Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Moving from North Jersey to Moorestown or Mt. Laurel area, looking for neighborhood not cookie cutter housing development, reservations about local restaurants, lack of diversity, schools, taxes, cost of living, daycare, preschools
...would love to hear your perspective. Yes, I grew up in North Jersey and live here now. Husband has a new gig which will require us to make a move. We have a 1 year old. We are looking for a "neighborhood", NOT a cookie cutter "development". We are looking in the Mt Laurel and Moorestown area. I am interested to hear from people who have made a similar move and what your experience has been like. I've heard great things about Moorestown however I have some reservations which include, lack of diversity, "keeping up with the jones", no good take out, no local restaurants (needing to go to philly), and I am unclear about daycare options down that way. Please send along any comments, and put my mind at ease.
Although I'm not from North Jersey, I did go to college in Central Jersey (New Bruns) and now live in Mount Laurel. Moorestown and Mount Laurel have some established neighborhoods and some newer "cookie-cutter" developments. As far as diversity goes, Mount Laurel is pretty diverse (for South Jersey) - Moorestown a little less so. However, no matter what town you look at - you will not find the diversity you are used to in NNJ though.
I wouldn't be concerned about lack of good restaurants and take-out - there are some great options - you just have to know where to go. Not every little strip center is going to have decent food but there are some very good options in places like Cherry Hill, Collingswood, Mount Holly, etc.
I would imagine there would be good day-cares around here as both school districts are very good - Moorestown being top notch. Also to keep in mind - Moorestown real-estate is much more expensive and has higher taxes.
I would definitely take several trips down here first and scope out the area before you make such a big decision.
I did that move in 2001. I never had a real appreciation for the entire state of NJ until I did. If I had to move back to New Jersey, it would likely be back to Burlington County. But I am not like everyone. I enjoy my neighborhoods older, but I enjoy rural countryside adjacent to the village. Eastern Burlington County is one such place where one can enjoy that sort of dichotomy. Mount Laurel is about 10 miles too west and too crowded for me. I lived in Medford village. That place had an appeal and character to it that many places in Northern NJ lacked. The adjacency to the Pine Barrens was another appealing aspect of living there. I became a huge fan of the Pine Barrens, living in South Jersey for the time I was privileged to live there.
...would love to hear your perspective. Yes, I grew up in North Jersey and live here now. Husband has a new gig which will require us to make a move. We have a 1 year old. We are looking for a "neighborhood", NOT a cookie cutter "development". We are looking in the Mt Laurel and Moorestown area. I am interested to hear from people who have made a similar move and what your experience has been like. I've heard great things about Moorestown however I have some reservations which include, lack of diversity, "keeping up with the jones", no good take out, no local restaurants (needing to go to philly), and I am unclear about daycare options down that way. Please send along any comments, and put my mind at ease.
Moorestown has a walkable downtown with a great Main Street. Mount Laurel has no Main Street but some very nice developments. Moorestown will have some of a 'keeping up with the jones' mentality depending where you are in town but part of the appeal of the town is that it is not quite as pretentious as some other towns that are not as prestigious.
There are wonderful restaurants and take out from Italian to Japanese to Indian and Thai in the general area, no need to consider Philly but if you do, Philly has a strong restaurant scene with a growing national rep. You can take the train from 295 South. About 9% of Moorestown is minority based and it is concentrated in the Lenola-Moorestown section which has more affordable housing prices. The schools are top-tier. If diversity and dining is your thing check out Cherry Hill, though taxes are very high. Mount Laurel is another good option with good schools and great access to shopping and key roads like 38, 295 and the turnpike. There are plenty of daycare options.
Honestly, I cannot imagine anyone regretting moving from North Jersey to the Moorestown/Mount Laurel area and I've lived in Piscataway, Edison and worked in Millburn, Summit, Bridgewater and Madison so I know what I'm talking about.
If outdoor recreation is appealing, Burlington County just recently opened a wildlife preserve and observation center in Moorestown off Creek Road and the Pine Barrens are a short ride away. Not to mention several other parks in the immediate area such as Rancocas State Park. There's a lot of preserved open space in Burlington County, it was recently awarded one of the top counties in the nation for the number of acres preserved. Plenty of horse farms in the area as well. Medford was named one of America's Great Small Town Escapes by National Geographic. It is a great place to live IMO.
Last edited by MoorestownResident; 01-12-2009 at 05:11 PM..
I agree. Burlington county is ideal for us too.. Farmland next to older, established neighborhoods. Clean, safe area..
Quote:
Originally Posted by mike0421
I did that move in 2001. I never had a real appreciation for the entire state of NJ until I did. If I had to move back to New Jersey, it would likely be back to Burlington County. But I am not like everyone. I enjoy my neighborhoods older, but I enjoy rural countryside adjacent to the village. Eastern Burlington County is one such place where one can enjoy that sort of dichotomy. Mount Laurel is about 10 miles too west and too crowded for me. I lived in Medford village. That place had an appeal and character to it that many places in Northern NJ lacked. The adjacency to the Pine Barrens was another appealing aspect of living there. I became a huge fan of the Pine Barrens, living in South Jersey for the time I was privileged to live there.
Moorestown has a walkable downtown with a great Main Street. Mount Laurel has no Main Street but some very nice developments. Moorestown will have some of a 'keeping up with the jones' mentality depending where you are in town but part of the appeal of the town is that it is not quite as pretentious as some other towns that are not as prestigious.
There are wonderful restaurants and take out from Italian to Japanese to Indian and Thai in the general area, no need to consider Philly but if you do, Philly has a strong restaurant scene with a growing national rep. You can take the train from 295 South. About 9% of Moorestown is minority based and it is concentrated in the Lenola-Moorestown section which has more affordable housing prices. The schools are top-tier. If diversity and dining is your thing check out Cherry Hill, though taxes are very high. Mount Laurel is another good option with good schools and great access to shopping and key roads like 38, 295 and the turnpike. There are plenty of daycare options.
Honestly, I cannot imagine anyone regretting moving from North Jersey to the Moorestown/Mount Laurel area and I've lived in Piscataway, Edison and worked in Millburn, Summit, Bridgewater and Madison so I know what I'm talking about.
If outdoor recreation is appealing, Burlington County just recently opened a wildlife preserve and observation center in Moorestown off Creek Road and the Pine Barrens are a short ride away. Not to mention several other parks in the immediate area such as Rancocas State Park. There's a lot of preserved open space in Burlington County, it was recently awarded one of the top counties in the nation for the number of acres preserved. Plenty of horse farms in the area as well. Medford was named one of America's Great Small Town Escapes by National Geographic. It is a great place to live IMO.
I did not enjoy it and moved back up as fast as feasibly possible.
i recently (this past year) moved into moorestown...stanwick glen neighborhood. i also did not want cookie-cutter...there are plenty of options for non-cookie-cuter neighborhoods in moorestown.
before that i had lived in uppper montclair and manhattan.
moorestown is a great town to raise a family (lots of family focused events and plenty of civic pride)...a little quiet as far a nightlife...but i like it that way...many great eating options are located within 10-20 minute drive outside of town. not sure about daycare...but there are plenty of solid options for preschool in town and in neighboring towns.
virtually everyone that i have met in moorestown has been relatively low key and really welcoming.....in my opionion, there is a much better "vibe" here in south jersey versus north jersey....i would not want to move back to north jersey.
if you have some more specific questions, i'd be happy to discuss with you....i would def. recommend moving to moorestown if you are considering south jersey.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
