Commuting to Phila from South Jersey (Wayne, Collingswood: house, neighborhoods, to buy)
New Jersey Suburbs of PhiladelphiaBurlington County, Camden County, Gloucester County, Salem County in South Jersey
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My husband and I are relocating to the South Jersey area. He will be driving a commercial vehicle typically to south Jersey, Philadelphia, and eastern PA towns. I will be going to school and working in Philadelphia. We are really liking the small town feel of Moorestown, but it seems the easiest commute to Phila is to drive. I would much rather take the train, and we were looking at other towns like Collingswood and Haddonfield, but property sizes seem smaller and Collingswood school district seems to not be good. Are there other towns we should look into that provide us with a short drive/train commute, small town feel, decent schools and decent property sizes?
Haddon Township and Haddon Heights would be your best bet. More affordable than Haddonfield but better schools than Collingswood. That whole area along the PATCO corridor will be more densely populated though, so like those other towns, property sizes can run smaller. Haddonfield does have huge homes, but they are expensive.
Haddon Township has a stop on PATCO in Westmont. Literally beteeen Haddonfield and Collingswood. Depending on where you find a property, you may be able to walk to the train. You want to look in the main part of the town, not the separated exclaves. As for Haddon Heights, the train stop isn’t in town. You would have to drive to the Haddonfield or Westmont stop.
Any reason as to why you are not looking in PA? There are many more train stations there, many more towns with that charming small town feel, and property taxes are generally lower. The major trade off is that the price you pay for a house that is comparable in quality and in a town with comparable schools to a similar SJ town will be more expensive.
We were looking there, but it seems most of the work he'll be doing will be primarily in South Jersey, with some in PA. We were told the commute from PA outside of Phila into New Jersey could be pretty awful and we are trying to leave horrendous commute (he drives LI to NYC, it's an average of 2 1/2 in and 3 hours home everyday). We also wanted to stay relatively closet to the NY side since most of our family is in NYC and Long Island and wanted to keep the travel there as short as possible.
It's definitely easier to travel into Phila from the NJ suburbs (PATCO) than the PA suburbs. PATCO is faster and much more reliable than SEPTA in PA. SEPTA is notorious for breakdowns and strikes.
Are you looking to buy or rent? What size home are you looking for and what is your budget?
If you want the small town feel and train access to Philly, you are going to have to likely compromise on property size and focus on the Haddon Township, Haddon Heights, Haddonfield suggestions mentioned above. You can find larger lot sizes in areas like Cherry Hill that are still a pretty easy drive to a train station, however, there is no small town/downtown feel.
I'll just mention that the 406 express bus goes from Marlton, through Cherry Hill on route 70, into Philly. I know it's not great, but it looks like an option to consider. Consider the East Side of Cherry Hill if it's possible. Sort of "endless suburbs" feel rather than small town, but it has a great school district and you're right next to the highway.
I used to live in different parts of north Jersey and Staten Island, commuting into NYC, so I know the living hell that your husband currently deals with. No matter where exactly you end up in the South Jersey/Philly area, you will be much better off. I've found everything is just a little bit easier and cheaper. People are little bit more polite too. The only downside is sometimes I've noticed a little bit more lackadaisical attitude which can be frustrating when you want something done asap. Worth it though overall.
You'll have to prioritize in terms of small-town feel, short commute by train/car, and property size. You can have two of the above, but not all three (at least not without a lot of money). If this was me, I'd learn to live with a smaller property sizes (and move to Haddon Township or Haddonfield) just because a nice small town offers a lot of public spaces that make up for the small yards, but your mileage may vary.
Thank you everyone for your input! We will continue to look into these neighborhoods. My agent mentioned Medford, NJ but that would require a drive to the closest train station. Which I wouldn't mind, but would be curious what the drive commute would be for my husband into Phila from Medford.
Thank you everyone for your input! We will continue to look into these neighborhoods. My agent mentioned Medford, NJ but that would require a drive to the closest train station. Which I wouldn't mind, but would be curious what the drive commute would be for my husband into Phila from Medford.
It would take too much time. If you are driving from the eastern side of Marlton below Rt. 70, the Ashland PATCO station drive is manageable.
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Worth it though overall.
