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Can anyone living in the DE/PA/MD tri state area answer some questions for me?


Sherri in MI
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I'm looking into the possibility of moving to that area. My Mom needs our help. We want to stay in MI, but my sister will fight me in getting guardianship of my Mom if we don't move down there, so I am at least looking into it, though right now dh is unwilling to move & I am reluctant. But I really want to care for Mom at home, if possible.

 

My Mom has dementia and lives in Landenber PA, just a few minutes north of Newark, DE. She rents a townhouse and It's very expensive. Where in the tri-state area is a nice place for families to live but where the housing prices are really low? Southern Chester County is very nice, but too expensive for us, especially since we are starting over after suffering through unemployment. We would be looking to rent a 3 or 4 bedroom home or townhouse with a basement.

 

What is the job situation there? Is it easy to find a job? How are the salaries. My sister has been unable to find a decent paying Medical Assistant job, but I don't know if that is typical. My husband would be looking for a hospice chaplain position.

 

And which state has the most relaxed homeschool laws? Which of the 3 states has the most support and resources for high school homeschoolers? Co-ops, activities, etc.

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NJ and DE have more HS friendly laws than PA. PA is known to be one of the most restrictive states. In reality, it is a lot of hoop jumping and looks worse on paper than it is in reality, so I wouldn't necessarily let it be an absolute deal breaker. Some parts of NJ have high taxes, which is something to keep in mind if purchasing a home. Just make sure you are looking at the taxes. I've heard DE has some big support groups, but that isn't the state I live in, so I don't know much. I am sure someone who knows will contribute more valuable info.

 

Would you be trying to stay near the townhouse, or would you be relocating your mom into your home?

 

edited to add: sorry, I thought you were also considering New Jersey. I don't know as much about MD. I have two brothers on the Eastern Shore, but they don't HS. Is Kent county too far? One brother lives there and it seems rather affordable. Off the top of my head I don't know how far that would be from your mom's place.

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I'm in MD and don't think the laws (or hoops) are restrictive. You do two portfolio reviews a year, showing that you're teaching (broadly) the same subject areas as public school at the same level. Basically, you demonstrate you have a plan and are following it.

 

Standardized testing is optional.

 

I'm on the eastern shore, where the cost of living is relatively low. The jobs over here are... Well, it depends on what you do, really, but Baltimore, DC, Philly and surrounding areas are commutable and have a much wider range of professional opportunities.

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I'm looking into the possibility of moving to that area. My Mom needs our help. We want to stay in MI, but my sister will fight me in getting guardianship of my Mom if we don't move down there, so I am at least looking into it, though right now dh is unwilling to move & I am reluctant. But I really want to care for Mom at home, if possible.

 

My Mom has dementia and lives in Landenber PA, just a few minutes north of Newark, DE. She rents a townhouse and It's very expensive. Where in the tri-state area is a nice place for families to live but where the housing prices are really low? Southern Chester County is very nice, but too expensive for us, especially since we are starting over after suffering through unemployment. We would be looking to rent a 3 or 4 bedroom home or townhouse with a basement.

 

What is the job situation there? Is it easy to find a job? How are the salaries. My sister has been unable to find a decent paying Medical Assistant job, but I don't know if that is typical. My husband would be looking for a hospice chaplain position.

 

And which state has the most relaxed homeschool laws? Which of the 3 states has the most support and resources for high school homeschoolers? Co-ops, activities, etc.

 

Honestly, the area you're talking about is not likely to have any housing that is "really low." The closer the proximity to I-95, the less likely you can find a low-cost place to live. The area near the PA/MD border that is rural (Taneytown and surrounding area) is lower cost; I perceive it to be lower on the PA side than in MD, but I haven't looked into it in many years. The Eastern Shore of MD is lower cost in the rural areas, but there is not a lot of work opportunity. (I don't think.)

 

I think it's less expensive to live in DE or PA than MD. PA homeschooling laws make me hyperventilate. MD is probably the most relaxed in this region. Homeschooling in MD is not distressing. You can use the county Board of Ed or you can come under an umbrella. The county - I've had bad experiences, but many use it with no issues. I've mostly been under an umbrella, which makes it simple.

 

MD has pretty good job prospects, but again, this is going to be a trade-off in relation to housing prices. Plenty of work in the areas where housing is sky-high, not as much where housing is affordable. One hour commutes are common. Two hour commutes are not unheard-of. This is the way people can get around this housing/working pay issue.

 

I don't know how MD compares to the other states in terms of opportunities for hsers, but there are plenty of co-ops and groups here; more than I can hope to take advantage of. You would have no problem at all finding a co-op. Your only trouble would be choosing which one suits you best.

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Philadelphia has a huge healthcare industry. Some of the hospitals have bought others, so I'm no longer up to date on the names, but your hubby should look at CHOP, HUP, Jefferson, Graduate, Pennsylvania, and others in Philly, as well as the many suburban facilities. Delaware has DuPont, Christiana, and a number of smaller hospitals.

 

DE has the easiest homeschooling laws. PA and MD are more complex, but not insurmountable. There is a thriving community of unschoolers throughout the region, so if they can do it so can you! For high school, I'd look at the lower end of DE, and PA - don't know about MD. DE also has a *huge* selection of private high schools and popular magnet public high schools, and many homeschoolers transition to those schools - if that is a possibility, look in the Wilmington area.

 

The askPauline web site is a good starting place to find local homeschooling groups. Delco and Chesco in PA have thriving Yahoo groups, as does Philly.

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It's so much easier to homeschool in PA than everyone thinks; I would not let that stop me at all, if otherwise PA was the better choice. DE is probably the easiest, especially since (at least a few years ago) they allow umbrella support groups to function as private schools, and those are allowed to set their own rules. (PA has some other good laws, though -- if you care about guns, midwifery, or raw milk, you might want PA.)

 

Unfortunately, that area is just expensive, period. There are a lot of good private schools in the northern DE/Philly area, but it's also crowded and expensive. If you don't need to be *right* near Philly or Newark, you might look into parts of Montgomery County, PA (Pottstown area), maybe even Berks County. You might also go south a bit from Newark, into the center of DE, Kent County, and maybe that would be cheaper. As Quill said, you might look toward the Taneytown area, Carroll County, MD; yes, it's a bit cheaper over the line into Adams or York County, PA. We live in that area and love it, but also, we have relatives who live near Newark, and there's just not a good route to their house; it takes a good three hours to get there. So the Taneytown area might be a bit too far for your liking (two hours from Newark?).

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I live in Carroll County, MD and it can be an affordable area to live. You do end up with a bit more rural community, but I'm just a half hour-ish from Baltimore or Frederick and it really isn't too far to go to DC, though I've yet to get comfortable making the trip now when I used to be able to just hop on a bus or train a short walk from my house. I just prefer staying closer to home, I suppose. :)

 

Finding work can be a little more interesting though, my partner commutes about an hour most days, more or less depending on traffic and that isn't uncommon for many people. There is a good bit more to Carroll County than Taneytown since that is in the North Eastern side of the county and about 30-35 minutes from where I live (I'm in the Southern part). I personally find connecting with high school aged homeschoolers a bit more challenging than finding younger students but I'm sure more are out there. My oldest when into public school for high school because of the lack of peer group but that can also depend on the possible community as well - there were more conservative groups around that we didn't pursue.

 

I've been here for 5 years and really like it and have found a great group of other families that I click well with too. We moved here because it was the only affordable option for buying a house with a little bit of land attached. Best of luck.

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Southern Chester County is very nice, but too expensive for us, especially since we are starting over after suffering through unemployment. We would be looking to rent a 3 or 4 bedroom home or townhouse with a basement.

 

Look over the border of Chester County into Cecil county MD and check out the housing prices there. I'm not quite sure how they differ from Chester.

 

Regarding jobs there are some but most people work either in Newark/Wilmington or at Aberdeen Proving Ground or down toward Baltimore. If you live in Cecil you spend most of your days in DE, PA or Harford/Balto. county.

 

there are many homeschool resources in the area -- both harford and cecil community college in the past offer homeschool classes and allow teens to take classes as long as they pass the necessary entrance tests.

 

 

 

 

 

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