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I suppose coming from an area where my 7-mile commutes can easily take 45-50-minutes in gridlock due to the lack of efficient mass transit the prospect of commuting 60 minutes each way for a white-collar career opportunity isn't quite so horrible. I'm not looking to score a BMW, a mansion in Alpine, and have a maid/butler on-staff. All I want someday is to have that $129,000 "orgasm house" that I posted above in a close-knit community where I can get to really know my neighbors, throw community backyard barbecues, help organize annual block parties, participate in a town council or other leadership position (perhaps with the Chamber of Commerce), etc. Living here in Fairfax County has been a huge step backwards for my quality-of-life. Yes, there are jobs bursting at the seams, but the cost-of-living is so oppressive that I'd be better off earning $40,000 in Pittsburgh or Phillipsburg and purchasing a small home (which is achieveable) than earning $65,000 in DC and still live in a 1-BR apartment with maintenance issues. So many people never factor in the cost-of-living difference when looking at higher salary points. I never thought I'd be looking into a part of NEW JERSEY as being "cheap."
Thousands upon thousands of people commute from NEPA (including some people I know in Scranton) to NYC daily, so a Phillipsburg ===> Florham Park (or other employment concentration center in Northern NJ) commute should be tolerable.
True, but then again you don't necessarily need throngs of young families to revitalize a community. New Hope, for example, seems to be bursting at the seams with the LGBT community, artists, bohemians, etc. with very few families with children (who mostly live in subdivisions in adjacent townships). In this sense Phillipsburg could house a lot of young professionals, artists, blue-collar workers who are priced out of the suburbs, the LGBT community, etc. while the subdivisions popping up in places like Lohatcong and Pohatcong Townships house all of the families. Granted that's not an "ideal" situation, but it is one way that a community with a horrible public school district can try to turn itself around.
"Random" violent crime would be all that would concern me. I could live with the occasional vandalism, car break-in, graffiti-tagging, etc., and I'd also not be very worried about one lowlife gunning down another lowlife over a drug deal gone bad. As far as my research can tell Phillipsburg may have THESE issues, but if you don't poke your nose into the errant side of the law the odds of you becoming a random violent crime statistic are practically non-existent.
As I said a 35-mile or 50-mile commute each way is becoming the "norm" nowadays in many major metropolitan areas. I commute 7 miles each way, and that commute often takes me 45 minutes. A 60-minute commute wouldn't be something I'd necessarily be opposed to, although as I said I'd also consider taking a lower-paying full-time job ($30,000) in my field somewhere in the immediate Phillipsburg area and supplementing that with $15,000-$20,000 additional income working at Lowe's or Home Depot on the weekends and a couple of weekday evenings, with my former multiple years of sales experience there hopefully netting me an $11/hr. wage.
As I said I'm not trying to "argue" with anyone, as your concerns are all valid and you all have different reasons for totally avoiding Phillipsburg to move into Hope Twp., Allamuchy Twp., Lopatcong Twp., Harmony Twp., Pohatcong Twp. or other suburban areas, but I'm just trying to put my finger on just as to why Phillipsburg and Easton---two cities with a plethora of history and charm---are continuing to fail, when their character and soul, coupled with their generous housing prices, should have them serving as magnets to blue-collars who want to be homeowners and those early-20-somethings like myself who want to live a comfortable lifestyle on the cheap.
Same here. I attended a sub-par public school district myself, and I think I turned out just fine. Friends of mine are well en route to pursuing their Doctorates. This just proves that even with bad schools if parents are involved enough in guiding their children, then academic excellence can still be achieved. No, I can't remember an alumnus of my high school ever going to Harvard, Princeton, or Yale, but then again my Bachelor's Degree from a school nobody ever heard of afforded me the same career opportunities as those who paid thrice as much for degrees from "esteemed" institutions of higher learning. I plan to pursue my MPA (Master's in Public Administration) from another "unheard of" college, and I'm once again not worried. There's more to life than impressing people with where we went to college or what car we drive (even if that's not the case in places like Fairfax County, VA).
I totally understand where you're coming from in that every state must have some affordable areas to serve as a safe haven for the service workers that keep our economy running smoothly on relatively low salaries. However, I don't understand why these communities need to be reserved only for blue-collars and why suburban housing developments need to be inhabited only by white-collar families. I don't at all like the socioeconomic segregation that has been plaguing MOST of this country (not only NJ) because when you concentrate poorer people near other poorer people crime issues tend to worsen (see Section 8 housing projects) because children grow up in an environment where they're never exposed to people working hard and being successful so the cycle of "this is how life must have to be" and turning to drugs or gangs as a result always perpetuates itself. If the poor were more interspersed amongst stable middle-class and upper-middle-class households, then people could see that there is hope and there are options available to better themselves.
I see Phillipsburg as having the potential to be a "mixed" community like this. As of the 2000 Census the community was 92% white, so some of the "closet racists" who live in the suburbs and don't like to visit "diverse" towns for fear of what they don't understand in terms of race relations (not saying ALL white upper-middle-class suburbanites are like this, but many I've known talk this way behind closed doors) shouldn't have much to be concerned about there. Childless couples, single young professionals, and we in the LGBT community love to pounce upon homes like that $129,000 one I posted the link to above because we don't mind living in "transitional" neighborhoods if we can find a great deal on a beautiful home with character because we don't have to worry about the welfare of children and how much more difficult (though not impossible as I explained above) it would be to steer them to academic success in a below-average school district.
I would hope that more educated middle-class white-collar people would follow my example and consider "taking the plunge" in hopes of restoring towns like Phillipsburg that could be so much better if people didn't just favor abandoning it. If throwing block parties and organizing reduced-price trips for neighborhood families to take a bus to see Yankees or Phillies games, go see a museum, go see a Broadway show, etc. results in a tighter-knit community, then you'll also start to see test scores improve and crime ebb as people take more pride in where they live and decide they, too, want to work hard to be successful and make the town they've grown to love over the years so much better. I can think of plenty of thriving old towns that are mostly inhabited by blue-collar folks, and I don't know where along the line some people (not you) got the notion that "blue collar = undesirable." While having a population with a higher proportion of college graduates betters your chances at attracting higher-paying jobs, those higher-paying jobs are a double-edged sword---in the short-term you can live like a king making $75,000 and living in a $100,000 home, but in the long-run prices will rise to match those salary levels, meaning that you're living barely better on your higher salary than you were at the lower salary while your blue-collar neighbors are being priced out due to the rising cost-of-living. This is exactly what's happening to Monroe County, where a lot of native PA blue-collar residents have been moving to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (which is now showing population growth) to find affordable housing now that their taxes continue to spike.
I forgot two major positives to living in this area, which I have discovered but many people in NJ don't know- its actually easier to get to the shore from here than from even Union or Middlesex County, let alone Bergen or Essex. In eastern NJ, you have to rely on the Garden State Parkway, a virtual parking lot during summer months. 287 is no picnic either in the summer. From here, you can take Route 29 to I-195 East, which almost never has traffic. Or take 539 South to Manahawkin/A.C. and the southern beaches. On the heaviest summer weekends, I can get to Point Pleasant in 1.5 hours, Cape May in 2.5 hours, all without ever setting foot on the Parkway.
I've also gotten from here to Hoboken in just a bit over 1 hour, without speeding, and you can take the PATH into NYC. All in all, this looks like an isolated area, but it really isn't.
Not anymore... it really is improving. They have so many new and different restaurants coming in.. Indian, Portuguese, thai - it's making a come back. Same with Easton. I agree with scran... it has alot of potential and some very nice historic areas.
Phillipsburg schools aren't the best, but out of all of the "Abbott" districts, Phillipsburg is the highest ranked. And as you already know because you live here, it is quite easy to find a place to live and avoid Phillipsburg schools, especially the elementary and middle schools.
You can live in Basking Ridge, pay $450k for a townhouse plus $10k in taxes, have a mortgage of $3500 a month to have top notch schools. Plus deal with traffic, snobs, rat race mentality, etc. Or you can live in a single family house out here for $200k and $6k taxes, have a $2000 mortgage, be surrounded by nature and down to earth people, and send your kids to a private high school with all the money saved! For me at least, its a no brainer.
Not anymore... it really is improving. They have so many new and different restaurants coming in.. Indian, Portuguese, thai - it's making a come back. Same with Easton. I agree with scran... it has alot of potential and some very nice historic areas.
Hey there Wiles....
Sorry about my opinion, but P'Burg depresses me. The surrounding areas like Harmony, Greenwich, Alpha, Lopatcong etc. are fine though.
Easton, is scarier still Here are the latest Easton headlines...
Easton used to be a hell of a nice place, in fact, I used to distinguish it favorably from Phillipsburg. The last two times back on the East Coast, I couldn't believe how far it has fallen relative to 10 or 15 years ago.
Easton used to be a hell of a nice place, in fact, I used to distinguish it favorably from Phillipsburg. The last two times back on the East Coast, I couldn't believe how far it has fallen relative to 10 or 15 years ago.
I know. It's a shame too. The area where the nightlife and restaurants are has seen a bit of a revival. The State Theater has some good shows. But otherwise, there are a lot of drugs and drug related crime there.
I think Phillipsburg has a lot to offer and has even more potential. I love that it's on the River. It has it's good sections and bad just like any other town it's size. I would not recommend the schools but since the OP said school wasn't an issue then it is definitely worth a look.
I lived in Hunterdon County and shopped in Pburg often.
If schools are an issue BECA-Bethlehem Catholic School is not to far and there is probably busing to and from the school.
I know. It's a shame too. The area where the nightlife and restaurants are has seen a bit of a revival. The State Theater has some good shows. But otherwise, there are a lot of drugs and drug related crime there.
Unfortunately, just about every small city in our region is in bad shape, crime wise, economically, etc. Allentown, Reading, Binghamton, Scranton, Syracuse, Rochester, the list goes on, all have significant problems. Loss of industry, white flight, corruption, dwindling tax base, crime, and so many other issues have decimated our small cities. Easton is no different, nor is Phillipsburg.
My opinion is that the current weakened economy might actually help these cities. When a single family home in the suburbs cost over $300k in NJ, but a rowhouse or old Victorian costs $120k, people start to look in these areas, like P-burg, as the only place where they can afford to live and still keep some of their paycheck, which is currently shrinking. Couple that with the fact that the government often offers incentives (3% tax, etc). This is happening in Asbury Park, NJ, where a large gay population has moved into the city and bought and fixed up many of the old Victorians. Where else can you get a beautiful old Victorian home for $300k ON THE OCEAN? Gay couples generally don't utilize the school system and thats why it is working. While Asbury isn't there yet, it is significantly better than when Bruce Springsteen lamented about its fate in the 80's....
A large percentage of NJ's sex offenders live in Phillipsburg (as least in the South Main Street section). Other sections are not as bad.
I renovated a house in the Main Street section and intentionally tried to hire local people... I had constant, nonstop problems with theft, poor/shoddy work, bad attitudes, drinking, crime. One of my roofers was assaulted by several thugs while on the job; another drank so much when I paid his first progress payment, that he ended up in the hospital for a week.
It WAS a beautiful town and still IS full of a lot of wonderful, beautiful people and unique architectural details... unfortunately the "bad apples" are enough to ruin the "bunch".
I grew up in an upper middle class areas and now live in Phillipsburg as I got married and my husband has kids in schools in P'burg as it is generally known by. At first, I hated it here. I was not accustomed to growing up in below average neighborhoods. I found many of the people to be "ghetto like," but as the years have waxed I have grown fond of the town and the area. It is mostly below average income wise, but it does have it's charm. On the downside it has some crime (a few needless murders, more than the average amount of theft, drugs, thugs and gangs that come over from Easton (Cripes and Bloods) too. In the neighborhoods one street can be horrible and kind of icky, but the next street over can be nicer. Some of Main Street has begun revitalize and due to the efforts of the town new sidewalks and pretty bright lights have been installed. Since Main Street is very long some of it isn't so nice though. Phillipsburg continues to improves albeit slowly. It seems that when one business grows another business collapses so economically it appears rather flat, but I continue to hold out hope for the town.
There are lots and lots of duplexes and old homes in P'burg. This town was built mostly for those who worked in the coal mines and steel mills, or at the long gone Ingersol Rand. Taxes are low and you can buy a nice home in P'burg for less than $200K depending on "where" you buy the home. There was a house that had been rehabbed and redone with a nice piece of property (somewhat rare in a town where most houses are very close together), which butts up to the back of an elementary school. They tried to sell it for $200K, but it stood vacant for over a year. The price was reduced, and reduced and finally sold for $140K, which for the area it is in was somewhat high.
I have lived in a home (rented) for the last four years that was built in the 1940's. It had high ceilings and beautiful wood work. The floors were in OK shape, but truly needed to be replaced due to splintering. The problem is that at $1150 a month this was a pretty high rent for a 4 bedroom home. The house was also not insulated and the windows had not been retrofitted either so we were burning though a LOT of oil in the winter. I wish I could tell you that we kept the house warm, but honestly we kept the themostat at 56-58 to conserve heat and used small heaters in the bedroom and livingroom. It was costing nearly $900 a month for oil! We also had to pay all utilities as well. We moved out last month and moved across the street to a 3 bedroom home and pay $300 less per month in rent. We got 150 gallons of oil for the new place and have used only 20 gallons in one month. The difference is that the house we moved into is insulated and all the windows retrofitted. We keep the house at 63, but it gets sun all day long in the front so the house stays heated in the 70's. At night it does get cooler, but I don't really like sleeping in a hot house either. Parking in Phillisburg can be problematic depending on where your house is. Most homes do not have private driveways and must park on the street. When it snows there is really no where to put the snow so piles are built which then reduces the parking space available. Most people have taken to putting a "marker" or a cone once they shovel out. This is illegal, but people do it and most folks respect it. Depending on where you choose to live your milage may vary.
Anyway, P'burg isn't the best, but it isn't horrible either. Personally I would not want P'burg to become like Lambertville. I don't want that many people trasping through my town nor would I want it to bring the high cost of rental units that having a touristy town like Lambertville brings.
I have become friends with some nice people that live on the street I live on and when I walk around or walk the few blocks to my mother in laws house and pass people I am nearly always met with a hello or a good morning. Most everyone is nice around here. It took a while, but I see it's charm and do enjoy some of the shops that are downtown. I like shopping at the stores too. We continue to grow. The one thing that would make it more perfect for me would be to bring back the commuter trains that years ago used to visit here. I'd love to be able to get to NYC by train rather than by bus. There is talk of that, but that talk has been on the dockets for a long time. I suspect it will be many more years before commuter trains come back to this area.
All the best,
Renn
Last edited by renfairewench; 03-20-2011 at 08:06 AM..
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I don't at all like the socioeconomic segregation that has been plaguing MOST of this country (not only NJ) because when you concentrate poorer people near other poorer people crime issues tend to worsen (see Section 8 housing projects) because children grow up in an environment where they're never exposed to people working hard and being successful so the cycle of "this is how life must have to be" and turning to drugs or gangs as a result always perpetuates itself. If the poor were more interspersed amongst stable middle-class and upper-middle-class households, then people could see that there is hope and there are options available to better themselves. 
I can think of plenty of thriving old towns that are mostly inhabited by blue-collar folks, and I don't know where along the line some people (not you) got the notion that "blue collar = undesirable." 
