Thinking About Moving To Eastern Shore, Salisbury, MD From NJ (Easton: sales, real estate market)

[Birney30]

Hi everyone. My name is Jack. I'm 32 years old, married, with two kids ages 2 & 1 years old. My wife and I are seriously thinking of moving us and our 2 kids to the Eastern Shore area of MD over the next few months to the next year. We currently live in Rahway, NJ and just want a change hopefully for the better for our kids and we cannot and do not want that to happen in NJ.

I have loved the Eastern Shore area when I was a kid and we have taken our vacations over the past two years to Ocean City, MD and we always make the point to spend time in Salisbury and try to go into other towns that we might not have been in the past to see what we might like and we just hate to leave.

I am a warehouse manager and over the past several months have been looking around and have found very few companies in that area of MD and found very few places that are hiring although I did find a couple places that could possiably start me off at the same amount of money that I make here in NJ and if not maybe more if I get real lucky lol. Right now anything has to be better then where I am right now. With the owner of my company leaving full control in the wrong hands and that person who he thought he could trust the company is now in severe financial distress and it's only a matter of time before they shut it's doors. I can walk away knowing that I made things better for the company over the years while I was there in trying to help repair the situation. I can not make the move right away but I would love to make it happen in the next 6 months to 1 year. If I can make it happen less then 6 months that would be awesome. I did submit my resume to put out some feelers and one company told me when I am moved down to MD or when I know when I will be relocating to contact them as they would like to meet with me about possiable employment. Right now I have no clue what they pay but there is one choice possiably. I'm just nervous if the company ever goes under then I am screwed with little to no choices as trucking and warehousing work is all I have ever done. If I could go in to a different line of work knowing I can support my wife and kids then that would be another option. I am willing to try anything and learn anything new and I think I'm one of the hardest workers and any company would be lucky and benefit by having me as an loyal employee.

My wife stays home right now to take care've the kids cause I figure why should she goto work for her pay to only goto a day care or preschool. Day care here in NJ costs about $500.00 to $1000.00 a week. One guy I work with pays $800.00 a week for his kid to go to all day day care. Besides my kids are learning alot more from my wife and are on track ahead of schedule then they ever would be at a daycare being raised by strangers.

I was born and raised in NJ but I want out. My wife was born and raised in the Philippines and has a degree in accounting and has tons of experience in customer service work so I know she will be able to find work hopefully at a decent pay rate when she's ready. If I have to I'm willing to work the afternoon or night shift if she had to go to or wanted to go to work. My family is non existent in my life so that isn't a factor or help and my wife's closest family is CA and the Philippines so that's why she is willing to relocate. We have two kids so it's not like nightlife is important to us. My wife will adjust to the move just fine and even though I grew up in city life I know I can make the change.

When we're down in MD we are like different people. My wife says it about me especially and I notice it about her too. She says I am so calm and laid back and it's true because I am just so relaxed and calm down in MD. It's like a different way of living down in MD. We have had nothing but very nice times and the people are so much nicer. Noone is fighting and angry, cutting one another off on the road and constantly living with their hand on the horn, if you bump in to someone they aren't so jumpy and ready to threaten you or pull a gun on you. In NJ it's like people are so afraid you're beating them to something or taking something away from them. People wanna try an be the boss of one another and the racism is so out of control between all nationalities.

I have been spending alot of time online looking at the job market and searching for job sites for anything new. I have been also recently been paying attention to the real estate market down that way as we would probably rent in the beginning for a year or two until we decide what area to buy in. I have been checking what the rents are in different towns and I feel there fair in price and to buy I feel their alot better then what NJ has to offer.

I tell my wife I feel the kids will get a way better education then they ever will in NJ. See the one town we were watching very much here in NJ to buy a house is just getting so bad. I'm told the school system is almost $70 million dollars in debt. The classrooms are way over filled with 30 -35 students per classroom. Teachers are underpaid and don't have enough experience so they really don't care so the students that are struggling with their school work are left behind cause the teacher cannot spend time with the students one on one or care to for that matter.

The town council is supposedly thinking about making the town have a volunteer fire dept instead of a paid dept to cut back on costs. That is just unheard of in this part of NJ but yet city employees get paid 2 or 3 different salaries if they hold more then one position. The city gets the mayor and the council president new cadillacs every year. People are going to council meetings and saying with the town so far in debt that the town shouldn't have hired 6 new police officers and 6 new firemen for the departments but yet if the town was to cut police or fire funding everyone would be crying that the city doesn't care and on top of that the next town over wants to do away with their fire department and let our town control it but yet that town doesn't want to pay our town for the services. For the town we once wanted to live in the property taxes have skyrocketed. The cheapest property tax is about $6,600.00 a year but that's in the bad section of town. Where we wanted to buy the house the property taxes are $8,000.00 to $10,000.00 a year and that's with if you're lucky .25 of an acre of land. That town just isn't worth any more for those prices.

I know I'm kinda all over the place here but I'm only in the early stages of planning everything over the past few months but our feelings are growing stronger and stronger everyday about moving out of NJ. We wouldn't really have a whole lot to do but just alot of minor loose ends to tie up here in NJ and take care've down in MD to start our life.

Here are a few questions and I'm sure I'll have many questions in the future.

1.) How do you feel about the public school systems in Salisbury and surrounding areas?

2.) Most of my time has been spent mostly on Salisbury and Ocean City. How are towns like Snow Hill?

3.) Is Cambridge as bad as I'm told? I have never been to that area. Can't be any worse then NJ?

4.) How are the property taxes down in Slaisbury and surrounding areas?

Anyone who answers Thanks for your time and please feel free to tell me what you think even if it's bad and tell me anything that you might be good knowledge for me to know.

[Birney30]

A few more questions.

How are the prices in grocery stores?

Do they put baby food & diapers on sale? I checked weekly sales online and don't see that kind of stuff on sale. Anyone with with kids know they add up.

Do they have club cards? Like here we have shoprite and they have baby bucks. When you spend $75.00 on baby items you get $10 off. Everyt little bit helps when you have 2 kids in diapers and a box costs $20.

Are rates on car insurance fair in your mind? I know I can get a better deal but right now for a 2000 Ford Mustang & a 2002 Ford Explorer I'm paying about $4,500.00 a year.

What are rates on health insurance for a family plan through employers? I know everyone is different but here in NJ through my company for a family plan I'm paying about $170.00 a week to have Aetna and and my employer says that's the best they can do as they pay 75% and I'm paying 25% according to them.

Anyone know good websites to learn statistics on the school systems in MD? I'm really anxious to know and learn about the school systems.

[NYMD67]

Good Luck with your job search!
I would never want to discourage anyone from doing something in their heart or what they feel is the best for their family...
We moved to the Eastern Shore (Easton area) because we also loved the laid back feeling,etc....
I have to just let you know however, Wicomico County (where Salisbury is located) does NOT have the greatest reputation for schools.
I would not move to that area primarily because of that.

Talbot County & Caroline County schools fare a little better when comparing school districts on the Eastern Shore.

[oncesir]

I'd post my thoughts of the area but you can easily search my previous posts. If you are sure about moving to Salisbury your #1 priority is finding an affordable home that isnt centered around the crime that takes place here. I dont have kids but I also havent heard too many good things about local schools from others. A recent report has several that didnt make state requirements.

You will probably like the area once you do move here mostly because you are so unhappy with where you are now. Im not shy about speaking the truth about living on the shore. Its not for everyone. If anyone tells you how friendly EVERYONE is here, ignore anything else they say. Thats not true and in many cases ppl here are even less friendly to newcomers. Make sure that you search for more opinions/info on this site. Good luck with your decision.

[Birney30]

Thanks for the help as I will continue to search and try and learn more cause once we move it's not easy to just pack up and move again lol.

[WingsOfGold]

No club cards or things like that outside of Sams. Compared to what you're paying for housing in NJ houses are almost free here by comparison. One thing though, it's VERY "good old boy clanish" oriented. The locals often will not accept until you have been here 10 years and many make no bones about admitting it.

Remember, before the bridge was built, "Deliverance" might have well taken place here. Like everywhere else, it's a buyers market.

[Giantone]

Originally Posted by WingsOfGold

No club cards or things like that outside of Sams. Compared to what you're paying for housing in NJ houses are almost free here by comparison. One thing though, it's VERY "good old boy clanish" oriented. The locals often will not accept until you have been here 10 years and many make no bones about admitting it.

Remember, before the bridge was built, "Deliverance" might have well taken place here. Like everywhere else, it's a buyers market.

Giant Food has a bonus savings card.

[NYMD67]

Originally Posted by Birney30

A few more questions.

How are the prices in grocery stores?

Do they put baby food & diapers on sale? I checked weekly sales online and don't see that kind of stuff on sale. Anyone with with kids know they add up.

Do they have club cards? Like here we have shoprite and they have baby bucks. When you spend $75.00 on baby items you get $10 off. Everyt little bit helps when you have 2 kids in diapers and a box costs $20.

Are rates on car insurance fair in your mind? I know I can get a better deal but right now for a 2000 Ford Mustang & a 2002 Ford Explorer I'm paying about $4,500.00 a year.

What are rates on health insurance for a family plan through employers? I know everyone is different but here in NJ through my company for a family plan I'm paying about $170.00 a week to have Aetna and and my employer says that's the best they can do as they pay 75% and I'm paying 25% according to them.

Anyone know good websites to learn statistics on the school systems in MD? I'm really anxious to know and learn about the school systems.

Try Schoolmatters.com, it is a pretty helpful websites when comparing schools all around the country.

[Giantone]

If you decide to stay in NJ here are the school rankings ,this might help.




//www.city-data.com/forum/new-j...-rankings.html

[WingsOfGold]

Originally Posted by Giantone

Giant Food has a bonus savings card.

And Food Lion has a MVP card, the savings are not usually astronomical and sometimes an insult. Giant I avoid like the plague, grossly overpriced IMO. Nobody could possibly base a card like those on moving to another area. Like I said, housing is much cheaper compared to many other areas.