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Thanks everyone! I am not concered about the gun laws. My husband doesn't hunt or shoot much anyway. We will not register them although he may decide to get a carry permit for the 9mm just in case he ever did need to take it somewhere.
I think I have convinced him to stay around the Swedesboro area.
Thanks again for all the suggestions and information. Hopefully we will be able to find something we like and be very happy there !
We relocated down to Mickleton - East Greenwich 5 years ago from NYC. Mullica Hill border is 200 yrds or 3 houses from me. We looked at over 40 homes back then Mullica Hill, Swedesboro, none in Logan lower taxes dont like the area not that there is anything wrong with it just lower taxes and we all share the same school district. I pay over 14,000 taxes. My Husband and I didnt realize how close we were to Delaware 15 minutes to go over the Delaware memorial bridge and PA is not far either lower taxes. Back then we paid over 525K for our home but all the homes are much cheaper and lots of them on the market today. TAXES are high here but that is just the way it is.
Kingsway Regional School Kingsway Regional School District colors REd and "DRAGON" was the biggest change for my kids as there are literally hundreds of kids compared to the smaller school districts we came from. Note that some areas of Mullica Hill go to Kingsway and others to Clearview High School Harrison Township School District green colors ok.
My kids adjusted very well now one snr and one jnr.
It was very confusing when I came to look at homes we looked at over 40 homes before I found my dream home. I used to work in Swedesboro too.
Having no beer etc in most of the smaller restaurants was a little annoying at first to us too. Swedesboro has 2-3 liquor stores and a few restaurants there sell liquor in their restaurant ie Bottos Botto's Italian Line : Fine Italian Dining, Famous Italian Sausage, Distinctive Wedding Receptions : Swedesboro, NJ (http://bottos.com/home.asp - broken link) etc great for catering parties too.
I now go over the bridge Commodore Barry to TOTAL WINE liquor store no tax and better selection plus Joe Canal's Liquor store in Mantua has a good selection.
The nearest mall to Swedesboro is Deptford Mall NJ via 295 or if you want to go over the Bridge to Delaware and pay no tax its just as near to go to Christiana Mall DE - Concord Mall DE, I sometimes go the Cherry Hill Mall NJ which is very large and the area has everything too about 40 minutes away.
Kingsway Regional School was the biggest change for my kids as there are literally hundreds of kids compared to the smaller school districts we came from. Note that some areas of Mullica Hill go to Kingsway and others to Clearview High School.
No one from Mullica Hill / Harrison Township goes to Kingsway, however kids from SOUTH Harrison Township do go to Kingsway, but they are completely separate towns. Some people do refer to South Harrison as "Mullica Hill" locally, but I wanted to make it clear that it's not a situation where some kids in the same town go to different schools, they are entirely separate towns.
Kingsway Regional = Swedesboro, Woolwich Twp., Logan Twp., East Greenwich Twp. and South Harrison Twp.
Clearview Regional = Harrison Twp. (aka Mullica Hill) and Mantua Twp.
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We looked at over 40 homes back then Mullica Hill, Swedesboro, none in Logan lower taxes dont like the area not that there is anything wrong with it just lower taxes and we all share the same school district. I pay over 14,000 taxes.
The whole area is nice, but the highlighted is the reason we chose Logan. Same great schools, same services, same stores, same access to highways...WAY lower taxes. I'm currently paying around HALF in taxes of what a comparable home in Woolwich or another township in the area would have. That adds up big in terms of either buying more house, or just putting more money in your pocket.
NJGoat Hi Neighbor!!
Thanks for clarifying that. I guess my Realtor just showed us what she wanted in our budget at the time. Wish I had bought with lower taxes now.
I do find the homes a lot bigger down here than up North... Smaller homes up North Jersey used to live up there. A lot more for your money down south Jersey and this whole area is exploding with new development which will be great in a few years for our house value..
NJGoat Hi Neighbor!!
Thanks for clarifying that. I guess my Realtor just showed us what she wanted in our budget at the time. Wish I had bought with lower taxes now.
I do find the homes a lot bigger down here than up North... Smaller homes up North Jersey used to live up there. A lot more for your money down south Jersey and this whole area is exploding with new development which will be great in a few years for our house value..
I hear you on the taxes. We looked in Swedesboro, Woolwich and Logan primarily and the differences in taxes was astounding. The only thing in Logan is that you generally need to settle for less land as everything in the main Beckett section is development style. If you want more than 1/3 acre, you pretty much have to look in one of the other towns to find any options.
The area has been growing rapidly and that is one of the things that drew us in as well, all the building and growth even through the recession has kept our property values stable and I imagine we are in a good position to see some increases down the road. The most difficult part for the area though, is balancing all that growth and not letting the area just become another Washington Twp.
The growth is also the main driver for the taxes in a lot of towns as the growth is all residential with few commercial ratables. That's the big difference in Logan where the township has the Pureland Park which provides a massive ratable base relative to the size of the town. Of course it's the old Catch-22; no one is going to build commercial ratables like Target in an area with a small population and that small population needs to suffer through the rapid residential growth and higher taxes to build out the infrastructure (schools, roads, sewer, water, etc,) to get to the point that they can attract the ratables.
We have been looking in the Swedesboro area and just haven't really seen anything we love yet. There are a few things we like but thinking of expanding our search area. We would love to stay withing a 10-15 minute drive for my husband but are willing to go out 30-45 minutes to get more property and the possibility of finding "that" house. We have been looking in the Franklinville area so trying to find some information on that area, schools, etc. Or any other areas that would be worth looking in to. Schools are the most important thing for us, as I will have a 5th grader and 9th grader starting this fall. As I stated before we do not have to be 5-10 minutes from everything, we live in Rural Georgia now and he drives 45 minutes to work as it is so he is use to it.
We have been looking in the Swedesboro area and just haven't really seen anything we love yet. There are a few things we like but thinking of expanding our search area. We would love to stay withing a 10-15 minute drive for my husband but are willing to go out 30-45 minutes to get more property and the possibility of finding "that" house. We have been looking in the Franklinville area so trying to find some information on that area, schools, etc. Or any other areas that would be worth looking in to. Schools are the most important thing for us, as I will have a 5th grader and 9th grader starting this fall. As I stated before we do not have to be 5-10 minutes from everything, we live in Rural Georgia now and he drives 45 minutes to work as it is so he is use to it.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
If schools are the most important thing you really only a few choices for more competitively ranked districts in the area. Basically, if we broke them down in tiers, this is what they would look like:
Tier One
Clearview Regional: Harrison/Mullica Hill and Mantua
Kingsway Regional: Logan, Woolwich, Swedesboro, East Greenwich and South Harrison
Washington Township High: Serves only Washington Township
Tier Two
Delsea Regional: Elk and Franklin
Woodstown-Pilesgrove Regional (Salem County): Woodstown, Pilesgrove, Alloway, Oldmans (not every section of Oldmans goes to Woodstown, some go to the much worse Penns Grove-Carney's Point Regional) and Upper Pittsgrove
Pitman High: Serves only Pitman
***
I get the impression that the biggest issue you have found so far is that you aren't finding newer houses on an acre or more. In that case, Washington Twp. is definitely out as it is all developments and much more congested then the Swedesboro area. Harrison/Mullica Hill would be a good choice, but I'm not sure your budget is going to buy you a place there with what you want. Mantua is all developments, so that is probably out as well.
That drops us down to the Tier Two districts, they aren't bad, they're actually above average, but they aren't as well ranked as the Tier One schools. I would probably take Pitman off the list. It's a nice town, but it is an older suburb with smaller neighborhoods centered around a downtown and houses with land don't really exist.
That leaves Delsea and Woodstown. Delsea Regional is a decent school and the area is definitely more rural. Delsea is known for its athletic programs, in particular its football team which is a perennial powerhouse in its conference. The academic rankings are a mixed bag, but I would place the school as being average to above-average. It is also rather small for a regional school with only about 1,100 students compared to the 2,000+ in Kingsway, Washington or Clearview.
The only hit on Franklin and Elk is that these areas do have flooding issues, which I know you asked about in your OP. After Hurricane Irene, many of the dams on the various lakes burst and the area was flooded for a couple of weeks. Some roads are still being repaired from the damage. Nothing had ever happened like that before in recent memory, but all it took was a good amount of rain and then the hurricane and it happened.
Woodstown-Pilesgrove is the only decent school school district in all of Salem County. Woodstown itself is an older farm community with a small downtown and neighborhood surrounded by farms and open land. Any of the sending towns are all pretty much rural (people in that area jokingly refer to Swedesboro as the "big city"). This area, IMO, will probably give you the best shot at getting a newer larger home on a good amount of land. Academically I would consider Woodstown better then Delsea Regional, but it is not nearly as good athletically.
Overall, if you are willing to settle for a Tier Two school versus a Tier One school in order to get the kind of house you want, I think Woodstown may be the best match if academics are your main concern. If you think your kids are strong academically and really want to be in competitive sports programs, then Delsea Regional may be a good choice.
Honestly, it's your decision, but I would personally give up a little on the housing end to get into one of the better districts to get both the academics and the athletics in the same place.
I would like to thank everyone that has given me information over the past few days about our relocation. Just a recap, moving from North Georgia because my husband is being relocated to Swedesboro. Looking for a 4/2 house with at least an acre around $300,000. We have a 10 yr old girl and 14 yr old son. My son plays football and baseball, we spend most of our weekends outside or at a ballpark. My kids are outside as much as I will let them. Oh and my husband and son love to fish.
I do believe any of these places will suit our needs but still have some questions.
Of course Swedesboro is where my husband would be working so that would be the ideal situation. At this time there isn't very many options of a 4/2 with around an acre. I have to decide on a place as we could be here for many years. My son starts HS next year and we would like to stay till he grads.
I am not that crazy about older homes, not saying that everything out there is, and some are remolded that look nice, I just don't want to get something that we will have to spend a ton of money on to like. So out of the areas, Swedesboro, Logan, Mulica Hill, Woolwich and East Greenwich I think I could find something. Obviously I haven't been up there yet so that could all change, but I am thinking it won't. There seems to be alot of outdoor things to do also in these locations or surrounding areas. As well as great schools! Driving to major stores or Malls are not a problem. We live 20 minutes from Home Depot, Target, Sam's and 45 minutes to the closest Mall now. I am not a shopper so not a concern at all. As long as I have a grocery store close I am fine.
I do have a question about Mullica Hill though. I think I read (have read I think 1,000's of post) that it is a dry county. This might be a problem considering my husband likes to have his Budweiser on the weekend. We do not go to bars, but do go out to dinner on the weekends usually and like to have a drink or two. If this is true how are the people in that area?
Are any of these areas in a flood zone? I have not even touched on home insurance yet, what would it be like on say a $300,000 home? Vehicle insurance really isn't an issue we both drive company vehicles. He has an older Jeep that he just pretty much goes mudding and climbing in and short distances on the weekends. My son will be 15 next year so not even looking forward to that insurance add.
Also still a little confused about the income/wage tax. I am mainly asking this only because he is still leaning towards PA. Bottom line do you pay more takes to live in PA and work in NJ, or live and work in NJ? From what I was told it seems to me you would pay more in PA, but as I said still a little confused.
Again, any info would be great! Thanks.
Considering I grow up in Swedesboro, NJ my input may be Valuable. I went to Elementary School all the way through High School. I feel my education I received was worth it The town is alot different from when I was growing up. Now everything is modern and the city and state have invested alot of money into it. Swedesboro is very historical and has alot of character to it. In Swedesboro itself you will not find the size home with the property you are looking for. You may need to move to the outskirts of Swedesboro in Woolwich, Harrison Township, or East Greenwich. All are nice areas. I do not suggest living in PA (I currently live in PA until Thursday at which time I am moving back to NJ in Mantua 10mins from Swedesboro). Car Insurance is much more expensive in PA along with alot of Bridge Tolls. Gas Prices are also higher in PA due to their Higher Highway Tax. South Jersey is 45 minutes to an hour from Ocean City, NJ (one of the nicer beaches), and about 20 minutes from the city of Philadelphia. So you will have plenty to do. (I Suggest going across the Walt Whitman Bridge to Tony Lukes and getting a genuine Cheese Steak). So I feel your kids will get a descent education along with a nice environment free of drugs and violence living near swedesboro. If you need a Veterinarian, please go to Delaware County Animal Hospital on rt 322. They are very good! If you have any questions please feel free to message me. Enjoy your stay in NJ!!!! Bob
Noticed I missed a few questions you had!
1. Mullica Hill is a dry town, but every town around is not. There is a liquor store in Swedesboro itself.
2. Property Tax is not bad in NJ. On my $244,000 home with 1/4 acre was $3000 a year.
3. Wouldn't live in Mullica Hill is at is a Historical Society and you stated you did not like old homes. (Plus that may increase your property tax)
4. Swedesboro and Surrounding areas are not located in any Flood Zones until you get closer to the river...
5. As for Income Wage Tax, you pay taxes on where you work at, not where you live. So regardless you will initially be paying NJ Wage Tax for working in NJ, but I do believe you would get it back when you file at the end of the year. (Dont quote me on that...lol)
Last edited by kristensbub; 05-22-2012 at 09:54 AM..
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Swedesboro is Nice...
