NJ for rural living? (acres, house, quiet, mountains)

[TouchTheStars]

Hi,
I am curious if anyone here lives in NJ? I am originally from NJ (great land for growing crops!) and moved away years ago. All of my memories are from a pre-covid era. I sometimes want to return to NJ though because apart from taxes, it's a good place to live. What are your thoughts of rural living in places like Warren County or Sussex County? Or even Hunterdon County?

I work as a teacher and my husband is a remote worker.

[rcarbuilder]

Grew up in Bergen. Moved to Sussex. Then made the mistake of moving west. Sussex is a great place to live if you like fresh veggies. It`s just to expensive to live there once you retire unless you have a rich uncle.

[OpinionExperience]

Where are you moving from?

Covid is everywhere as it is in every state, our Governor is doing the best he can with what he has, that cant be said for other Rural states.

I live on the Shore and want the ocean if I live in NJ. I would move to those counties if I need mountains.

[Gerania]

I (used to) know a guy who lived in Medford, worked in Philly, and retired to a house on about ten acres in the Estell Manor area. It's pretty quiet down there.

[Monello]

Every county in NJ is considered a metro area. I'm sure you can find something that would be considered Jersey Rural. But it's not going to be like Montana Rural.

[VintageSunlight]

Originally Posted by TouchTheStars

Hi,
I am curious if anyone here lives in NJ? I am originally from NJ (great land for growing crops!) and moved away years ago. All of my memories are from a pre-covid era. I sometimes want to return to NJ though because apart from taxes, it's a good place to live. What are your thoughts of rural living in places like Warren County or Sussex County? Or even Hunterdon County?

I work as a teacher and my husband is a remote worker.

I've lived in all 3 counties you mentioned- Sussex, Warren, and Hunterdon. Here's how I'd rank them:


#1 Hunterdon: to me, Hunterdon far and away is superior to the other 2. It is nearly as rural as the others, with all 3 having slightly over 200 people per sq mile, but there is more money floating around there, which means more things get taken care of. It borders Bucks County, which is breathtaking and rich in history, with tons of small towns that are quaint and country. Too many to name. Also, Hunterdon is closer to the ocean, has better towns (county seat Flemington > Newton), has amazing agriculture (better than the other 2), better hospitals, and is the #1 safest town in NJ. Cons: costs a little more to live there, more farms than forests.

#2 Sussex: Sussex is nice if your looking for deep, forested areas and bigger mountains. You can escape people easier in Sussex. There are areas like Walpack where basically no one lives. Its no mans land in NJ, which is hard to find outside the Pine Barrens. But many towns are run down, with a few exceptions (Sparta), nothing really great nearby (Port Jervis and Middletown, Scranton?), its the coldest area of the state, and further from the ocean. A day trip from Sussex to the ocean is a long day.



#3 Warren: feels like PA and is actually in the Lehigh Valley metro area. Warren is rural but close to a lot of built up areas in the PA side of the valley. Deep forest and lots of farms exist here. Towns are ok but on the upswing. Washington has improved significantly and Phillipsburg gets a bad rap but is actually a fairly cheap, reasonably safe place to live. Served by 2 interstates but still rural, not a lot of exits. Its probably the cheapest of the 3 but that's because its hard to get to work centers from there.


All 3, IMO, are decent places to live. NJ gets a bad rap and I dislike the taxes and the governor, strongly dislike his handling of Covid (enought to make me want to move) but NJ overall is actually a decent place to live. I lived in the Lehigh Valley and came back to NJ because its actually better here.