Uncertain what to choose between NoVa, NJ suburbs of NYC and NJ suburbs of Philadelphia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am so glad to stumble upon this thread! My family will be moving to SJ this summer and we are starting to look at real estate. We'll need to be within 20 minutes or so of Moorestown.

We currently like in Silver Spring and like the laid back atmosphere, the diversity, and the sense of community. Can anyone with experience in the area share what neighborhoods might be most like SS? We live in a part that might be comparable to Takoma Park but is a little less crunchy. I grew up in Somerset and am not interested in some place that is that exclusive. We're looking to spend less than $500K on a home.

Mt. Laurel? Collingswood?

[Anonymous]

I grew up in northern NJ in a great, diverse town close to the George Washington Bridge. Dad commuted to midtown and I had a few summer jobs in the city. Note that I moved here and will raise children here. Very hard to imagine the NJ to NYC commuting with children unless one parent stays at home or you have full-time childcare. What happens if a kid gets sick at school? Who attends soccer matches and football games and performances?

As to taxes, a PP noted there is no sales tax on food or clothing, but RE taxes are high because every little town has it's own infrastructure for services that here are government by the county. So you pay for the police, fire fighter, schools, etc. That cost alone is enough to make me not want to move back to the state.

Cannot comment on south Jersey but have traveled to a few pretty towns.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH has a job in NoVa that he likes and got two good job offers in New Jersey. We'd like to figure out what makes sense financially (income tax, home prices and real-estate taxes) and in terms of schools and commute.

We are generally ok with living in Nova, but are open to relocate.

One of the other jobs is in Morristown, NJ (one hour outside Manhattan), the other is in Sewell, NJ (half an hour outside Philadelphia).

So far I considered real-estate taxes in NoVa to be high, but I nearly fell from the chair when I saw that in the NJ suburbs of NYC real-estate taxes for a $800k house are around $17-20k.

The other things to consider are schools: In Philly we'd like to live ideally in Chestnut Hill or Bryn Mawr, however I don't think that a commute to the opposite end of the city to Sewell is doable (30 miles straight through the city). In the Morristown area I have identified some areas with good schools, such as Millburn, Livingston and Chatham County.

Regarding the commute, I now work from home but would like to option to get a job in the city once the kids get older. New York City is more interesting for me professionally than Philadelphia. I am a lawyer and barred in VA, so I'd have to take either the NJ/PA or NJ/NY bar exams.

I'd appreciate the input of people familiar with the area.

Thanks much in advance.

OP, I used to live in Morristown, for a long time. Real estate taxes in NJ are waaaaaay higher than here. As in, if you pay $10K here, the same house and land could could you $18K easy. Also, the high school in Morristown is and has continued to be a disaster - this will show itself in what seems to be reasonably priced real estate. Morristown has transformed, and now has a huge nightlife, and tons of condos-think Arlington. Millburn and Chatham have excellent schools. Very competitive. Millburn very Jewish. VERY expensive. Both Millburn and Livingston in Essex County, thus, the highest of the high in taxes. A nice house in Milburn will cost you easy $1.5mm ( for like a 4BR, 2.5BA small house in decent shape), and, the taxes will be mid $20K per year AT LEAST....Chatham taxes are less. Both are on the train line, while Livingston is NOT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am so glad to stumble upon this thread! My family will be moving to SJ this summer and we are starting to look at real estate. We'll need to be within 20 minutes or so of Moorestown.

We currently like in Silver Spring and like the laid back atmosphere, the diversity, and the sense of community. Can anyone with experience in the area share what neighborhoods might be most like SS? We live in a part that might be comparable to Takoma Park but is a little less crunchy. I grew up in Somerset and am not interested in some place that is that exclusive. We're looking to spend less than $500K on a home.

Mt. Laurel? Collingswood?

Voorhees.