Info. On Jefferson Township / Oak Ridge (Dover, Hopatcong: transplants, crime, new home)

[William Elisha]

Hello, hope everyone is having a blessed day. My wife & I (with one child) have some interest in moving to towns such as Budd Lake, Hopatcong, Rockaway, Jefferson Township, Denville & so on. We visited this week & fell in love with Jefferson Township / Oak ridge. It seems to have the good prices when it comes to homes & maybe taxes? When I look online there's not enough information about the town to make a well informed decision on moving there or not. On city-data, the forums are very old. Could anyone please answer the next following questions just so that i can have some insight:

1. Has crime gone up / is it still safe / are drugs a big issue there?

2. My Wife & I are Hispanic, we don’t buy into the whole racism garbage promulgated by the media & those in power, I grew up in a melting pot. However, I’m still aware that racism exists, are they easy going with minorities or prejudice? Please, bare in mind I would not be offended or angered with your honest answer.

3. Why are they so affordable in comparison to other towns? Are there hidden and expensive services like sewer that cause home prices to be low?

4. How are the people today? Is there a large transplant from NYCers?

5. I work in NYC, what would best train station to get me there?

Anyone with any information would be very, very useful. I thank you for taking out the time to answer. Thank you in advance.

[Dangerous-Boy]

Originally Posted by William Elisha

Hello, hope everyone is having a blessed day. My wife & I (with one child) have some interest in moving to towns such as Budd Lake, Hopatcong, Rockaway, Jefferson Township, Denville & so on. We visited this week & fell in love with Jefferson Township / Oak ridge. It seems to have the good prices when it comes to homes & maybe taxes? When I look online there's not enough information about the town to make a well informed decision on moving there or not. On city-data, the forums are very old. Could anyone please answer the next following questions just so that i can have some insight:

1. Has crime gone up / is it still safe / are drugs a big issue there?

2. My Wife & I are Hispanic, we don’t buy into the whole racism garbage promulgated by the media & those in power, I grew up in a melting pot. However, I’m still aware that racism exists, are they easy going with minorities or prejudice? Please, bare in mind I would not be offended or angered with your honest answer.

3. Why are they so affordable in comparison to other towns? Are there hidden and expensive services like sewer that cause home prices to be low?

4. How are the people today? Is there a large transplant from NYCers?

5. I work in NYC, what would best train station to get me there?

Anyone with any information would be very, very useful. I thank you for taking out the time to answer. Thank you in advance.

feels safe. may have a hidden drug problem


I think the town is still mostly white. Don't think there was open racism.


I think most are still local and not transplants. Transplants are probably in Sparta.


closest train station is in Dover.


Jefferson is kind of boring.

[jobaba]

Jefferson is probably getting to the point where it's a little more rural, and you might get some isolated sorta/kinda redneckish behavior.

But if you're just gonna live in a house, whatever. You walk to your car, get in it and drive. Even most of Sussex County is pretty subruban.

As adults, you'll be fine.

Your kids?

If this was 30-40 years ago, if you were a minority in Jefferson High School, you would definitely get some comments.

These days, I would tend to think not. But it's hard to say unless you're actually a child in school.

Drugs & crime must be isolated to young kids doing drugs and isolated petty criminals.

Commute to NYC seems pretty rough.

[William Elisha]

Hey guys, wanted to thank you all very much for your answers. I honestly got discouraged from looking for homes there. I have no qualms with any race to be honest, but too many have drank the cool-aid from the media & racial tensions are on the rise foolishly. It’s really unfortunate, sadly it goes across the board from black to white and everything in between.

[Mblizni1]

Crime does not appear to be going up, still considered one of the safest towns in the COUNTRY it was in top 100 for several years, again in the country

Does not appear to be a widespread drug problem, lived here for over 2 years and no signs of it that I can see

Seems to becoming a more diverse community, many NYers moved here during pandemic.

Commute to city is not tragic. Actually pretty decent Best way would be the Lakeland bus. There is a stop at Rockaway Mall, (10min from lake Hopatcong section of Jefferson where I live) it’s an express bus straight to port authority 50-55min right at about 1 hour total. Which is very reasonable

[William Elisha]

Thank you Mblizni1. I ended up buying in Hopatcong.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by William Elisha

Thank you Mblizni1. I ended up buying in Hopatcong.

Thank you for coming back and letting us know. Every bit of information helps the next person who is trying to make a similar decision. Best wishes in your new home.