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I am thinking about working in Mt. Holly for a year and would like to live within a 30 minute drive (with traffic). My hope is that I can find an area with a high concentration of young professionals. If not, I am seeking a combination of safety and also accessibility to stores, restaurants, etc. I know I'm not going to find much in terms of nightlife short of going to Philly, but I am hoping I can find something close to a downtown/pseudo-downtown area, and as a single female I would prefer the security of an apartment complex or condo to renting a private home. I would love to stay in the $800-900/month range, but I know that's not very realistic for what I'm looking for, and I can consider paying up to $1500/month with utilities. Recommendations on both neighborhoods and properties would be much appreciated!
Also, how does the dry-town thing work in Collingswood? Are there just no liquor stores or are bars banned too?
30 minutes to Mount Holly means Collingswood is doable, but will be pushing your commute time tolerance. However, given what you are looking for and your price range, Collingswood and the other PATCO line towns like Haddon Township, Haddonfield and even Audubon and Oaklyn are good choices. Most of the communities are family/bedroom communities, but what nightlife there is you are going to mainly find in the Collingswood/Haddonfield/Cherry Hill area, so that is a good place to base yourself and will also give you easy access via the train into the city.
As for Collingswood being "dry", it means there is no liquor sold in the town at all. No liquor stores, no bars, no alcohol served in restaurants, etc. However, all of the restaurants in Collingswood do allow BYOB and have accomodations for that. Since none of the surrounding towns are dry (with the exception of Haddonfield), there are plenty of liquor stores and bars within walking and short drive distance of Collingswood, mainly in Haddon Township and Oaklyn. Overall, living in Collingswood you won't really feel "constrained" by the fact the town is dry.
I think it is awesome Collingswood is dry. It is SOOO much cheaper bringing your own tequila to the Tortilla Press (awesome restaurant) and letting them make margaritas for you.
Mount Holly itself has a neat little downtown but is "up-and-coming," and you're not near too much. I'm sure you can score some cheap rent though! There are a few local bars in Lumberton/Mount Holly area on Route 38 that are decent, but you have to drive to all of them.
You could try Burlington City as well for cheap rents and a small little downtown. However, both of these areas will not have scores of young professionals living in them. Also, I'm a 6' 265 lb male, so my definition of safety is probably much different than yours, and both Mount Holly and Burlington City are lower-income areas.
Given your priorities, I agree that Collingswood is the best bet. Bet on that being a 30 minute commute though. If you take 38, which is a straight shot to Mount Holly, the good news is you will be going against traffic in the morning. The bad news is that you will hit traffic coming home beacuse you will be fighting bridge traffic with all of the people commuting back to PA.
I'm not sure if you're into fitness, but you may want to find a gym or something nearby to do after work to let the traffic die down. That's what I do for commuting home to Collingswood from Mount Laurel via Route 70 and it works wonders.
Living in Collingswood has almost every benefit of living in Philadelphia - you're close enough to go even downtown on weeknights to meet friends, grab a few drinks, eat a late dinner, or whatever. Plus, during the weekends, you have everything at your doorstep. Local shops up the road, Cherry Hill mall 5 minutes away to buy whatever, food stores nearby, etc. There are a decent amount of young professionals in town, though you'll find that South Jersey doesn't have a Hoboken. Young professionals who want city life are living in Philadelphia (ironically, most are commuting out to the suburbs for jobs, but that's another topic altogether).
Collingswood is very safe on the whole, and I wouldn't worry about living in an apartment or condo building versus single family/duplex/row. You'll probably find that the apartment complexes on the whole do not give you the best bang for your buck, especially since demand is high right now and supply is somewhat low.
You may be able to score something affordable over top of a storefront on Haddon Avenue, within a duplex, twin, or something else that gives you some privacy versus an apartment without the maintenance expense of renting a whole house. Also, a lot of rentals are NOT posted online in the area, so be sure to visit in person to get the best idea of what's available. Also, realtors may be a good resource.
On the whole, you may want to stay within the limits of 08108, since those homes are between Haddon Avenue and Cooper River Park and offer better access to NJ-38. Also, 08107 gets less desirable as you move closer to 130, and is further in general from the PATCO line and downtown.
The bad news is that you will hit traffic coming home beacuse you will be fighting bridge traffic with all of the people commuting back to PA.
Traffic on 38 is still lighter than traffic on 73. I've always felt that I'm moving and the stops at lights seem fewer. YMMV. Additionally, the OP can get on I-295 from 70.
Traffic on 38 is still lighter than traffic on 73. I've always felt that I'm moving and the stops at lights seem fewer. YMMV. Additionally, the OP can get on I-295 from 70.
I-295 in the morning wouldn't help too much timewise because getting to 295N via 70E can take up to 15 minutes. By the time you get to 295N via 38, the traffic is mostly gone. 38E in the morning opens up once you get past the Moorestown Mall. Coming home, 295S wouldn't help too much because southbound traffic starts around Exit 34B and you still need to get off at either 40B (38W), 36B (73N to 38W) which is a mess with northbound Betsy/Tacony bridge traffic, or 34B (70W) which is also a log jam during rush hour.
The hard part is getting back to Collingswood - there are only two usable "highways" to get there - 38W and 70W. You can take 561 (Haddon Ave) from 295, but that takes forever too (tons of long lights through Haddonfield).
Another option to minimize the pain when coming home during rush hour may be to get off of 38W around Kings Highway and take local roads like Maple Ave (Rt 537) back through Maple Shade/Merchantville and eventually pick up Cuthbert Blvd that way via S Centre St.
Personally, I'd rather go to the gym, leave at 7 PM and be home no later than 7:25 PM than leave at 5 PM and get home at 5:45-6 PM. But that's me. My traffic tolerance is very low.
Traffic on 38 is still lighter than traffic on 73. I've always felt that I'm moving and the stops at lights seem fewer. YMMV. Additionally, the OP can get on I-295 from 70.
Like Tom said, you aren't getting to 295 from Collingswood without some major headaches. The commute from Collingswood to Mount Holly area using 38 is almost entirely oppsite of the general traffic flow. I'd think it would add at least 20-30 minutes or so onto the drive to head to 295 first from Collingswood versus just taking 38 straight out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by T_Sporano
Why not Mt. Holly, Lumberton, or Pennsauken?
For someone looking to be around other "young professionals" and desiring some nightlife, none of those towns really fit the bill. Mount Holly and Pennsauken are definitely not in that mold and have their fair share of sketchy areas, especially when looking at rentals. Lumberton has some nice areas, but the one area that contains a lot of apartment rentals and townhomes is pretty notorious for crime issues. Outside of that area there are some great developments, but they are all much more family oriented places then young professionals.
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