Anyone in NJ?

Fingers crossed this will hopefully be the last of these...

Looking at a potential job in Mt. Holly, NJ.

I will be driving out next week for in-person interviews. Drive Wednesday, hang out Thursday, drive down to Alexandria, VA on Friday to hang with my brother before another in-person interview in Baltimore on Saturday, and back home Sunday. The NJ job looks *really* promising.

If I were to take it, most likely would be looking to live around Cherry Hill, Moorestown, or thereabouts.

Any cool or nice things to check out there? Just searching online, it generally looks like a nice area that will probably be a good fit for my wife and me. I gather it's sort of a suburb of Philadelphia. Not sure what is cool and hip there specifically.

Strong chance this trip will be about me picking between the best of good options.

I don't live there, but I've been in that area for work a few times. Moorestown appears to be middle to upper middle class, crowded, busy, and has all the retail you could imagine within a mile of wherever you are. That area is convenient to pretty much all of the Mid-Atlantic.  Tons to do in any direction.

Be sure to learn about NJ property taxes. For a job in Mt Holly, you could live in PA.

Pace of life is faster than Columbus. And yes, it's Philly, not NYC. 

I lived there for close to 20 years before I was able to escape.

As noted above, look at the property taxes, they are exorbitant.  To the tune of $1000 a month or more on many properties especially in your targeted area.  And if they aren't that high then be very suspect of the area.  Its not too hard to end up in a very bad area next to a very nice one.

I'd like to say something positive but the best thing ever to come out of NJ is me getting the eff out of there.   Even my wife who is a born and raised Jersey girl is much happier not being there.

Do your best to live as close to the job as you can because NJ traffic and that area in particular is TERRIBLE.  Driving in the low volume hours I could get to my office in an hour or less, during peak it could be anywhere from 2-4 hours.   The traffic is no joke.

Ok, positive things:  If you like being in the thick of things you are near Philly, Baltimore, Atlantic City and NYC.   Its an active area with much to do. 

Everyone has different critiera and tolerances of course but if tomorrow I were offered double my salary and a free home equivalent to my current one to move back along with a Bentley Continental GT for my commute I wouldnt even have to think about it before I'd turn it down.

I'm on the other side of Philly in PA.  The area in general has plenty of good and not so good.  

Short list of good:

-Near almost everything, like several major cities, lots of coast and beaches, not far from moderate mountains, not far from quite rural areas, etc

-Within 4 hours of several decent tracks (NJMP, Summit, Dominion, Monticello, Lime Rock, Pocono

-Weather has no real extremes or real major disasters (hurricanes aren't a big deal inland)

Short list of bad:

-NJ Taxes are awful

-NJ traffic can be pretty rough and the tolls are significant, mostly to leave NJ

-People who have always lived in NJ

-Real estate is moderate to expensive

I never planned or pined to live here, but it is where my now wife was from and I didn't have any ties at the time, it has been good enough for us to stay for 14 years now...we keep thinking about going elsewhere and casually looking but haven't had anything that made us motivated enough to do so as it is *fine* here.  

I thought all the people in NJ already moved to NC/SC or Florida. 

Scotty Con Queso said:

I thought all the people in NJ already moved to NC/SC or Florida. 

The ones who haven't are stuck in traffic trying to get out.

Grew up near and my wife is from Moorestown. As said before:

taxes

traffic

really like the ice cream shop in maple shade. The rest can fall back into the ocean but it helped me build character. 

Okay. These are things for me to look out for.

This job would be excellent for me. Major pay increase and an opportunity to jump from brewing to distilling, which I'd rather do now.

Wife doesn't commute. If I live close enough, my commute should be easy.

Taxes would need to be accounted for. The pay increase I would get would be well in excess of the taxes. Considering the alternative places with likely jobs in the running are Baltimore and northern VA, housing in those locations would be more expensive even with lower property taxes. This job would pay more than brewing in MD or VA.

As for the possibility of living in PA...

Where does that put me? Bristol, Croydon, maybe Levittown? What are those areas like? Looking at Zillow, houses in the range I'm looking at look pretty scuzzy in Bristol.

I was going to say that puts us farther from the parks where my wife would be playing rugby, except Pennsylvania seems to *really* love their rugby, and there are multiple rugby clubs around the city. Looks like there's on on the NE side of the city, that would be easy to get to from there.

I grew up in bucks county.    Thst whole area is expensive and full of people.  It has good access to art/culture/cities and is a great place to raise a family.  The schools are generally good.  There is a decent motor sports scene. People generally don't leave the area. You're born there and you die there.  Lots of good job prospects and changes available in tbr philly area for a guy like you. 
 

crossing the river everyday can get expensive. Nearly every bridge is a toll.   I'd stay in jersey.   Everyone hates on it but it's like anyplace it has it's good and it's bad.  
 

I do miss being able to go to philly or nyc for a weekend away with my wife. Those are fun times. 
 

stay away from Bristol croydon and levtittown. Those were kinda dumpy suburbs when I was a kid.   I understand they are better now but naaaa. 

One last thing. I lived in pa and worked on nj when I was there.  Sure I saved on property taxes but not income taxes.  Plus $5-$7 a day for bridge fees suck. 
 

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/state-taxes/discussion/live-in-nj-but-work-in-pa-do-i-need-to-fill-a-tax-return-for-pa/00/598898

If I was trying to get close to that area, I'd rather live south/east rather than on the PA side. That's closer to where I grew up (Voorhees) which was at the edge of the civilized world backing up to all the corn fields back in 1985 but a fully developed suburb by the time I left in the late 90s.

Not sure what the case on the PA taxes closer to the city but I would think they are pretty close to NJ without some of the advantages. For reference my FIL house in Moorestown is a little 3br ranch on a postal stamp that was about 50k in the late 60's and well over $500k now and $15k/yr in property taxes.

I live further out now (about half between Philly and Baltimore) but it's close to work (2days a week) and cheap to live. I get to complain about the area from afar which is a win.

Are you going to Train Wreck Distillery? Ive been there a bunch of times, its a pretty great place and the area is pretty nice.  The brew scene is really hot right now in this area, and I am loving it. I wouldnt venture down into the Camden County area (Cherry Hill and the like). Its much cheaper, housing and property tax wise, the traffic is not nearly as bad, and its less crowded in the Burlington County area. If you are working in Mt Holly, I dont think there is a need for you to live out in PA, it just seems like a waste and a hassle in commuting, plus your are just going to be in even MORE of a suburb of Philly, across the river from where you work, which will make finding a place to live harder and more expensive.  For a while I lived in PA and worked in NJ, it was not worth it, whatever I saved on taxes was quickly lost on every other cost/service/fee/toll/permit/ect. The cost of living is more than just your property taxes. If you want more space, head out the other direction toward Pemberton NJ, lower housing taxes and more space are. If you want to be closer to the metro, head to the small NJ towns along the river and the train (riverline) such as Palmyra, Riverside, Riverton, Delran, Cinnaminson. They are nice places at decent prices, some nice downtowns, and that train is a cheap and easy zip into the city. Living along the patco is another option, but to me that area of Camden county is nothing but generic suburbs. Within the general area though, your a short drive to the beach, delaware water gap, poconos, pinelands, basically a host of mountain/flatland/lake/shore/river/ocean outdoor activies, while also being a reasonable distance from Philly (duh), NYC, DC and other fun metros. 

On the car side, its pretty great. I am at NJMP about once a month (will actually be there Wednesday for TNiA), and within a few hours theres; Pocono, Pitt, Summit Point, Dover, NJMP, Mid Ohio, Watkins Glen, VIR, NYST, Palmer, Thompson, Lime Rock, NHMS, Nelson Ledges, Dominion, Monticello, and whatever I might have forgotten... Plus active autocross in SJSCCA and Philly SCCA, reasonably close rallycross. Atco dragway is still active as is Cecil County dragway. The car scene is actually really big and diverse in NJ. 

Since I am right down the road from Mt Holly, if you want to meet up after your interview send me a PM and I will give you my number and we can talk all there is about living in NJ. Its not nearly as bad as all the haters make it out to be. Its easier than trying to put it all in a post. 

Scotty Con Queso said:

I thought all the people in NJ already moved to NC/SC or Florida. 

You forgot Virginia.   Escaped from NJ in 1985.

In reply to TR7 (Forum Supporter) :

Yep. Train Wreck Distilling. I really like what I've seen there and what I've heard about the things their doing to necessitate the role they'd be hiring me for.

Thanks for the heads up on locations.

I get the impression that there are a LOT of options for housing in that region. I'd like to be within a 20 minute commute. Seems like I can basically just drive around and pick the right fit as far as density for me in the area.

Rugby for my wife is a factor as well. She'd like to be within a 30 minute drive of the practice field. I'm surprised how many women's rugby clubs are in the region. Looks like we've got options with a NJ club that practices at a park in Cherry Hill, and a NE Philly club that practices just across the river at Pleasant Hill Park.

In reply to TR7 (Forum Supporter) :

PM sent.