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Personally I think that you are going to find some forms of racial slurs, slang, etc... everywhere. Whether it be tv, the radio, in school, on the road driving, at your local target, where ever. With that said, I don't think you will see anything more than the norm in the areas you suggested.
I would opt for Cherry Hill in all honesty.
You should not have a problem raising kids in that area. I know people who have raised AA kids in both communities. You can experience racism anywhere but in most parts of NJ, if you do experience racism it is more subtle such as assuming that your kids are being raised in a single parent household. Stereotyping still exists everywhere. At 5 they will not notice and it is not done on purpose it is done out of ignorance.
With that being said where would you suggest....I know you can't tell me where to live and raise my kids but I'm just saying....Are there any other towns close to Mount Laurel (Greyhound bus to NYC) that are diverse with great schools.
The only other place that I can think of is Gibbsboro. Their schools cover K to 8. Pretty interesting mix of housing over there. At first glance, the listings look like all new townhomes and million dollar lakefront places, but the town has been around for a while and there are a few normal 3 bedroom 1 1/2-2 bath places with a yard. Kids from Gibbsboro go to HS in Voorhees. That's both good and "bad". It's good because it's a very nice school. It's also ->I'm rich<- central. Personally, I'd rather live in an average home in an average neighborhood and send my kid to the good high school on the bus. The best part about that is when they complain that half the senior student body drives high end cars to school. Boo hoo. Those parking lots are like the Demolition Derby. LOL
With that being said where would you suggest....I know you can't tell me where to live and raise my kids but I'm just saying....Are there any other towns close to Mount Laurel (Greyhound bus to NYC) that are diverse with great schools.
You want a middle class area that is not TOO upscale, and not too downscale. If you go to places like Gloucester City which have a lot of poor whites, you will probably experience some racism, likewise if you go to extremely rich areas like Moorestown or Haddonfield you will probably experience some racism too. A well-balanced, middle-class community is more likely to be accepting of other races.
Try Gloucester Township - the area is mostly white but there are a decent of black people too. My stepson's elementary school class has 4 or 5 black kids, and he plays on the local youth basketball league and there's plenty of black kids playing with them. Everyone seems to get along. The people are genuinely easygoing around here. Other areas to try are Voorhees, Deptford, and Turnersville. All of these areas have good schools. Winslow Township (Sicklerville areas east of Berlin Cross-Keys Road) has a somewhat larger black population, and the schools are poorer in quality though the elementary schools are supposed to be good. One of my colleagues who is from Ghana loves her neighborhood and you can find a beautiful home there for a great price. Just know that the school district has some issues at the HS level.
Of any place in SJ I'd probably say Voorhees. Probably more diverse than a lot of the other towns mentioned but a great area with great schools. But responding to the original question, I'd probably say Mt. Laurel over Cherry Hill, although as some others said Cherry Hill West high school is less "snobby" than Cherry Hill East. But really in most of the middle/upper class towns you shouldn't really have a problem.
Does anyone know anything about Laurel Springs, Stratford or even Maple Shade....From what I see maple shade is safe but there elementary schools don't do well..any info?
As close as maple shade is to moorestown, mt laurel and Cherry Hill I never see any comments on that part of town..I wonder why..
You want to commute from South Jersey to NYC? Door to door talking about 4 hours a day, you'll never see your kids. Add in the out of pocket expenses involved in a commute like that.
It may be a strange question but why aren't you considering diverse, safe neighborhoods with good schools closer to your work? What made you pick out Cherry Hill and Mount Laurel? Why not Central Jersey (still far but a little more reasonable)?
Last edited by AnthonyB; 02-06-2010 at 08:49 AM..
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So..
I thank everybody for their input...
