Difference between Essex and Bergen (best, counties, full)

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by openheads

Your continual North Jersey hate is hilarious. Very telling.

You know what? I've been reading his name as "Wholesale Butcheries" up 'til now.

[Mike J1968]

I would agree that northern Monmouth is a mess with the influence from Brooklyn. However, southern Monmouth has different demographics and does not suffer from this.

[Whoelsebutcharles]

Originally Posted by Mike J1968

I would agree that northern Monmouth is a mess with the influence from Brooklyn. However, southern Monmouth has different demographics and does not suffer from this.

You do have a point. That southwestern "limb" - Millstone/Roosevelt, Allentown/Upper Freehold - and parts of Howell have not really gotten that much of it. Those towns still have some quiet picturesque areas - esp Manasquan Reservoir in Howell - but unless things change those towns will be next to get built out with skyrocketing prices and taxes. I was shocked myself after hearing about Wall getting so expensive now. Seems like the real estate market and economic planning around there is so obsessively concentrated on the high end because Monmouth is always touting itself as being so superior to any place else in the state.

I always thought Wall had more in common with the other towns mentioned here. Howell IMO has more in common with the towns in Ocean County (Brick, Toms River etc but is a better town than Jackson hands down). If I had to live in Monmouth County again, Howell would definitely be the town I'd choose.

[Mike J1968]

Wall still has some wonderful farms and access to Allaire State Park at the Howell border. However, today it is something of a higher end Manalapan with massive homes and waterfront estates scattered throughout its borders. The northern section of the town is still realistic for the lack of a better term.

I deal with both of these towns on a daily basis (Wall-Work, Manalapan-Home). I hope to escape Manalapan unscathed in the next year or so. It was not my best move.

[Whoelsebutcharles]

Originally Posted by Mike J1968

Wall still has some wonderful farms and access to Allaire State Park at the Howell border. However, today it is something of a higher end Manalapan with massive homes and waterfront estates scattered throughout its borders. The northern section of the town is still realistic for the lack of a better term.

I deal with both of these towns on a daily basis (Wall-Work, Manalapan-Home). I hope to escape Manalapan unscathed in the next year or so. It was not my best move.

LMAO!!! I grew up in Mpan! Hate it! So glad I got out of that place last year.

The only part of Wall I'm that familiar with is the western end by the Collingwood Circle around 33, 34 and CR 547. My dad used to drive for Olympic Limousine on that circle - most dangerous intersection in the state. I don't know about the northern part of Wall, but that area borders Neptune. Maybe that's the reason its prices haven't gone up because it's too close to some bad areas.

I really like Brick. And not just cos it was ranked safest town in America a few years ago. I like the quaintness of it and the whole town has a very "beachy" vibe to it.

[Mike J1968]

Originally Posted by Whoelsebutcharles

LMAO!!! I grew up in Mpan! Hate it! So glad I got out of that place last year.

The only part of Wall I'm that familiar with is the western end by the Collingwood Circle around 33, 34 and CR 547. My dad used to drive for Olympic Limousine on that circle - most dangerous intersection in the state. I don't know about the northern part of Wall, but that area borders Neptune. Maybe that's the reason its prices haven't gone up because it's too close to some bad areas.

I really like Brick. And not just cos it was ranked safest town in America a few years ago. I like the quaintness of it and the whole town has a very "beachy" vibe to it.

Wow. I drive through the circle everyday. My commute takes me from 33 in Manalapan to Route 34 in Wall, not far from the airport. The state cleaned up the circle about a year ago, but few drivers have a clue as to how to navigate it.

I believe the northern part of Wall borders Tinton Falls, Neptune and Belmar. I am not sure how bad those areas are. Maybe I'll take the long way home and explore it a little bit.

I am not too familiar with Brick, but really like Point Pleasant which Brick borders. We are looking to make the move to southern Monmouth or northern Ocean in the next year.

I agree with you on Manalapan. We wanted a home close to my in-laws in Metuchen and fairly close to my office in Wall so we thought it would be a good fit. It's not.

[Whoelsebutcharles]

Originally Posted by Mike J1968

Wow. I drive through the circle everyday. My commute takes me from 33 in Manalapan to Route 34 in Wall, not far from the airport. The state cleaned up the circle about a year ago, but few drivers have a clue as to how to navigate it.

I believe the northern part of Wall borders Tinton Falls, Neptune and Belmar. I am not sure how bad those areas are. Maybe I'll take the long way home and explore it a little bit.

I am not too familiar with Brick, but really like Point Pleasant which Brick borders. We are looking to make the move to southern Monmouth or northern Ocean in the next year.

I agree with you on Manalapan. We wanted a home close to my in-laws in Metuchen and fairly close to my office in Wall so we thought it would be a good fit. It's not.

I knew this girl from Wall who said they did recent construction on that circle and "made it even worse" as she said. Neptune is a bad area. Belmar and Tinton Falls aren't bad to my knowledge. I never heard about any Neptune "spillover" chaos in Wall, or any other neighboring town though.

Point Pleasant of course is near the beach, although that entire boardwalk is owned by Jenkinson's now. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing. My kid sister interned at that aquarium this past summer and she loved it. Point Boro I know little about. Mantoloking is a real expensive area, I think the highest income in the state at one time.

Brick is quite large, about 80K people. It borders Howell, Wall and Pt. Pleasant. Know people from there. You're near the Parkway and the beach, and you have the Rt 70 corridor although most of the shopping centers are down Brick Blvd off 70. Problem is the land around there is very porous and marshy so it is very limited to where they can build, including roadways. For that reason there are fewer roads in Brick and the roads there that do exist get jam packed during rush hour (think Metuchen traffic), although IMO not as bad as the obsolete infrastructure of the many Monmouth County towns including Manalapan. There are two high schools. I would look for houses zoned to Brick Memorial HS rather than Brick Twp HS, since Memorial is supposed to be the better of the two. Most of my friends from there went to Brick Twp though and did just fine. It seems more than obvious to me that Brick is a town you really cannot go wrong with since it was ranked safest in America not too long ago.

I lived in Manalapan 1994-2009 and when we first moved there it was boonies, then it got all built out and expensive and from middle school on I liked it less and less. The high school was as plastic as it gets. And if you look at NJ monthly best high schools it is actually ranked much lower than other high schools in areas of similar affluence. East Brunswick, Highland Park, Metuchen, both HS's in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield Memorial, Scotch Plains-Fanwood etc all ranked MUCH higher than anything in the Freehold Regional HS district. Guess all the hard drugs being dealt there have something to do with its seemingly low performance for its type of demographics.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by Mike J1968

I would agree that northern Monmouth is a mess with the influence from Brooklyn.

When I was growing up in NJ, my father would threaten us with "I'm gonna send you to live in Brooklyn if you don't __________." And nothing could be worse than having to live in Brooklyn, right? So up until a certain age, it was a pretty effective manipulation technique.

However, I thought the whole idea of "that influence" had died down since a generation ago. I guess not.

[angerinthenation]

Bergen County is where all the real rich people are at. That's if you got cash that last long. Otherwise, you're better off in Essex.

[nykstevenyg]

Originally Posted by angerinthenation

Bergen County is where all the real rich people are at. That's if you got cash that last long. Otherwise, you're better off in Essex.

Not True! Much of Essex is full of old money.