Moving to Southern New Jersey... need much advice.

[patrat]

Through employment circumstances, my family will be relocating to south jersey in June/July. I need to stay within about 30 minutes drive of Inspira Health Center, in Vineland NJ. I will need to be in NJ for about 3 years.

Access to the Philadelphia Intl Airport is a big plus, since we have all our family out of state, and I may retain my job in Colorado requiring occasional flights back.

What little I have discovered suggests staying the hell out of Vineland proper, atleast the east side.

I am looking at places in Gloucester county (Washington Twnshp), also Winslow Twnshp.

I need a place that is safe (will have a newborn), generally left alone by government (possible?), healthy lifestyle (healthy food and outdoor recreation). We are coming from Boulder CO, so a culture shock is expected. Our income will be a bit below median household for these areas, and we are looking to rent a home.

Any information about good places to live, and places to stay away from are very welcome.

[Oil Lady]

I never lived in NJ but I did live in various towns around Greater Philly in Pennsylvania itself. 

My advice ......................... TRAINS!

Trains. Trains. Trains. Trains. Trains.

Real estate prices will be impacted if a residence is near a commuter train station. Being able to walk to a commuter train station is a huge plus because it means you can realistically eliminate one entire car from your household. Prices go up all the more if that particular station is an express station. The rule-of-thumb is "half a mile" or "ten minutes." Most able-bodied adults can walk half a mile in just ten minutes. So if your house is within that golden zone of a mere half-mile walk to a train station, the house will be worth a mint. BUT! BE CAREFUL! Even if the map shows 1/2 mile between the house and the station, but then it turns out that there are absolutely NO sidewalks between the house and the station (which means you can't walk and need to drive to the station) then it's not as awesome of a deal. 

Oh and the Philadelphia International Airports is one of those lucky airports to have a commuter rail line that runs right through the terminal, so you can take a train to the airport with all your luggage and not have to park the damned car or bother with a taxi or (worst of all!) pester a friend to drop you off.

Outside of trains, buses are "okay" but trains are just plain better and more awesome, and trains will increase your property values tremendously.



Here's the web site for New Jersey Transit (affectionately known as NJT). 

http://www.njtransit.com/hp/hp_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=HomePageTo



Here is a bus schedule for the NJT Bus #553, which specifically goes to the Inspira Medical Center.

http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/bus/T0553.pdf

[lochaber]

I'll start by saying NJ sucks politically, legally, etc. I live here, I should know.

However South Jersey is a bit of a different state then Northen or Central NJ. Population is much lower, property is cheaper, things are generally more laid back.  The southern part of the state is generally more conservative, rural and more gun loving then the northern side.  Traffic is not bad.

Our gun laws suck badly so if you own firearms, make sure they meet our stupid laws (basically think 90's assault weapon ban rules).

There is a lot of outdoor in that area, with the Pine Barrens and other state parks being a nice place, but be aware of ticks, we have lots there. I'd stay away from Vineland proper and I would avoid getting to close to Atlantic City, so I would look north and north west of Vineland, towards Mullica or Glassboro .

Be aware that you be living between 3 different Nuclear plants (Salem, Oyster Creek, and Hope Creek) and some of these are really old.

[never_retreat]

I'm here in NJ also, although I'm 30 miles north of phily.
Its not that bad, its noting like that horrible jersey shore tv show. Actually the sopranos was more of a realistic of NJ.
I'm not up on SNJ but like Lochaber said we have some weird gun laws. As long as you don't bring anything into the state that is not allowed you don't have to do anything else. You don't have to register anything or do anything else as long as the guns remain inside your house. You will need to apply for an FID card if you want to remove them from your house to go to the range or go buy new ones.
But.... Like I said you can bring everything here and do nothing. If you move out of state in 3 years you can take them all with you and never even put your self on the NJ FID data base.

[greymas]

I live in Delaware across the river from Pennsville. Lots of good hunting in Jersey. Tons of turkeys, ducks, deer, you name it. Good fishing too. Lots of farms over that way, they call it the garden state for a reason. They even have a rodeo in Cowtown. I just like to point out its not all like what you see on TV.
Oh, and you are not allowed to pump your own gas in NJ. No idea why.
Good luck on your move.