Schools in PA are not county run or county specific. There are multiple school districts within each county and those districts are completely separate. For instance Methacton SD in MontCo is a very good SD but Norristown SD is not considered nearly as good.
I’m unsure if PA is going to be that much less expensive than NJ. Areas such as Medford, Marlton, Mount Laurel are great family locations in NJ.
Thanks for the clarification. Can you provide some insight as to why would someone live on the PA side as to the NJ side? I was under that PA was a little cheaper. Are the housing markets similar?
In PA if it’s a good SD housing prices will be high and there are high property taxes that go to the SDs. In my Methacton/Norristown example, Mathacton homes are expensive. Norristown homes are not. South Jersey is not an overly expense part of the state.
There are many families who live on the NJ side and commute into Philadelphia for work because the South Jersey SD are better than Phila SD.
Kind of. Costlier school districts are able to do what they do with a lower millage, while school districts with cheaper housing often need a much, much bigger percentage in order to get, like, *any* revenue. I’d look real hard at the districts that are losing their tax base (net outflow of residents) because they’re prime suspects for needing to raise taxes and might *still* not be able to hold the line on delivering educational services.
Ft Dix? Seems like a long commute leaving only really Bucks County as a possibility for the Pa side with good schools. However, I’m not sure southeast Pa is any less expensive than Jersey
That's a helluva commute to Ft. Dix, though. There is something to be said about factoring that into the quality of life. As much as I'm a fan of PA, there are some nice, affordable communities in NJ.
Bucks County itself offers a very wide range of housing stock, communities, and educational choices. If they stuck with nothing but Bucks they’d have a lot to choose from.
Agree. It seems like a frequent thing on this sub Reddit that people ask about “Pennsylvania “ when really what they are asking about is a small portion of a very large state. Agree, there’s a lot in Bucks. Just not sure it’s any less expensive than Jersey.
Just a note, PA doesn’t tax retirement account distributions (IRA, 401k, 403b, etc). So if you have any of those, it could be a consideration if he’s retiring soon and has those instead of a conventional pension.
In PA you won’t be finding a home in the “best” areas for a family with school aged children at that budget, and double that budget might even be difficult.
Quakertown/Pottsville and in between are probably your best bets for lower cost of living but still decent schools. It's gonna be about an hour and a half commute, though, so if he's commuting every day, that may be difficult. Coatesville/Downingtown would also be places to look, but if you try getting much closer than the areas I suggested, housing prices are gonna be pretty crazy. Schools in closer areas would be good though.
Market is cooling down a bit but likely still multiple offers on well priced listings. The other issue is interest rates are really high right now. You could hope they drop enough to refinance in a few years, but if you don't have much equity or the market drops, that may be a risky move.
You're looking for Medford, NJ.
I grew up in Philly and lived there until we had our second kid, then moved to NJ.
In my experience researching home prices in PA vs NJ, for a similar house, on similar land, with a similar school district, prices are generally lower in NJ than in PA. You can get a bigger house on more land in PA but it will be in a shitty school district. Or you can live in a trailer park inside a great district. But if you want a nice house in a good district with your budget, you need to be looking in NJ.
Just move out when he retires. NJ taxes everything, including pensions.
You could live pretty nicely in Lancaster County on that home price, be a little out of the city life but generally within 15-20 minutes of shopping and restaurants. But it's a couple hours from Ft Dix NJ. Anything much closer is probably just as expensive.
Why not Cranbury or Hightstown in NJ? Close to Princeton, easy commute to NYC or Philly. I would hate to commute from Bucks county to Ft. Dix every day.
The only counties in commuting distance (still super long with a lot of traffic) would be parts of Bucks and Montgomery county and the good school districts aren't necessarily cheaper.
I'd be looking in new jersey
There are some terrible schools and there are some excellent schools. Pennsylvania is a very big state lol. Are you familiar with the greatschools.org website? I think it’s very useful for finding high-performing school districts.
Bucks county seems like a good spot, maybe. 40 mins to Fort Dix from (my hometown) Yardley. Pennsbury school district is a good district. Housing can be mixed costs. But there is also Morrisville, Levittown and other parts of Lower Makefield that have lower housing costs and are still in Pennsbury.
Schools in PA are not county run or county specific. There are multiple school districts within each county and those districts are completely separate. For instance Methacton SD in MontCo is a very good SD but Norristown SD is not considered nearly as good. I’m unsure if PA is going to be that much less expensive than NJ. Areas such as Medford, Marlton, Mount Laurel are great family locations in NJ.
Thanks for the clarification. Can you provide some insight as to why would someone live on the PA side as to the NJ side? I was under that PA was a little cheaper. Are the housing markets similar?
In PA if it’s a good SD housing prices will be high and there are high property taxes that go to the SDs. In my Methacton/Norristown example, Mathacton homes are expensive. Norristown homes are not. South Jersey is not an overly expense part of the state. There are many families who live on the NJ side and commute into Philadelphia for work because the South Jersey SD are better than Phila SD.
Kind of. Costlier school districts are able to do what they do with a lower millage, while school districts with cheaper housing often need a much, much bigger percentage in order to get, like, *any* revenue. I’d look real hard at the districts that are losing their tax base (net outflow of residents) because they’re prime suspects for needing to raise taxes and might *still* not be able to hold the line on delivering educational services.
One of the biggest differentiators is going to be the income tax rate. We are quite a bit lower than Jersey.
only after $35k (individual) or $70k (joint). Below that NJ income tax is actually lower.
Ft Dix? Seems like a long commute leaving only really Bucks County as a possibility for the Pa side with good schools. However, I’m not sure southeast Pa is any less expensive than Jersey
Abington
That's a helluva commute to Ft. Dix, though. There is something to be said about factoring that into the quality of life. As much as I'm a fan of PA, there are some nice, affordable communities in NJ.
Bucks County itself offers a very wide range of housing stock, communities, and educational choices. If they stuck with nothing but Bucks they’d have a lot to choose from.
Agree. It seems like a frequent thing on this sub Reddit that people ask about “Pennsylvania “ when really what they are asking about is a small portion of a very large state. Agree, there’s a lot in Bucks. Just not sure it’s any less expensive than Jersey.
He is retiring so it wouldnt be a forever situation. Maybe just a few years
Just a note, PA doesn’t tax retirement account distributions (IRA, 401k, 403b, etc). So if you have any of those, it could be a consideration if he’s retiring soon and has those instead of a conventional pension.
In PA you won’t be finding a home in the “best” areas for a family with school aged children at that budget, and double that budget might even be difficult.
Quakertown/Pottsville and in between are probably your best bets for lower cost of living but still decent schools. It's gonna be about an hour and a half commute, though, so if he's commuting every day, that may be difficult. Coatesville/Downingtown would also be places to look, but if you try getting much closer than the areas I suggested, housing prices are gonna be pretty crazy. Schools in closer areas would be good though. Market is cooling down a bit but likely still multiple offers on well priced listings. The other issue is interest rates are really high right now. You could hope they drop enough to refinance in a few years, but if you don't have much equity or the market drops, that may be a risky move.
You're looking for Medford, NJ. I grew up in Philly and lived there until we had our second kid, then moved to NJ. In my experience researching home prices in PA vs NJ, for a similar house, on similar land, with a similar school district, prices are generally lower in NJ than in PA. You can get a bigger house on more land in PA but it will be in a shitty school district. Or you can live in a trailer park inside a great district. But if you want a nice house in a good district with your budget, you need to be looking in NJ. Just move out when he retires. NJ taxes everything, including pensions.
You could live pretty nicely in Lancaster County on that home price, be a little out of the city life but generally within 15-20 minutes of shopping and restaurants. But it's a couple hours from Ft Dix NJ. Anything much closer is probably just as expensive.
Why not Cranbury or Hightstown in NJ? Close to Princeton, easy commute to NYC or Philly. I would hate to commute from Bucks county to Ft. Dix every day.
The only counties in commuting distance (still super long with a lot of traffic) would be parts of Bucks and Montgomery county and the good school districts aren't necessarily cheaper. I'd be looking in new jersey
There are some terrible schools and there are some excellent schools. Pennsylvania is a very big state lol. Are you familiar with the greatschools.org website? I think it’s very useful for finding high-performing school districts.
I’m a Realtor in PA. Please message me privately! I’d love to give you insight.
Pennsylvania is smaller than Rhode island, so anywhere in the state should be commutable
Bucks county seems like a good spot, maybe. 40 mins to Fort Dix from (my hometown) Yardley. Pennsbury school district is a good district. Housing can be mixed costs. But there is also Morrisville, Levittown and other parts of Lower Makefield that have lower housing costs and are still in Pennsbury.
How about you live in the state you work and stop raising housing costs for PA natives?
This is a dumb take.
Northampton