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Background info: My husband and I are college educated professionals with 3 children (one on the autism spectrum). Hubby teaches at BCC part time and works in Burlington Township. I am a work at home mom that is very active in my children's schools. School systems are important but so is community. We are faced with a dilemma, hopefully we can get some feedback from our forum friends
What would you do if you have the option to purchase a home in Cherry Hill (East section) at the high end of your budget (house has about 3000 sq ft) but in order to purchase it you would have to do a 30 year fixed mortgage. Versus purchasing a home in Haddon Township (approx 2650 sq ft) that would have the same mortgage price as the Cherry Hill home when doing 15 yr fixed mortgage.
I'm all about saving money and getting more bang for my buck without sacrificing school system. However my husband believes you can't put a price tag on exposing your children to other children with like minded parents (educated, professionals). Also there is an issue with the lack of diversity in Haddon Twp. Although I would love a diverse neighborhood that is not a deal breaker for me.
I would love to hear what everyone has to say about the two towns comparing the schools, neighborhoods, and about our little dilemma
I would go for Haddon Township, or find a cheaper house in Cherry Hill. Why buy a house at the high end of your budget and risk being unable to make future payments and staying in debt for 30 years? Cherry Hill isn't really that ethnically diverse, it's still about 80% white. It just has a small population of some Koreans and Indians and the rest of South Jersey is pretty typical white/black suburbia. I'm not sure why these Korean and Indian populations tend to stick to Cherry Hill and avoid most of the other townships around here. For example, my child reports his middle school in Gloucester Township has just one Indian kid in his grade level. I wouldn't move to Cherry Hill just so there would be 30 Indian kids at his grade level instead. Then again, I speak a foreign language and I introduce my kids to my foreign culture at home so I don't need exposure to foreign cultures at school to teach my kids that foreignness is okay... your mileage may vary.
I agree with Tarp.. Haddon township.. Don't get too hung on on 'diversity', It should not be such a large part of anyone's life. It comes in life whether you want or of not. No reason to move to a way more expensive home just to make it 'feel' more diverse..
If we were talking about the difference between a place with 99.9% white people and a place with, say, 40% white people, 20% latino, 10% black, 20% asian, and 10% indian, and you valued diversity, I would say sure - go for the more diverse place even if it costs more. Your kids would be exposed to all different cultures and ways of thinking. But places with that kind of diversity do not exist in the Delaware Valley, and the small amount of diversity you get in Cherry Hill really isn't that big a factor in my book, unless you are part of the few ethnic communities that Cherry Hill is known for (Indian or Korean) or Jewish (lots of synagogues in CH) and you want to be close to that specific community. In my experience, when ethnic populations are a small minority, they tend to assimilate anyway, and that assimilation tends to occur at the primary school level. The kids will all act the same in school regardless.
I agree with what everyone here said. Haddon is a calmer place and the schools there do not seem to be ranked that much lower than Cherry Hill. You also have a bit of a walkable main street that Cherry Hill does not have. And the people in CH are snootier too. I never thought of it as a "diverse" area. The most diverse town around there I think is Voorhees, which does seem to have a significant amount of Asians/Indians, but it is still something like 78% white. More bang for your buck there though.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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There's a bit of everything in Cherry Hill. Some areas have "snootie", some don't. Between Park Blvd & Route 70, that area of Erlton gives a totally different, more tradional town feel than the housing developments.
As far as mortgages, I'd keep away from your high end & go for a 30 year traditional & pay extra every month.
A co-worker of my husband told him Cherry Hill is "way" better than Haddon Township and really just hyped up Cherry Hill. However while researching the two towns I found Haddon Township (although not ranked as high as Cherry Hill) has a very good school district and I like the idea of being able to walk around a town and support local businesses. I'm very traditional and love the idea of community but more than that I LOVE old homes and my husband is opposite (not saying its bad) he is private, like newer homes, love really new open communities or developments. Needless to say we have to find a common ground.
Another concern is the special needs program in both districts. Cherry Hill's director was very vague about their autism program and said that they don't allow parents to visit and view the program unless they are residents (Kinda defeats the purpose of viewing the program) and Haddon Township's director didn't contact me back after I emailed and left a message. So that adds to my frustration.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maya78
I appreciate everyone's responses.
A co-worker of my husband told him Cherry Hill is "way" better than Haddon Township and really just hyped up Cherry Hill. However while researching the two towns I found Haddon Township (although not ranked as high as Cherry Hill) has a very good school district and I like the idea of being able to walk around a town and support local businesses. I'm very traditional and love the idea of community but more than that I LOVE old homes and my husband is opposite (not saying its bad) he is private, like newer homes, love really new open communities or developments. Needless to say we have to find a common ground.
Another concern is the special needs program in both districts. Cherry Hill's director was very vague about their autism program and said that they don't allow parents to visit and view the program unless they are residents (Kinda defeats the purpose of viewing the program) and Haddon Township's director didn't contact me back after I emailed and left a message. So that adds to my frustration.
Call the superintendants in each district. Also look in Haddon Heights, while you're at it. Check the area of Erlton that I mentioned.
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