugged or having your car or house being broken into, but I don't think they will shoot you for no reason, unless of course you are into the whole drug and gang thing.

Damn it. There goes two of my hobbies.

I was hoping this was the case. I can handle that. We've been used to living in an economically depressed and trashy town for a while now. We both went to school here, got married shortly after college and (husband) decided to stay "5 or so years" because he loved his job. Well, he no longer enjoys work, only two years later. Our town is not necessarily really dangerous, but there is a good amount of crime, much of it drug-related.

[Sassygirl18]

As promised here are a couple photos I took of Camden driving by on the PATCO HighSpeedline. This is fairly representative of how most of Camden looks. Again, if you can afford $2,000/month, there is absolutely NO REASON why you should choose to live here. There are plenty of nice areas within a very short driving distance to Rutgers. You don't need to live IN CAMDEN to go to Rutgers (most people don't).

[Katisu]

Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to post those pictures. That definitely doesn't look like the nicest of places.

I've been looking for apartments both inside and outside of Camden. As far as apartments go, I've found more pet-friendly aparments in Voorhees than anywhere else. At least that's what they've been saying on apartment guide and other similar websites.

[Gerania]

See anything in Gibbsboro, Deptford? Those are both OK. Have you checked the newspaper, the Courier-Post, online?