I live in a pretty HCOL area and I’m thinking of relocating next year. I want to stay in NJ, but I’m pretty flexible as far as where I move in the state. I thought I’d ask if anyone on here has any suggestions. My dealbreakers are:

must have decent housing for less than $200k. I don’t want a McMansion, I just want to be able to buy a place with 2+ bedrooms that isn’t falling apart.
low violent crime rate
within reasonable driving distance to stores like Walmart or target and grocery stores (15 - 20 minutes).
decent schools (I’m a teacher)

That’s pretty much it. Thank you for any suggestions!

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vocabularylessons t1_is433fb wrote on October 13, 2022 at 3:42 AM

>decent housing for less than $200k
>
>decent schools

My gut reaction is that these are diametrically opposed. But best of luck in your endeavor.

Oranginafina OP t1_is43x3f wrote on October 13, 2022 at 3:50 AM

A few people have some suggestions already so I think it is possible!

Unknown_Species666 t1_is51q8y wrote on October 13, 2022 at 11:01 AM

People have good intention. I think it’s possible to find a HOA apartment for under $200K but a house. That’ll be out of reach, in my opinion.

Oranginafina OP t1_is7tfia wrote on October 13, 2022 at 10:42 PM

I’m not necessarily looking for a house, I only care about having more than 1 bedroom.

SnooWords4839 t1_is3xhsl wrote on October 13, 2022 at 2:54 AM

Mount Laurel has some townhomes and condos under 200k. Great school system.

Ilovepizza713 t1_is3rdg0 wrote on October 13, 2022 at 2:06 AM

My wife and I moved from Hudson, to Ocean, and now Camden County over the past 12 years due to COL. We bought a 3BR (1100 sqft) house that was fully remodeled on a small lot in a nice neighborhood for $155k 3 years ago. Similar homes are going in the mid-high 200’s now, but there’s no doubt that will come back down.

Oranginafina OP t1_is3rjrm wrote on October 13, 2022 at 2:08 AM

Wow, that sounds fantastic! Any particular towns in Camden County I should look at?

Ilovepizza713 t1_is3s1mq wrote on October 13, 2022 at 2:11 AM

We live in Runnemede, but some of the surrounding areas should be in your price range once things get back to normal. Somerdale, Glendora, Barrington. If you’re in north Jersey, this may sound ridiculous, but we passed on a house in Somerdale because the taxes were $7k lol. I think our taxes were like $4200 when we bought the house, prob in the $5000’s now

Oranginafina OP t1_is3t0gn wrote on October 13, 2022 at 2:19 AM

I used to live in north Jersey but now live in central Jersey (yes, it exists!) and I agree those taxes sound insane. Thanks for the info, I’ll add those towns to my list.

Ilovepizza713 t1_is3thv5 wrote on October 13, 2022 at 2:22 AM

Yeah it would be like $12k+ for a similar home in Hudson County….my in-laws live there and I think they’re up to almost $15k. I can’t imagine paying over $1,000/mo just for taxes

H8chickfila t1_is40ir7 wrote on October 13, 2022 at 3:20 AM

Barrington taxes are insane & Runnemeade, Glendora are okay Somerdale is ridiculous tax wise.

Ilovepizza713 t1_is511k7 wrote on October 13, 2022 at 10:53 AM

They’re all low compared to like 80% of the state though

H8chickfila t1_is6l800 wrote on October 13, 2022 at 5:52 PM

That’s true .

Romeo_Scorpio t1_is3zf3d wrote on October 13, 2022 at 3:10 AM

You are going to have to go down to Ocean or Atlantic counties.

Ribeye_King t1_is59f7g wrote on October 13, 2022 at 12:19 PM

$200K is gonna be tough, you will probably need to look in south Jersey. I do know a guy who just bought a 2BR apartment in Ewing for around $200K but the drawback is that you are near Trenton.

BacktotheFutureTmw t1_is7uel6 wrote on October 13, 2022 at 10:49 PM

I'm guessing you're in North Jersey. Born and raised there - moved to South Jersey 7 years ago due to being able to afford a house down here. My wife teaches and she is in a district that is constantly looking for educators, and it's a nice place to work.

I'm a realtor that primarily serves Gloucester, Camden, Salem, Atlantic and Cumberland Counties. I have worked with clients recently who were in the same price point and were able to find homes that suited their needs. Feel free to PM me - I work with a bunch of different lenders and have a lot of knowledge of available grants.

I also have an app that links you directly to the MLS versus zillow and such which aren't always 100% accurate as they are third party. Would even be able to give you some info on school districts.

jcord821 t1_is4yoyq wrote on October 13, 2022 at 10:24 AM

try another state. if you have the ability to leave NJ- do it

things will not get better

tex8222 t1_is68ort wrote on October 13, 2022 at 4:31 PM

Teaching salaries in other states are ridiculously low…. It makes no sense to cut your salary in half in order to save a few thousand in property tax.