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Possible job transfer to Philiadelphia from TX. Husband will work there, stay home mom, 1 fourth grader. Hoping for an awesome christian school, home with an acre for goats & 2 big dogs, not crazy property taxes.
Don't know anything about either S NJ or PA........PLEASE give opinions. Thanks for your time
Well.....if you live in South Jersey and work in Philly you have a triple tax whammy.....Federal income tax, New Jersey state income tax and the outrageously high Philly Wage Tax and that doesn't include the state tax on what you purchase and the highest property taxes of all 50 states.....tell hubby to ask for a raise if you decide to make the move.
NJ allows you take a credit for the Philly wage tax against the NJ State income tax. It's not 100% but it's a substantial reduction.
Check out Medford, Shamong, or Southampton in NJ if you are looking for land for goats...large dogs etc. just a warning though the commute from Philly won't be easy but its not impossible. It also depends on what part of Philly he'd be working.
NJ allows you take a credit for the Philly wage tax against the NJ State income tax. It's not 100% but it's a substantial reduction.
Check out Medford, Shamong, or Southampton in NJ if you are looking for land for goats...large dogs etc. just a warning though the commute from Philly won't be easy but its not impossible. It also depends on what part of Philly he'd be working.
I can't speak for the PA suburbs.
Great advise. Great places and you would love it there
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Originally Posted by bella14
Possible job transfer to Philiadelphia from TX. Husband will work there, stay home mom, 1 fourth grader. Hoping for an awesome christian school, home with an acre for goats & 2 big dogs, not crazy property taxes.
Don't know anything about either S NJ or PA........PLEASE give opinions. Thanks for your time
From a religious standpoint, I think you'd be happier looking in Gloucester & Salem Counties.
I lived in South Jersey for over 40 years & can not recommend a christian school. Most public schools are a better choice. If you don't want to take advantage of the public schools, I'd suggest Quaker schools.
Well.....if you live in South Jersey and work in Philly you have a triple tax whammy.....Federal income tax, New Jersey state income tax and the outrageously high Philly Wage Tax and that doesn't include the state tax on what you purchase and the highest property taxes of all 50 states.....tell hubby to ask for a raise if you decide to make the move.
In terms of income tax, living in NJ and working in Philly is actually the most cost-effective choice. The worst is living in Philly and working in Philly followed by living in PA and working in Philly. The reason is because NJ allows you to deduct what you pay in Philly wage taxes against your NJ income tax liability. It doesn't work out 100% for most people, but pretty darn close and in combination with standard deductions means most people have no or very little state tax liability. Almost all employers are aware of this and set the deductions properly so you don't even have extra money taken out of your check.
State sales tax is pretty routine in most places and since the OP is moving from Texas where the state rate is 6.25% and some localities are as high as 8.25%, the NJ sales tax of 7% or the PA rate of 6% (as high as 8% in some localities) won't feel all that strange. On top of that NJ also grants exemptions for many common items like food and clothing.
Property taxes are highly variable depending on where you want to live. For instance, where I live has pretty low property taxes compared to many towns, even ones in PA and DE. Other towns do have what I would consider outrageously high property taxes. For the most part though, South Jersey does not have the same type of property tax insanity that North Jersey has. Most people in South Jersey pay in the $4k-$7k range depending on size of home and town. That's higher than many other states, but not ridiculously higher.
OP...
The first question is what kind of Christian school are you looking for? Good Christian schools that are non-Catholic can be tough to come by, especially if you are looking for a good education. In general in South Jersey private schools are going to be either Catholic or Quaker. The Quaker schools are the "Friends" schools and they have no real religious affiliation or slant. There is a smattering of smaller Christian schools, but they are few and far between and generally affiliated with a specific church or denomination. So, if you are looking for say an evangelical Christian school, you will have a hard time finding one and even if you did, I would question the quality of the education offered. NJ has some of the best public schools in the country, unless your decision is based solely on the religious preference, you will most likely find a better education in the local public schools.
After that, if you are looking for towns within an easy commute to Philly, but having large lot sizes, that could be tough. My question would be where in Philly? If more southern then some of the Gloucester County towns like Logan, Woolwich, East Greenwich, South Harrison, etc. may be a good choice. Since you seem to prefer private schools even some of the Salem County towns like Woodstown, Oldmans, etc. might not be bad choices. If you are on the northern end of Philly than you will be looking at Burlington County and many of the towns suggested earlier; Shamong, Medford, Tabernacle, etc. If your commute is into Center City, then it would really come down to preference.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Originally Posted by NJGOAT
In terms of income tax, living in NJ and working in Philly is actually the most cost-effective choice. The worst is living in Philly and working in Philly followed by living in PA and working in Philly. The reason is because NJ allows you to deduct what you pay in Philly wage taxes against your NJ income tax liability. It doesn't work out 100% for most people, but pretty darn close and in combination with standard deductions means most people have no or very little state tax liability. Almost all employers are aware of this and set the deductions properly so you don't even have extra money taken out of your check.
State sales tax is pretty routine in most places and since the OP is moving from Texas where the state rate is 6.25% and some localities are as high as 8.25%, the NJ sales tax of 7% or the PA rate of 6% (as high as 8% in some localities) won't feel all that strange. On top of that NJ also grants exemptions for many common items like food and clothing.
Property taxes are highly variable depending on where you want to live. For instance, where I live has pretty low property taxes compared to many towns, even ones in PA and DE. Other towns do have what I would consider outrageously high property taxes. For the most part though, South Jersey does not have the same type of property tax insanity that North Jersey has. Most people in South Jersey pay in the $4k-$7k range depending on size of home and town. That's higher than many other states, but not ridiculously higher.
OP...
The first question is what kind of Christian school are you looking for? Good Christian schools that are non-Catholic can be tough to come by, especially if you are looking for a good education. In general in South Jersey private schools are going to be either Catholic or Quaker. The Quaker schools are the "Friends" schools and they have no real religious affiliation or slant. There is a smattering of smaller Christian schools, but they are few and far between and generally affiliated with a specific church or denomination. So, if you are looking for say an evangelical Christian school, you will have a hard time finding one and even if you did, I would question the quality of the education offered. NJ has some of the best public schools in the country, unless your decision is based solely on the religious preference, you will most likely find a better education in the local public schools.
After that, if you are looking for towns within an easy commute to Philly, but having large lot sizes, that could be tough. My question would be where in Philly? If more southern then some of the Gloucester County towns like Logan, Woolwich, East Greenwich, South Harrison, etc. may be a good choice. Since you seem to prefer private schools even some of the Salem County towns like Woodstown, Oldmans, etc. might not be bad choices. If you are on the northern end of Philly than you will be looking at Burlington County and many of the towns suggested earlier; Shamong, Medford, Tabernacle, etc. If your commute is into Center City, then it would really come down to preference.
Actually, Quaker schools are affiliated with the Religious Society of Friends, but their religious teaching is tolerance, so is not normally perceived as religious instruction.
Wouldn't Catholic Schools be considered Christian or am I missing something?
But honeslty many public schools would be rated above many Catholic (by far the most common christian schools in the area) though not always
Generally speaking even the Catholic schools would likely be more liberal in their teachings in the NE, again a generalization but probably accurate as a comparator
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Originally Posted by kidphilly
Wouldn't Catholic Schools be considered Christian or am I missing something?
But honeslty many public schools would be rated above many Catholic (by far the most common christian schools in the area) though not always
Generally speaking even the Catholic schools would likely be more liberal in their teachings in the NE, again a generalization but probably accurate as a comparator
Catholics are certainly Christians, but the OP is from Texas. Stop & think about it. . .How many Catholics are in rhe Southern Christian Leadership? I think that she's looking for an Evangelical school.
South Jersey has a lot of Evangelicals, as remnants of the Rev Carl McIntire's church. They are in a higher proportion in Gloucester & Salem Counties than Camden & Burlington Counties.
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