Trying to decide if we should relocate from NJ (to rent, house)

[peaceandblessings]

I have been wanting to relocate for about 10 years or so and to date I am hung on the fence as to where we should relocate. I have been reading the many different post regarding various areas and have found lots of information that would otherwise be unobtainable via the web unless you visited these many places. I have recently been taking a closer look at the DE, MD, VA areas. My husband and I both would like to limit the distance to a 5hr drive to be able to visit close family as often as we could. We have two teens and a five year old. My oldest will graduate high school this June and has applied to schools in the DE and Va areas. Residency would certainly help with the college costs. Our second graduates high school next year and is also thinking about the DE, VA areas for school. I would love to be close to the beach , my children love the beach , it presently takes us about 1 1/2 to get to the Jersey shore from where we live. Obviously an area that was noted for having a good school district and a reasonable choice of private and Christian elementary schools would be important for our little one. After school programs and summer camps are also needed. We would be looking to rent for a year to learn the area. We would also be leaving jobs. My hospital is part of a network and I've just recently learned that there are 3 hospitals in the southern VA areas that are within our system, so a transfer may be possible for me. My husband would have to look for work he works as a maintenance mechanic for the Housing Authority in our area, he also does home repair and other jobs as a self employed contractor.

[htlong]

i think you would like va its a lot slower lifestyle than NJ , well once you get by fredricksburg .
i have an uncle in-law who has a house in seaside heights,NJ right on the beach and when i visited him couple of years ago on july 20 the ocean temp. was 61 degrees!!! if you make it to the richmond area you would be 1 1/2 hrs from va beach and 3 1/2 hrs from nags head on the outer banks. (but sorry no boardwalks )
richmond has many hospitals the largest being MCV medical college of va.
the economy is good down here, no problem finding a job in the constrution trade.

[peaceandblessings]

Thank you so much for responding, valuable information. I'm leaning more to the VA area. I check the areas you indicated. Thanks again.