<p>Does anyone on here live in South Jersey or Delaware? My son just got a job at the power plant in Salem, NJ. We need to find him an apartment. It doesn’t look like there is much in the area, so we were considering maybe Vineland, NJ or the Wilmington, DE area. We’ll look at anything, but he wanted to try to find an area that has young professionals. I want an area that is safe. He’ll be making good money, so he can afford a more upscale place. I posted on City data but got no responses. :(</p>
<p>How far- distance and time is he willing to drive?</p>
<p>I have family in South Jersey, and a daughter in Newark, DE. The daughter NEVER goes to South Jersey (no matter how many times I tell her how nice the Cape May beaches are). And my South Jersey relatives (Bridgeton, Vineland) do all their socializing up around Philadelphia.</p>
<p>My advice is to skip Jersey entirely. Traffic near the I95/I295 is normally congested. That aside, I’d suggest Wilmington. Newark is also nice … oriented toward the young crowd obviously.</p>
<p>Isn’t Delaware tax lower than NJ?</p>
<p>^ Yes, but the young man will pay income tax in NJ. And since he’s renting, he’d avoid NJ’s draconian property taxes regardless. Gas taxes are lower of course. And I believe autos are exempt from property tax in NJ. IDK about Delaware.</p>
<p>I know a recent grad that works at the Salem nuke plant and lives in PA just outside Delaware. He has to pay the bridge toll every day but the quality of life makes it worth the expense. I would suggest looking in Wilmington DE, specifically Trolley Square which is a nice urban environment and popular with young professionals. Easy commute too.</p>
<p>How long is the internship? The summer scene at some towns on the Jersey Shore has significant young professionals.</p>
<p>Gas is lower in NJ but I don’t think it makes up for how much higher their car insurance is.</p>
<p>He’s willing to travel approximately 40 miles. He was thinking of the Wilmington area, so we’ll look at Trolley Square. I thought if he lives in Delaware and works in NJ, he wouldn’t have to pay NJs income tax? I guess I was wrong?
It’s not an internship, it’s a real job (he graduates next week). He goes to University of Delaware, so maybe he’ll consider Newark.</p>
<p>dkitty, If he’s willing to drive 40 miles you might want to have him look in the Kennett Square, PA area… it’s right over the border from Wilmington. Cousins wife is from there and loves it. It’s also close to the West Chester area (a lot of younger people live there…), Philadelphia isn’t too far away either. Make sure he is aware of how far 40 miles is time wise also. 40 miles highway isn’t too bad, 40 miles city could be a 2 hour commute each way.</p>
<p>I could be wrong on this, but don’t they take out tax based on where you worked as opposed to where you live? I mean, you may wind up getting more back at income tax time or something if it doesn’t line up with your local area… but I’m not sure…</p>
<p>My recommendation would be, regardless of what area he chooses, to actually make the drive both ways (during rush hour) before committing. A 40 mile commute, especially if it involves crossing a bridge, can translate into a LOT of time each day.</p>
<p>My DH is an engineer at a nuclear plant. When I read the OP’s post to him, his reply was “don’t worry about where to live because he’ll be livin’ at the plant”.<br>
I would discourage a 40 mile commute. During plant refueling outages DH works at least thirteen hours a day, seven days a week…for weeks (even months during a really long outage). If he had to drive forty miles to get home at the end of those days, I don’t think he’d make it.</p>
<p>dkitty- if he lives in Pa. and works in NJ he does not have to pay NJ tax. These two States have an agreement not to tax the other States residents. That does not apply to other States or the City of Philadelphia.
As for car insurance. If his employer is a member of the NJ Business and Industry Association and he lives in NJ he is eligible to purchase car insurance from NJ Manufacturers Insurance. They are the best car insurer in the world.</p>
<p>I was thinking of the nuke plant on the Atlantic Side. Salem is smack in the middle of nowhere. Bridgeton may look like a larger town, but it’s depressing and driving through it like many people have left. I would agree that Delaware might be the best option - downtown Wilmington, however is nothing special. I would suggest a short term lease before he commits to anything longterm.</p>
<p>Does anyone know anything about Vineland? Or any of the towns just over the bridge in Delaware? This is a great opportunity, but it looks like housing may be a problem.</p>
<p>I would agree with looking in the Trolley Square vicinity or the Newark/Bear area.</p>
<p>Might he ask H/R about housing options in the area? They might have connections.</p>
<p>I’m familiar with that area. My folks live in Bridgeton and I wouldn’t recommend it. North Wilmington, Trolley Square is a great area. We lived just a few miles from there in Pennsylvania several years ago and quite a few people commuted to that area of New Jersey. I’d also second the vote on Newark, my husband’s hometown. I would guess a sublease for the summer might be easier to get there with all of the U of D students.</p>
<p>My friend’s husband worked at that plant and they lived in Wilmington.</p>
<p>Dkitty- have you visited these areas? I can’t imagine your son would be happy very long in Vineland, which has a depressed economy, which will be made worse with the proposed closing of the Vineland Development Center.
“EMOTIONS RUN HIGH AT VINELAND DEVELOPMENT CENTER HEARING”
"Some of the more than 1,400 employees from the center were also in attendance. While they’re faced with possibly losing their jobs in what’s already a community with the highest unemployment rate in the state, they say their main concern isn’t about their own well being, "</p>
<p>He will probably be spending time in Philly and at the NJ Beaches, and Wilmington, although I don’t much about Wilmington. </p>
<p>Have you visited these areas? Hammonton may be a possibility ? Some revitalization going on there, train for easy hop to Philly or AC ? It’s a small town, without the “professional vibe” he wants. </p>
<p>Congrats to your son on his new job. Very exciting.</p>
<p>It looks like it would be too long a drive for him to live closer to the shore. I’m thinking he should live in Delaware. I was looking at Pa, but he’d have to do the 130/295 thing and I think that has a lot of traffic. I guess everyone who works at the power plant does a pretty long commute.
This will be his first time living totally alone, so we wanted to find him an area that has other young professionals so he can meet people.</p>