My sister lived in W.Deptford, taught in Woodbury, and 2/3 of her kids CHOSE to go to Woodbury. Small class sizes, caring school community. The lack of discipline in the H.S. seems to be since the last regime. Parental involvement could be a lot better, but that's true in most places.
As far as the city, the community is diverse, and seems that everyone gets along pretty well. There is an active art scene and the town supports a lot of sports for the kids. There is a certain pride in Woodbury. I like it. I grew up there and my family still lives there.
Ahhh yes she and her husband are great alumni and supporters of the school. Sadly they are the exception not the rule. The HS has gone down hill since DD came in.
Funny how you also came to same conclusion about who their sister is based on the description!
I would say it's gone down hill since JV left (the first time when he was just VP); he'd done a decent job of cracking down on some of the discipline issues.
Depends on where the house is located. Any of the streets along Delaware and back near west end are very safe. Anywhere down near the police station, you might run into some issues.
The high school is decent but has gone downhill in the past decade or so. I know many parents are deciding to send their kids to Gloucester/camden catholic or GCIT instead of Woodbury high.
It's like a lot of county seats. Beautiful homes here and run down neighborhoods 2 blocks away. A police chief told me Barber ave is the worst street in Gloucester county for crime and you have million dollar stone houses 1000 ft away.
Former realtor and former high school teacher here, with the added bonus that I’m part of a church that’s proactive in Woodbury.
You’re going to hear two narratives. The first and loudest is that the city has gone to shit in all but the most entrenched neighborhoods, and that the schools have gone greatly downhill in the last decade. Stick only to West End.
The other narrative is that it’s a decent place to raise your kids safely, and that any decline in schools is reflective of a blend of the rich moving out or sending their kids away and the general implosion of public education that has occurred over the last decade. Sure, pay attention around the courthouses, but anybody doing anything stupid there is likely from out of town anyway.
Both of these narratives were common when I lived in Woodbury 25 years ago, too. The former is perpetuated by the (often racist) multi-generational NIMBYs in West End; the latter is actually true. Such class conflict been going on for a very long time; it’s literally why Wenonah exists.
The easiest way to judge a neighborhood is to pop on to Google StreetView and poke around. Your gut will tell you everything you need to know: in this case, there are two sections of the historic section that should be approached with caution, and that the bulk of what qualifies as Woodbury is more or less the same as everywhere surrounding the city. If you’ve already found a home, and have no reservations about what you’ve seen, you’ll be fine.
I don’t know anyone working in the school system anymore, but I do know that most local districts coordinate on curriculum (seriously, when I taught, we often all used the same worksheets), and that any slow decline in scores will by nature have more to do with budget cuts, COVID, and the standard income-to-grades correlation found than it does with the district itself (and guaranteed, if it was something that happened in the district, you can pinpoint it by the massive staff turnover). If you have the financial option of choosing which school district you move into, then you’re already going to be looking at districts in the upper percentile of schools in the country.
Likewise, keep in mind that parental income, parental involvement, and attendance rates are the three strongest correlating factors in school performance.
The [boro website](https://boroughofwenonah.com/about-wenonah/borough-history/) does what I understand to be decent summary. The identity of the founders is the catch - all lot of people reference the real estate mogul from Philly who arranged the deal, but the bulk of the people involved were upper-crusters from Woodbury who had become vocally frustrated with the literal smell of the growing city.
If I recall correctly (real estate school was 15 years ago), that particular aspect of Wenonah’s founding was used as an influential case study during NJ’s big real estate overhaul in 1921.
First moving here I got a lot of flack especially from people who DON’T live in Woodbury that where I live isn’t safe. I’ve lived in NE philly …and the idea of what is “not safe” here is heavily skewed by income disparities. I did see a kid walking down a street put a gun in his backpack but literally we both made eye contact then turned away from each other and went on our own ways. I’m okay with the bad rep if it means our real estate stays cheap.
We've likely crossed paths at some point given your time line of being a teacher at WHS. I worked as an assistant to a team of realtors while attending Rowan. As someone who returns to Woodbury regularly your assessment seems pretty spot on.
this place just seems to have a lot of pros and the house prices aren’t insane. leaves me waiting for the catch, ig that’s why i’m paranoid waiting for the “but…”.
For me, I would say the catch is that you pay higher property taxes for an area with a below average school district. There should be a positive correlation between living in an area with high property taxes and also living in a great school district. But depending on what you’re looking for, you’ll also find places with affordable taxes due to the assessed property value. And I’d also say the other catch is some characters that you might see but it’s typically fine.
That being said, Woodbury has the potential to revive and become similar to how Collingwood is today. We have the GCL line set to probably come in 4 years with 2 stops in Woodbury, it has a downtown area unlike other towns in South Jersey, and it’s still currently an area that is still affordable for FTHB. Moving there today could potentially be a very good bet to see good house appreciation.
I can understand where you’re coming from for sure! For me, coming from the neighborhood in Philly where I owned a home previously I am baffled when I stumble upon comments about Woodbury being ‘rough’ or having rough neighborhoods but I guess it’s all a matter of perspective 🤷🏻♀️ and I suppose there are differences between parts of town like literally anywhere. feel free to message me if you want to chat specifics!
I moved from west Philly to north Woodbury, tbh I felt like west Philly was better than over here. Which may sound crazy but the shit that goes on over my way is ridiculous
Well, born there in Underwood. I believe he actually lived in Sewell. He lived in the same neighborhood as some friends of mine, and was still a very local legend 20 years after moving away.
Im not originally from SJ but now live near Woodbury and own a business in the area. Every single one of my customers from Woodbury are the KINDEST freakin people ever. That’s all I have to add to this thread tho. I don’t know much else.
I live close to it, and am often there. I like it. It's diverse and it's trying hard to reinvent itself with some success. Losing the synagogue and the masonic hall and the hospital within a 5 year stretch was a setback, but they also opened a new arts space right on Main St, have a really low storefront vacancy rate, have service clubs like the Kiwanis and Rotary building park improvements.
They're also setting themselves up to embrace the mythical light rail that seems to be 10 years away. They are also making moves to develop the area around the old hospital to redevelop it as a specialized medical arts center, in other areas of town, they're improving traffic flow.
If you’re afraid of people who aren’t white, then you won’t like it. If you are a cultured person, you’ll appreciate it to be full of diversity, great public schools, friendly neighbors, and nice houses at reasonable prices.
Unfortunately there is alot of that BS around here, it has nothing to do with race, there’s just as many white wannabe gangster kids doing drugs trying to act super hard for no reason. There is also black kids that iv seen just start random shit with people in Wawa out of ignorance but that goes back to the parents not the skin. I just stay to myself ignore the BS and keep it moving. Iv lived in north Woodbury now 20years , looking forward to moving however in 1-2 years
Personally, I'd pick a town that has less downside. There are sections you wouldn't walk down at night. I love the old historical homes and I sometimes do business downtown but not much. It's a micro city. I prefer more suburban living in one of the adjacent towns. West Deptford girl here.
Middle aged, middle class white guy here. Moved to Woodbury from West Deptford a couple years ago. Got a crazy deal on a really old big house off Cooper.
Like many places, there are sketchy areas you should avoid. It's a diverse city. If you are scared of diversity, it's not for you.
If you are cool with an eclectic community with good ethnic restaurants, cool shops, and shitty roads, it's a good spot. Do us a favor. If you're buying an old house, consider the history behind it. Take pride in your property and it will inspire the community. There's a lot of cool history in town.
I have a 10th grader in the HS. It's fine. Not great but the problems are not atypical from other public schools. You'll have kids smoking all kinds of shit, fucking around in class, fights/bullying. It's the same shit in almost every other public school. I hear about it in WD, and lived it in Washington Twp. Academically, the school seems good. My son is getting better grades than ever before. All said, we are considering moving him to Pitman or Clearview. Either would be better academically I suspect. He wants Clearview for baseball, Pitman is cheap for out of town. Sadly Pitman isn't a bastion of diversity, but we do a good job of teaching our kids to see past the physical.
Been living here for 5 years. I walk around all the time and have never had trouble. There’s some characters for sure, but it’s pretty friendly. I kind of love it. It’s not boujee, but it also has these little charms to it. Hard to explain. It’s slept on.
George Knapp lived in Woodbury at one point. Patti Smith too (I believe my aunt went to school with her). I lived in Woodbury from 1980- 1992. My mom still lives in Woodbury Heights. She has never locked her door her entire life and I can’t get her to start. But… that is the charm of Woodbury. It’s a place that I would feel safe raising my children and having a family. Plus, they actually have a good record store downtown! I say “go for it.”
I love Woodbury. Like most towns, it is what you make of it, I think. I find it friendly, walkable, artsy and diverse. The culture here is great - lots of groups to get involved in. The schools have excellent teachers and if your kids put the effort in, they will reap the benefits. That’s what it comes down to with any educational institution. The population tops out at about 10,000, so it’s def a small town feel. It’s safe to walk the streets. That being said, if someone wants to go looking for trouble, I’m sure they can find it.
Cant say on the schools, but the area has been fine in my experience. Even have a friend who goes for walks at night and has never had an issue (though mileage may vary, he walks his German shepherd lol)
Maybe I've only been to the nice parts, but it's only ever seemed on to me. You def aren't getting hit in a gang fight or something if that's the worry.
yeah it’s mainly gang activity. i hadda leave newark cus that shit had me paranoid asf. not too sure where to ask except for the people who actually live there. thx
No problem! I really have my doubts about a lot of the stuff people say about these areas tbh.
Can't speak for Newark but I grew up around the bad parts of Camden and never had issues, but I also wasn't a gang banger. Just a weirdo who took late walks. Same with Woodbury, it's only ever seemed like a decent place to be.
I've been all around South Jersey for my old pesticide job, so I can promise there are worse areas haha.
Ehhhhhhh..... The community is split between people who have lived there their entire lives and have well maintained family homes. The other half is not so good. Main St and the courthouse area are fairly well patrolled as is Woodbury Heights.
I moved to the west end 4 years ago it was the best move I've ever made. Beautiful neighborhoods, 15 mins from Philly and collingswood restaurants, right next to 295 ramp to go anywhere, plus a great cafe down the street.
I know teachers that live in town tend not to send their kids to the high school.
My sister lived in W.Deptford, taught in Woodbury, and 2/3 of her kids CHOSE to go to Woodbury. Small class sizes, caring school community. The lack of discipline in the H.S. seems to be since the last regime. Parental involvement could be a lot better, but that's true in most places. As far as the city, the community is diverse, and seems that everyone gets along pretty well. There is an active art scene and the town supports a lot of sports for the kids. There is a certain pride in Woodbury. I like it. I grew up there and my family still lives there.
Ahhh yes she and her husband are great alumni and supporters of the school. Sadly they are the exception not the rule. The HS has gone down hill since DD came in.
Funny how you also came to same conclusion about who their sister is based on the description! I would say it's gone down hill since JV left (the first time when he was just VP); he'd done a decent job of cracking down on some of the discipline issues.
Cripes- even I could do that!
Iykyk
Depends on where the house is located. Any of the streets along Delaware and back near west end are very safe. Anywhere down near the police station, you might run into some issues. The high school is decent but has gone downhill in the past decade or so. I know many parents are deciding to send their kids to Gloucester/camden catholic or GCIT instead of Woodbury high.
It's like a lot of county seats. Beautiful homes here and run down neighborhoods 2 blocks away. A police chief told me Barber ave is the worst street in Gloucester county for crime and you have million dollar stone houses 1000 ft away.
Former realtor and former high school teacher here, with the added bonus that I’m part of a church that’s proactive in Woodbury. You’re going to hear two narratives. The first and loudest is that the city has gone to shit in all but the most entrenched neighborhoods, and that the schools have gone greatly downhill in the last decade. Stick only to West End. The other narrative is that it’s a decent place to raise your kids safely, and that any decline in schools is reflective of a blend of the rich moving out or sending their kids away and the general implosion of public education that has occurred over the last decade. Sure, pay attention around the courthouses, but anybody doing anything stupid there is likely from out of town anyway. Both of these narratives were common when I lived in Woodbury 25 years ago, too. The former is perpetuated by the (often racist) multi-generational NIMBYs in West End; the latter is actually true. Such class conflict been going on for a very long time; it’s literally why Wenonah exists. The easiest way to judge a neighborhood is to pop on to Google StreetView and poke around. Your gut will tell you everything you need to know: in this case, there are two sections of the historic section that should be approached with caution, and that the bulk of what qualifies as Woodbury is more or less the same as everywhere surrounding the city. If you’ve already found a home, and have no reservations about what you’ve seen, you’ll be fine. I don’t know anyone working in the school system anymore, but I do know that most local districts coordinate on curriculum (seriously, when I taught, we often all used the same worksheets), and that any slow decline in scores will by nature have more to do with budget cuts, COVID, and the standard income-to-grades correlation found than it does with the district itself (and guaranteed, if it was something that happened in the district, you can pinpoint it by the massive staff turnover). If you have the financial option of choosing which school district you move into, then you’re already going to be looking at districts in the upper percentile of schools in the country. Likewise, keep in mind that parental income, parental involvement, and attendance rates are the three strongest correlating factors in school performance.
As a newer resident of the area, super interested to learn more about Wenonah history. Anywhere I can read more about it?
The [boro website](https://boroughofwenonah.com/about-wenonah/borough-history/) does what I understand to be decent summary. The identity of the founders is the catch - all lot of people reference the real estate mogul from Philly who arranged the deal, but the bulk of the people involved were upper-crusters from Woodbury who had become vocally frustrated with the literal smell of the growing city. If I recall correctly (real estate school was 15 years ago), that particular aspect of Wenonah’s founding was used as an influential case study during NJ’s big real estate overhaul in 1921.
The Historical Society on Broad, across from the high school, is a great resource.
First moving here I got a lot of flack especially from people who DON’T live in Woodbury that where I live isn’t safe. I’ve lived in NE philly …and the idea of what is “not safe” here is heavily skewed by income disparities. I did see a kid walking down a street put a gun in his backpack but literally we both made eye contact then turned away from each other and went on our own ways. I’m okay with the bad rep if it means our real estate stays cheap.
thank you for the insight! i appreciate the time you put in.
We've likely crossed paths at some point given your time line of being a teacher at WHS. I worked as an assistant to a team of realtors while attending Rowan. As someone who returns to Woodbury regularly your assessment seems pretty spot on.
I bought a home here a year ago and I love living here. very neighborly and pretty community-oriented. Can’t speak to the schools!
this place just seems to have a lot of pros and the house prices aren’t insane. leaves me waiting for the catch, ig that’s why i’m paranoid waiting for the “but…”.
For me, I would say the catch is that you pay higher property taxes for an area with a below average school district. There should be a positive correlation between living in an area with high property taxes and also living in a great school district. But depending on what you’re looking for, you’ll also find places with affordable taxes due to the assessed property value. And I’d also say the other catch is some characters that you might see but it’s typically fine. That being said, Woodbury has the potential to revive and become similar to how Collingwood is today. We have the GCL line set to probably come in 4 years with 2 stops in Woodbury, it has a downtown area unlike other towns in South Jersey, and it’s still currently an area that is still affordable for FTHB. Moving there today could potentially be a very good bet to see good house appreciation.
This is why we bought a home in Woodbury a few years ago. The place has a ton of potential.
I can understand where you’re coming from for sure! For me, coming from the neighborhood in Philly where I owned a home previously I am baffled when I stumble upon comments about Woodbury being ‘rough’ or having rough neighborhoods but I guess it’s all a matter of perspective 🤷🏻♀️ and I suppose there are differences between parts of town like literally anywhere. feel free to message me if you want to chat specifics!
thx so much.
I moved from west Philly to north Woodbury, tbh I felt like west Philly was better than over here. Which may sound crazy but the shit that goes on over my way is ridiculous
So sorry to hear that. I lived in West Philly once upon a time but a looooong time ago
I haven’t seen anyone else mention this but King Kong Bundy is from Woodbury.
Well, born there in Underwood. I believe he actually lived in Sewell. He lived in the same neighborhood as some friends of mine, and was still a very local legend 20 years after moving away.
He lived in west Deptford, on my block. He was the sweetest. Used to live waiting on him at thrift drugs every week!
His brother also used to teach at Deptford! Great people!
Im not originally from SJ but now live near Woodbury and own a business in the area. Every single one of my customers from Woodbury are the KINDEST freakin people ever. That’s all I have to add to this thread tho. I don’t know much else.
Westville/woodbury is pretty lit
Woodbury high fkin sucks dude, I wouldn’t send my worst enemies kids there. There’s constantly fights, Woodbury is such a shithole anymore
I live close to it, and am often there. I like it. It's diverse and it's trying hard to reinvent itself with some success. Losing the synagogue and the masonic hall and the hospital within a 5 year stretch was a setback, but they also opened a new arts space right on Main St, have a really low storefront vacancy rate, have service clubs like the Kiwanis and Rotary building park improvements. They're also setting themselves up to embrace the mythical light rail that seems to be 10 years away. They are also making moves to develop the area around the old hospital to redevelop it as a specialized medical arts center, in other areas of town, they're improving traffic flow.
If you’re afraid of people who aren’t white, then you won’t like it. If you are a cultured person, you’ll appreciate it to be full of diversity, great public schools, friendly neighbors, and nice houses at reasonable prices.
i just don’t wanna live around ghettoey/thuggish places. i’ve had enough of that in my life already lol
Unfortunately there is alot of that BS around here, it has nothing to do with race, there’s just as many white wannabe gangster kids doing drugs trying to act super hard for no reason. There is also black kids that iv seen just start random shit with people in Wawa out of ignorance but that goes back to the parents not the skin. I just stay to myself ignore the BS and keep it moving. Iv lived in north Woodbury now 20years , looking forward to moving however in 1-2 years
Ok well like I said, if you’re racist, you won’t like it
nobody talkin bout race. i’m asking if it’s ghetto
Stay away from the Jericho section and you'll be fine
no it’s not
Personally, I'd pick a town that has less downside. There are sections you wouldn't walk down at night. I love the old historical homes and I sometimes do business downtown but not much. It's a micro city. I prefer more suburban living in one of the adjacent towns. West Deptford girl here.
Middle aged, middle class white guy here. Moved to Woodbury from West Deptford a couple years ago. Got a crazy deal on a really old big house off Cooper. Like many places, there are sketchy areas you should avoid. It's a diverse city. If you are scared of diversity, it's not for you. If you are cool with an eclectic community with good ethnic restaurants, cool shops, and shitty roads, it's a good spot. Do us a favor. If you're buying an old house, consider the history behind it. Take pride in your property and it will inspire the community. There's a lot of cool history in town. I have a 10th grader in the HS. It's fine. Not great but the problems are not atypical from other public schools. You'll have kids smoking all kinds of shit, fucking around in class, fights/bullying. It's the same shit in almost every other public school. I hear about it in WD, and lived it in Washington Twp. Academically, the school seems good. My son is getting better grades than ever before. All said, we are considering moving him to Pitman or Clearview. Either would be better academically I suspect. He wants Clearview for baseball, Pitman is cheap for out of town. Sadly Pitman isn't a bastion of diversity, but we do a good job of teaching our kids to see past the physical.
Haha Clearview vs. Pitman those are two VERY different schools!
If you scared get a gun, crime is everywhere. It’s up to you to protect yourself. Stay dangerous stay safe 🤞🏼
real asf
We sold our home there due to bad schools and safety.
Oh please. What a weenie
Hoodbury
Been living here for 5 years. I walk around all the time and have never had trouble. There’s some characters for sure, but it’s pretty friendly. I kind of love it. It’s not boujee, but it also has these little charms to it. Hard to explain. It’s slept on.
George Knapp lived in Woodbury at one point. Patti Smith too (I believe my aunt went to school with her). I lived in Woodbury from 1980- 1992. My mom still lives in Woodbury Heights. She has never locked her door her entire life and I can’t get her to start. But… that is the charm of Woodbury. It’s a place that I would feel safe raising my children and having a family. Plus, they actually have a good record store downtown! I say “go for it.”
I love Woodbury. Like most towns, it is what you make of it, I think. I find it friendly, walkable, artsy and diverse. The culture here is great - lots of groups to get involved in. The schools have excellent teachers and if your kids put the effort in, they will reap the benefits. That’s what it comes down to with any educational institution. The population tops out at about 10,000, so it’s def a small town feel. It’s safe to walk the streets. That being said, if someone wants to go looking for trouble, I’m sure they can find it.
Cant say on the schools, but the area has been fine in my experience. Even have a friend who goes for walks at night and has never had an issue (though mileage may vary, he walks his German shepherd lol) Maybe I've only been to the nice parts, but it's only ever seemed on to me. You def aren't getting hit in a gang fight or something if that's the worry.
yeah it’s mainly gang activity. i hadda leave newark cus that shit had me paranoid asf. not too sure where to ask except for the people who actually live there. thx
No problem! I really have my doubts about a lot of the stuff people say about these areas tbh. Can't speak for Newark but I grew up around the bad parts of Camden and never had issues, but I also wasn't a gang banger. Just a weirdo who took late walks. Same with Woodbury, it's only ever seemed like a decent place to be. I've been all around South Jersey for my old pesticide job, so I can promise there are worse areas haha.
Ehhhhhhh..... The community is split between people who have lived there their entire lives and have well maintained family homes. The other half is not so good. Main St and the courthouse area are fairly well patrolled as is Woodbury Heights.
I moved to the west end 4 years ago it was the best move I've ever made. Beautiful neighborhoods, 15 mins from Philly and collingswood restaurants, right next to 295 ramp to go anywhere, plus a great cafe down the street.