Moving to the shore. (Toms River, Montclair: section 8, motels, school district)

[holybaconbitsbatman]

I would like to know what it's like to live in or around Seaside Heights?
Very simple.
I went and swallowed my pride and watched Jersey Shore to get an idea but that obviously is glorified and not everyone can possibly get away with what they do.

So for your average early-mid 20s guy, a decent place to be?
I know it's a beach so spare me the "well there's an ocean" comments.

What else is there?

[CaptainNJ]

Originally Posted by holybaconbitsbatman

I went and swallowed my pride and watched Jersey Shore to get an idea but that obviously is glorified and not everyone can possibly get away with what they do.

what do they get away with? the show is normal enough for the summer time there for those types of people.

[Just1Lion]

the boardwalk used to get fairly ghetto in the off season- i dont really go to the jersey shore anymore. but the offseason was always kind of ghost town like in the seaside area. except the boardwalk. which was ghetto.

[MontclairNative]

Packed in summer. Deserted in winter.

[exit82]

Originally Posted by MontclairNative

Packed in summer. Deserted in winter.

yup

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by MontclairNative

Packed in summer. Deserted in winter.

I went to LBI back in February of 09' and it was a ghost town....a far cry form the congested summers...it was kinda creepy too...

[Ellwood]

Most of the winter residents at the shore are retired. Not sure that the area would be a good choice for a younger person. Move someplace else and visit the shore in the summer.

[TheGambler]

Originally Posted by holybaconbitsbatman

I would like to know what it's like to live in or around Seaside Heights?
Very simple.
I went and swallowed my pride and watched Jersey Shore to get an idea but that obviously is glorified and not everyone can possibly get away with what they do.

So for your average early-mid 20s guy, a decent place to be?
I know it's a beach so spare me the "well there's an ocean" comments.

What else is there?

Well, first off, you don't want to live in Seaside Heights. The pack the motels full of Section 8 welfare people all winter long. But it's still fun on weekends. Most of the clubs are open, and most of them are pretty packed actually.

The area is certainly not "deserted." Right next to Seaside Heights across the bridge is Toms River, a town 90,000 year round residents. By no means is the area deserted. Next to Toms River is Brick Township, a town of 85,000 year round residents. Again, that's not what I'd call deserted. But that's just me.

[MontclairNative]

Across the bridge is a different story altogether, agreed. Also not saying either is bad. Love being able to a get a booth seat at Betty and Nick's after fishing in Nov.

[TheGambler]

Originally Posted by Ellwood

Most of the winter residents at the shore are retired. Not sure that the area would be a good choice for a younger person. Move someplace else and visit the shore in the summer.

That's a pretty ignorant thing to say. I'm in my 20s and wouldn't want to live anywhere else in NJ. The bars and clubs are crowded all winter long around here. There's an amazing local music scene with tons of great bands playing at a variety of local spots. There are arts festivals, music festivals, all kinds of stuff going on. Of course, people surf and fish all year as well - all you need is a wet suit. I actually find NNJ to be a pretty boring area (whether summer or winter) - nothing to do in your own area, have to go to NYC in the winter or come here in the summer for anything fun. But at the end of the day, it's a lifestyle choice. If someone likes it better up there, by all means...

As for old people... Toms River is the 4th largest school district in the entire state, neighboring Brick isn't far behind - either those "retired" people have a lot of K-12 age children or... you get it.