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When you're free of things like caring about schools, you get a lot that opens up. I'd be checking out communities along the Route 30 and Route 47 corridors. Most of them are going to be more rural while still providing easy access to the shore when you want it and enough amenities to give you access to the essentials. These areas tend to be cheap as the land is more swampy or "wetlandy" then what others go for and the school districts aren't that great. It's also not real convenient to any employment centers. All of that adds up to cheap when it comes to housing. You can literally find a ton of houses 20 minutes or so from the beach for not a lot of money.
I'm already free of caring about schools--as a matter of fact, my only child graduated from high school the third week of June, 2009, and by July 1st I had moved out of the overpriced rented house I'd lived in so she could go to school in a good town where I had family while I schlepped to the city every day. ("The city", of course, being New York, since I was in Bergen County.) I moved to Monmouth County, which was still within commutable range but less pricey than Bergen, and I was able to buy a condo there, which was not possible for me to do in Bergen County.
The thing I'm not free of is the job, but TECHNICALLY I can retire in fifteen months. By technically I mean that's when I will be eligible to retire and collect a pension, not necessarily that I will be able to afford to. But, I'm in the planning stages here and looking at all options.
Thanks for the info. I'll check out those areas you mention above, NJGoat.
I love NJ. I'm particularly fond of NJ history. I really would prefer to stay somewhere in my home state.
Here is my story and why we chose another state over South NJ.
Born and raised in Central NJ, Edison, Piscataway, but for the final 35 years Somerset County in the "mountains".
Retired eight years ago and looked in North Carolina and South Jersey around the Millville area as I wanted to be close to NJMP.
I found the terrain of South NJ to be very similar to the Sandhills of NC where we settled.
I found the housing in South NJ to be about 1/2 of central NJ for a similar house.
I found the taxes in South NJ to be about 1/2 of similar house as Central NJ.
In NC I found similar but newer homes for 1/3 of Central NJ prices and property taxes for 1/4 of NJ taxes.
Auto insurance is about the same for Central or Southern NJ but auto insurance in NC is 1/3 the cost of NJ insurance.
The bottom line is I would burn through my retirement money much faster in South NJ that I will in North Carolina.
The pluses for NC,
almost no snow
winters are pretty mild
Lower cost of living.
Clear sky's, no air pollution
The negatives for NC
Very hot in mid summer, June,July, August, September.
More bugs than NJ
No good Italian bread.
No good mom and pop Italian restaurants.
Taxes on food and clothing
Poor drivers, don't know what a turn signal is for.
Here is my story and why we chose another state over South NJ.
Born and raised in Central NJ, Edison, Piscataway, but for the final 35 years Somerset County in the "mountains".
Retired eight years ago and looked in North Carolina and South Jersey around the Millville area as I wanted to be close to NJMP.
I found the terrain of South NJ to be very similar to the Sandhills of NC where we settled.
I found the housing in South NJ to be about 1/2 of central NJ for a similar house.
I found the taxes in South NJ to be about 1/2 of similar house as Central NJ.
In NC I found similar but newer homes for 1/3 of Central NJ prices and property taxes for 1/4 of NJ taxes.
Auto insurance is about the same for Central or Southern NJ but auto insurance in NC is 1/3 the cost of NJ insurance.
The bottom line is I would burn through my retirement money much faster in South NJ that I will in North Carolina.
The pluses for NC,
almost no snow
winters are pretty mild
Lower cost of living.
Clear sky's, no air pollution
The negatives for NC
Very hot in mid summer, June,July, August, September.
More bugs than NJ
No good Italian bread.
No good mom and pop Italian restaurants.
Taxes on food and clothing
Poor drivers, don't know what a turn signal is for.
How much are you willing to spend? How much would you ideally like to spend?
Jumping off of NJGOAT's post, Egg Harbor and Galloway are in/around swampland, not too far from the beach, and offer a lot of affordable options, while being convenient to both the Atlantic City Expressway and the Garden State Parkway. Both townships are quite large, and feature both run-of-the-mill suburban sections along with very quiet, rural enclaves.
NC is lovely, however the OP already said she doesn't want to be that far from her family. That is what would keep me from leaving, too (well, that and I love Jersey!)
I'm already free of caring about schools--as a matter of fact, my only child graduated from high school the third week of June, 2009, and by July 1st I had moved out of the overpriced rented house I'd lived in so she could go to school in a good town where I had family while I schlepped to the city every day. ("The city", of course, being New York, since I was in Bergen County.) I moved to Monmouth County, which was still within commutable range but less pricey than Bergen, and I was able to buy a condo there, which was not possible for me to do in Bergen County.
The thing I'm not free of is the job, but TECHNICALLY I can retire in fifteen months. By technically I mean that's when I will be eligible to retire and collect a pension, not necessarily that I will be able to afford to. But, I'm in the planning stages here and looking at all options.
Thanks for the info. I'll check out those areas you mention above, NJGoat.
I love NJ. I'm particularly fond of NJ history. I really would prefer to stay somewhere in my home state.
MQ, my mom retired down to Burlington County in a 55+ community (I know that's not your thing) after living in "true" North Jersey nearly all of her 65 years. She enjoyed it, she was surprised the taxes were as high as they were (more than our house in Hudson County). But she never quite got used to the "Philly-centric-ness" of the area. She missed her Channel 2,4,7 news.
Moving to another state was out of the question for her. She valued her family too much even if it meant spending a few bucks more (which thankfully she could afford).
NC is lovely, however the OP already said she doesn't want to be that far from her family. That is what would keep me from leaving, too (well, that and I love Jersey!)
Exactly. It was a bit adventurous of me to pack up and leave North Jersey after 51 years and move to a place where I hardly knew anyone (had a friend in Middletown, although she is still raising kids so I don't see her all that often anyway).
I know moving only 60 miles from home is probably laughable to some of you, but there are things you have to think about. For example, what do you do if your car breaks down and there is absolutely no one to call to help you or give you a ride home? (I have AAA and I keep a taxi phone number in my cell in anticipation of this.) Or--I've had this "frozen shoulder" thing going on since last summer--I had it once before in the other shoulder, and so I am doing the same exercises to work it out and it's almost better. However, for most of the fall and winter, I could not raise one of my arms as high as my shoulder, which meant I could not change the bulb in the light fixture outside my front door (the socket twists, so you need two hands to change the bulb). I just lived with not having an outdoor front light until January when my daughter came home from school in China and changed it for me. OK, yes, so that's a not a big deal, but it's still one of those things you do think about when you are alone and don't know anyone in the area well enough to ask for a personal favor.
I'm not sure I'd be willing to move 1000 miles away next time to where I don't know a single soul. At least in NJ I know that if I had a real emergency, like ending up in a hospital or something, a family member would be able to come and feed my cats.
MQ, my mom retired down to Burlington County in a 55+ community (I know that's not your thing) after living in "true" North Jersey nearly all of her 65 years. She enjoyed it, she was surprised the taxes were as high as they were (more than our house in Hudson County). But she never quite got used to the "Philly-centric-ness" of the area. She missed her Channel 2,4,7 news.
Moving to another state was out of the question for her. She valued her family too much even if it meant spending a few bucks more (which thankfully she could afford).
Interesting. I could probably adjust to the news channels, lol. I don't watch very much TV in the first place. And I'd really like to get to know Philly better (When I was a Girl Scout leader, we once slept overnight at the Philadelphia Zoo, and I saw the Liberty Bell a few years ago, but that's about it.)
My sister lives in a 55+ community in Monroe (Middlesex County). It's very nice, but it just feels weird to me when I visit her. She is 62, and still working, so she is one of the younger ones there, but when I visited and went to her community pool or to a barbecue they had, it was like being at the party in the movie Cocoon the night that the spaceship comes to pick them up.
Where I live now, it's very peaceful and quiet, but there are kids in the playground at the park across the street, girls riding their bikes and skating, boys on skateboards, etc. I'm just not sure I like all elderly all the time in my neighborhood.
How much are you willing to spend? How much would you ideally like to spend?
Jumping off of NJGOAT's post, Egg Harbor and Galloway are in/around swampland, not too far from the beach, and offer a lot of affordable options, while being convenient to both the Atlantic City Expressway and the Garden State Parkway. Both townships are quite large, and feature both run-of-the-mill suburban sections along with very quiet, rural enclaves.
Thanks for that info.
I can't really say how much I'd like to spend, because right now, I'm broke, which is why true retirement is still a bit further away. My only kid is in college, and my share of the loans will outlast her school years. It's just that I will be eligible to retire from my current job in less than a year and a half, and the idea is to perhaps move and work somewhere else.
Of course that depends upon the economy and some other factors. I have ideas and am looking into possibilities, and this wondering about South Jersey is part of that.
I can't really say how much I'd like to spend, because right now, I'm broke, which is why true retirement is still a bit further away. My only kid is in college, and my share of the loans will outlast her school years. It's just that I will be eligible to retire from my current job in less than a year and a half, and the idea is to perhaps move and work somewhere else.
Of course that depends upon the economy and some other factors. I have ideas and am looking into possibilities, and this wondering about South Jersey is part of that.
A $100k ceiling could get you a 1-2 bedroom condo, mobile home, along with some smaller, older single family homes in those areas (depending on what you're looking for). That's just the exurbs of the greater Atlantic City area. There are townships similar to Egg Harbor/Galloway further South in Cape May County if that's more your speed. I'm not that familiar with those areas, but I'm sure someone else would be happy to elaborate.
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) I moved to Monmouth County, which was still within commutable range but less pricey than Bergen, and I was able to buy a condo there, which was not possible for me to do in Bergen County.
