I’m a SJ girl. Was worn there and grew up there. When my husband and I first got married we were living in Cherry Hill, NJ, which, as the crow flies you would think would be a quick commute to the city. :no: The drive into the city can either be a p.i.t.a. or a complete nightmare. Plus parking downtown is big $$$. Now if you live near the PATCO high speed line you are set. It’s fast and reliable. But you need to live right near a station otherwise you’re defeating the purpose. There are the major roads in SJ (aside from horrendous 42 and 55), e.g. Rt 70, 38 and they are all super conjested. I’ve spent too many hours of my life on those two bleepin roads!
I never thought I’d live in PA (SJ in the blood) but due to jobs here we are in Media, PA. Love it! It’s a nice little town with all the amenities you would want and there are many barns within a 15-25 minute drive. The one I go to now is only 15 minutes from my house in Middletown, which is part of Media but not downtown. The Septa R3 has a station in downtown Media and it’s a 35 minute ride to the city on the express trains. It’s not as frequent as PATCO and its sometimes late, etc but it’s ok.
We also just got a new Wegmans fairly close by in Glen Mills. You have the Springfield Mall a few minutes away. We love how after living here for 5 years we can go downtown and people know us by name. It’s very small town feel but the area has all the amenities of a big burb.
So, still a lover of SJ and all of our family is still over there, we can’t imagine leaving where we are here in PA.
Good luck in your search! Pm me if you have questions.
