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OK... you do not want to live in Vineland, Millville or Bridgeton. When yu say Cape May, do you mean Cape May proper or Cape May County, there is a big difference. Upper Schools are nice compared to what is out there, very safe area and caring teachers to be found, however the kids have to go to Ocean Cith High School and the district pays upwards of 16 thousand per student to send them there. EHT is a mass of traffic these days and if you enjoy quiet and spacce of your own you do not wish to go there either. Send some specific questions and I will do my best to answer them.
be careful how one uses low property taxes, ocean county is being reassesed and and being brought up to market value, so be careful because as they work there way down to south jersey there wont be such a thing as low property taxes and you need to plan for up to 5 yrs so to speak if your still living in the house as the area getts populated taxes will be sky rocketing so just be aware that is all....and check out the schools greatschools.net
As of a few weeks ago, we decided not to move to S. Jersey. A few of the reasons are: sky high property taxes--and rising, high car insurance, poor air and water quality, high cancer rate, a long commute for my husband, and mediocre schools (at least in EHT). I'm aware there are excellent schools nearby, but there just wasn't real estate available. I must admit, many of the posts on this forum helped us to decide not to move. While I didn't let the entire decision rest on what I read on this forum, I did find a lot of helpful info. There were issues that I might not have been aware of before, that this forum brought to light, and helped shape our decision. I still have fond memories of S. Jersey, being that I grew up in the Phila. suburbs. Like many, I spent many childhood summers there. But right now, for me and my family, it just wasn't the right choice for us. Thanks to everyone for their insight.
Good luck to you jeb412, wherever you do move to, or perhaps you are staying in the same area??
I, too, have decided against moving to EHT/South Jersey for all the same reasons you describe. My husband and I just really wanted an affordable house, in a nice area, but like you, we discovered that there is no such thing in Atlantic County. Fortunetly, we are falling back in love with NYC, as it is truly the best place on earth! We just need a little more maturity to realize that owning a home in our area will require more time and patience for saving money towards it, and still, may never become a reality due to sky-high prices. Still, we have the best of everything close by, so we cannot complain. To think we almost went to contract on a home in an area where there is so much toxicity, crazy property taxes, and major termite problems, just to name a few, lol, makes me sick to my stomach--but, ironically, the development we were looking to buy into just closed its sales office due to lack of buyers--we were truly saved from entering into a disastrous situation.
Good luck to you too, nyc-girl. I think we were both saved from what could have been a really bad decision. My husband and I were so close to deciding to make the move to S. Jersey, and at the last minute realized that we were kidding ourselves. We liked the idea of living there. But other than that, the negatives far outweighed the positives. As I still follow this forum, I am reminded daily, that we made the best decision for us. I'm glad you came to the same conclusion before buying the lot you were interested in. We'll either be staying put in NE PA, or heading down towards the lancaster, pa area. Of course, looking at new contstruction in that area, doesn't compare to what we could have gotten in Jersey. We could have gotten so much house for the money, it was unreal. They were willing to throw in finished basements, breakfast rooms, you name it. But now I realize why.
It was Kara Homes that went bankrupt....filing Chapter 11 protection in Nov 06 and leaving many homebuyers high and dry, some having given Kara 6 figure deposits on new construction. Awful.
I knew about kara i had a freind who built with them and it was all over the asbury park press about it and these people who got taken for the money..so to speak...
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not moving to S. Jersey
