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Yeah, “gay beach” would be like Fire Island Pines. Asbury Park is not like that. I would say Asbury is plenty family friendly. They have an arcade, playgrounds, etc. The absence of amusement parks and carnival games does not mean somewhere is not family friendly. And I know we like to play this stuff up, but NYC/North Jersey and Philadelphia/South Jersey are far from polar opposites as well. It should not be lost on anyone that tons of people who grew up in one area now live in the other.
Asbury has that little kids water park at the boardwalk
Asbury has a gay community, but it's not a "gay beach". What the hell is a gay beach anyway? LOL.
And last time I was there--and I'm not gay, either--I saw plenty of families with kids.
Two of my former coworkers, a married, straight couple with an adult daughter in college and a son with a wife and their grandkids who visit regularly, just renovated the house they'd rented out while working overseas and are living there now.
I do personally know some gay people in Asbury Park, and I know them because their church and mine have done projects and gone to the same convocations. They are generally older, retired people living mundane lives. Oooo, scary.
I know you think you're being witty on some level, but please. People come here looking for actual, valid, information, and these out-there posts of yours are often very misleading. I know you can't be that stupid.
Asbury Parks gentrification was 100% due to the gay-borhood moving in.
Not sure if you looked at who is on the beach but seeing gays is just as common, if not more common that the straights. As stated in this article, right by Convention Hall on the beach is the big gay hangout where all socialization occurs on the beach.
Not sure if you looked at who is on the beach but seeing gays is just as common, if not more common that the straights. As stated in this article, right by Convention Hall on the beach is the big gay hangout where all socialization occurs on the beach.
To say 100% is nothing but a lie. Yes there is a population of Gays in the Asbury community but to claim that is all it is or that it's a "gay beach" is blatantly false. It's a great diversified community.
To say 100% is nothing but a lie. Yes there is a population of Gays in the Asbury community but to claim that is all it is or that it's a "gay beach" is blatantly false. It's a great diversified community.
If the gays didn't move into the neighborhood there would have no gentrification and it literally would be worse than Camden, NJ as far as crime. The gays spurred the gentrification and investors followed.
We can say its a diversified community with all walks of life, with an overwhelming population of beachgoers that are gay. There nothing wrong with that, alot of the nightlife is open to gays, along with the Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, rock lovers, a pull of club goers who come down to Belmar. However when it comes to going and catching some rays, as someone with a beach house in Belmar for 7 years, its common knowledge what the beach is "unofficially", well at least a chunk of it..
Last edited by DannyHobkins; 06-20-2022 at 06:55 PM..
Regardless of who 'gentrified' Asbury Park, it is most certainly not a majority gay beach town, not that it matters either way re: family friendliness. It's basically a scaled back Jersey City with an ocean beach.
Provincetown, for example, is a majority gay beach town. It is obvious everywhere you go. We took our kids there for a day and they enjoyed it, btw. But comparing that with Asbury and it's not remotely comparable.
When it comes to NJ, the most affordable option is actually Atlantic City on weekdays. There are a few hotels one block off the boardwalk that are actually very decent. (except stay away from Rodeway and Econo Lodge). You can get WEEKDAY rates during the summer down there from $75 - $100/night via Hotels.com. I personally like El Dorado or Clarion. (Clarion has its own pool too). Also, the beach is FREE in AC and tons of entertainment and things to do.
Otherwise, it would be probably cheaper to go to Florida than stay at any other Jersey Shore destination over the summer.
Not sure if you looked at who is on the beach but seeing gays is just as common, if not more common that the straights. As stated in this article, right by Convention Hall on the beach is the big gay hangout where all socialization occurs on the beach.
So what? It's already been established that there is a significant gay population in Asbury Park, but it's still a family-friendly place to go to the beach in North Jersey. One does not preclude the other.
And what do you mean "seeing gays"? You can tell by looking at people on the beach if they are gay or not? And even if you can, again, so what?
Yes, there's something to the truth that "Gay Asbury", which was actually a website, kicked off a lot of the gentrification. That's why those friends of mine who live there now bought that old property with Section 8 tenants back in the 1990s. That's a long-standing belief with some truth to it--that where a gay population becomes concentrated, real estate prices often go up. There was even an episode done on Modern Family about it when the gay couple buys a place and all the neighbors start showing up with cookies and pies because they are so happy to have them move in and raise the property values.
But I am TELLING you, because I don't live far from Asbury Park, that families do go there.
At any rate, this has no bearing on the thread topic. The OP is a single woman without children who doesn't care if there are gay people or not in the beach town where she celebrates her birthday with her boyfriend, so Asbury Park may be a good choice for her.
So what? It's already been established that there is a significant gay population in Asbury Park, but it's still a family-friendly place to go to the beach in North Jersey. One does not preclude the other.
And what do you mean "seeing gays"? You can tell by looking at people on the beach if they are gay or not? And even if you can, again, so what?
Yes, there's something to the truth that "Gay Asbury", which was actually a website, kicked off a lot of the gentrification. That's why those friends of mine who live there now bought that old property with Section 8 tenants back in the 1990s. That's a long-standing belief with some truth to it--that where a gay population becomes concentrated, real estate prices often go up. There was even an episode done on Modern Family about it when the gay couple buys a place and all the neighbors start showing up with cookies and pies because they are so happy to have them move in and raise the property values.
But I am TELLING you, because I don't live far from Asbury Park, that families do go there.
At any rate, this has no bearing on the thread topic. The OP is a single woman without children who doesn't care if there are gay people or not in the beach town where she celebrates her birthday with her boyfriend, so Asbury Park may be a good choice for her.
To answer your first point, yes its blatantly gay, and if you want, I can describe more in detail how its very transparent. Its also not a few people pulling up beach chairs and laying down towels who are gay, its a destination and social hangout on the beach for the gay community. Sure anyone can go to the beach there and enjoy the time, but it is what it is. I've actually been to the beach bar there during the day, and people watched on the beach, its pretty fun.
On the south end of the beach, its just more the regular beach crowd going down and keeping to themselves. As for beachgoers/ day trippers I'm sure the people who don't live in Asbury are more likely to go to Bradley Beach anyway, as its just easier to get in and out.
I'm not sure how family friendly came up, but Asbury Park is not catering to the demographic of children and families. Sure there are few things for them to do like a small splash place, have some food and of course they can walk the boardwalk, however this Asbury is mainly setup for adults only with more of an emphasis of finer dining, and bars. Family friendly boardwalks would be Point Pleasant or Ocean City, and if its for a family or kids that's where they should go.
To answer your first point, yes its blatantly gay, and if you want, I can describe more in detail how its very transparent. Its also not a few people pulling up beach chairs and laying down towels who are gay, its a destination and social hangout on the beach for the gay community. Sure anyone can go to the beach there and enjoy the time, but it is what it is. I've actually been to the beach bar there during the day, and people watched on the beach, its pretty fun.
On the south end of the beach, its just more the regular beach crowd going down and keeping to themselves. As for beachgoers/ day trippers I'm sure the people who don't live in Asbury are more likely to go to Bradley Beach anyway, as its just easier to get in and out.
I'm not sure how family friendly came up, but Asbury Park is not catering to the demographic of children and families. Sure there are few things for them to do like a small splash place, have some food and of course they can walk the boardwalk, however this Asbury is mainly setup for adults only with more of an emphasis of finer dining, and bars. Family friendly boardwalks would be Point Pleasant or Ocean City, and if its for a family or kids that's where they should go.
Yeah, the conversation veered off from the OP and her bf, so family-friendly wasn't an issue to begin with, but listen, you can keep the stupid games and trashy crap at Point Pleasant, give me the Silverball Museum at Asbury Park any time, and there are always kids and families in there!
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