moving to Keansburg (Elizabeth, Toms River, Union: leasing, house, luxury)

[Aimsely1]

sad it before and I will say it again. Glad I moved out. And the kids that did the damage lived in Keansburg. taxes and houses are cheaper, somewhat. but i will never regret moving. i live in another small NJ town and hello, so much better. And we have issues like flooding (hurricane floyd hurt us here) but I will take that over keansburg after the issues I had there.

[Summer16]

Originally Posted by kort677

I'm glad you like your town so much but you have posted many flasehoods, you're blindly ignoring many problems.
Keansburg has been the armpit of northern monmouth for decades, parts of it are run down and dangerous. Sure many places have drug problems but keansburg has more than it's share. Keansburg is a place for people without a a lot of money to get a start in home ownership, if they like you are willing to ignore very serious quality of life issues.
good luck, and enjoy keansburg, to those considering the town, visit with your eyes open, for the same money that you'd spend in the 'burg you can find a place in nearby towns minus the issues.

I completely agree with this.

Good luck, Dion in your town, and it is good that your happy.

I definitely wouldn't want to live there. It is run-down, unattractive (especially for a town on the water), there are many problems, and even the boardwalk which I've enjoyed since childhood has been having issues.

[Dion1usa]

Geesh, Maybe before I moved to Keansburg, maybe it was a bad town, I have no idea. I moved here a year and half ago, and compared to the other towns around here I think its much better. Laurence Harbor of Old Bridge is a dump... I looked at houses there it was cramped, traffic congestion, nothing to do or go. Keyport is a nice town... and let me stress in some areas!!! I wouldnt want to be hanging out in some parts of Keyport, Aberdeen, Cliffwood Beach, Union Beach, or parts of Middletown at nite!!! Talk about dangerous or run down... those towns definitely have there share as well! If you want to pretend that those towns are all rosy... you gotta be kidding me. My best friend just moved to Keansburg with his daughter, and she loves it. She got a jump at the water park and is so happy to move out of the dump of Laurence Harbor. I shopped for houses in Middletown along the water... some major shacks in part of that town that were flooded all the time. Union Beach has a nice beach but theres nothing to do in Union Beach and I definitely think Keansburg is more attractive than Union Beach... I call it bungalow city there... and the people arent any high class there! Drive thru Union Beach with your eyes open! Keyport has no beach and has some nice parts and some really run down parts. Parts of Aberdeen are dangerous during the day. Keyport has some bad bars... I wouldnt be found in!

[Dion1usa]

I think Keansburg has a lot more positives than towns like Aberdeen, Laurence Harbor, Cliffwood Beach, Keyport, Union Beach... and even parts of Middletown. I moved to Keansburg a year and half ago... and I think the postives are great. The water front is having luxury condo's being built on both sides of the boardwalk. Fine dining and retail shopping are coming in. Both developments have prices starting about a half milliion for a condo! There is so much potential in the town because the town has so much to offer! I heard there also talking about starting up a ferry again in Keansburg. Higher class people and professionals are now starting to move into Keansburg. Perhaps it was run down at one time... and it still has its share... but all these other bayshore towns definitely have there share of God-ugly sights as well. I love it here in Keansburg, I can ride my bike through the trails, to the beach, heck I can even walk to a bakery, restaurants, post office, etc. And so much new construction and developments have been approved to start in this town. I think the beach and amusement park gives the town bragging rights that these other run-down bayshore towns do not have. Again I shopped for houses from Laurence Harbor, Aberdeen, Cliffwood beach, Keyport, Union Beach and Middletown all near the water... And Keansburg definitely has more positives than those towns! Thank God I didnt move to those towns. Also the people in Keansburg are very friendly and feel safe, and my best friends daughter feels safe. Take a drive-thru of the other bayshore towns with your eyes open at nite and during the day and Keansburg is definitely better! If your anti-kids, don't move to Keansburg.

[kort677]

Originally Posted by Dion1usa

Geesh, Maybe before I moved to Keansburg, maybe it was a bad town, I have no idea. I moved here a year and half ago, and compared to the other towns around here I think its much better. Laurence Harbor of Old Bridge is a dump... I looked at houses there it was cramped, traffic congestion, nothing to do or go. Keyport is a nice town... and let me stress in some areas!!! I wouldnt want to be hanging out in some parts of Keyport, Aberdeen, Cliffwood Beach, Union Beach, or parts of Middletown at nite!!! Talk about dangerous or run down... those towns definitely have there share as well! If you want to pretend that those towns are all rosy... you gotta be kidding me. My best friend just moved to Keansburg with his daughter, and she loves it. She got a jump at the water park and is so happy to move out of the dump of Laurence Harbor. I shopped for houses in Middletown along the water... some major shacks in part of that town that were flooded all the time. Union Beach has a nice beach but theres nothing to do in Union Beach and I definitely think Keansburg is more attractive than Union Beach... I call it bungalow city there... and the people arent any high class there! Drive thru Union Beach with your eyes open! Keyport has no beach and has some nice parts and some really run down parts. Parts of Aberdeen are dangerous during the day. Keyport has some bad bars... I wouldnt be found in!

please tell me where in middletown you find it unsafe, this I gotta hear, and always flooded? if true how do people live there? places near the water will occasionally flood, that is the dirty little secret of being close to the water.

the only sketchy part of middeltown is the area adjacent to the 'burg, is was formerly known as E. keansburg and it's proximity to the 'burg that that brings the area down.

Union Beach is a lower middle class community, but it shares non of the problems that the 'burg has, it may not be upscale or pretty but if that is what you can afford I'd take union beach over the 'burg anytime.
I agree that laurence harbor can be dumpy but again it has none of the problems that keansburg has, laurence harbor will never be confused with shangri la but over all it's not a bad place for low wage earners to live.

I agree there are a few sketchy places in the cliffwood section of aberdeen, and I wouldn't recommend it as a place to live either, but it's nowhere near as bad as the 'burg.

Keyport has bad bars? oh my! just don't go in those places!
Keyport has its undesirable parts too, but again it doesn't even come close to being as bad as the 'burg.

you can try to dress up a pig by putting ribbons and lipstick on it but in the end it's still a pig

[Summer16]

Again, that's wonderful you love your town. Maybe you just have different expectations.

Because we are so close we will frequent the boardwalk, as I did since childhood, it definitely is getting worse. Several local people (who have been there for years) definitely noticed the decline. A lot of screaming and cursing and drunkenness on the baby section of the boardwalk, the town just not being taken care of, and so on.

But obviously YMMV on this subject. Someone asked about this town, and I cannot recommend it for a family. But that's why they are asking for opinions. They didn't ask about the other towns you listed, so that's why no one addressed them. Also, I'd still put Keansburg towards the bottom of the heap.

[Dion1usa]

Drive through Union Beach on Route 36, everything is boarded up... theres nothing in Union Beach, just bungalow city. North Middletown is horrible, I looked at houses there... and Keansburg had bigger houses, lower taxes and more to offer. I live on a wide street, a double wide driveway... and I am not cramped... parts of middletown felt too tight and cramped... and then the nice houses I did see along the water were closed off whenever there were heavy rains and flooded. Middletown definitely has nice areas though... but just like any of the bayshore towns... you have your good parts and your bad parts! I see more Africans and hispanics in Union Beach, Keyport, part of middletown, Aberdeen, Laurence Harbor than Keansburg! I'm laughing. With so many Africans, Hispanics and low class whites in Union Beach, Aberdeen and Keyport I would be scared because of the drugs and crime, they need a bigger police force! I would be scared to live in those towns! Some people have funny postings on here. Keansburg is definitely the most upper class ghetto of the Bayshore area... if you wanna call it that.

[kort677]

Originally Posted by Dion1usa

Drive through Union Beach on Route 36, everything is boarded up... theres nothing in Union Beach, just bungalow city. North Middletown is horrible,

north middletown is the upscale name they chose to replace east keansburg
the people who live there wanted the stigma of being associated with the 'burg removed, hence the birth of N Middletown.
The balance of your messages just shows that you're in severe denial, I've never seen upper class and keansburg mentioned in the same sentence, that's priceless.
I am glad that you're happy in the 'burg, you're one of the few who are.

[christina0001]

I think the issue with Keansburg is that compared to the rest of super-posh Monmouth County, crime is somewhat higher and the town isn't as pretty (although Eatontown and Long Branch have similar crime rates as Keansburg as per city-data.com, and Asbury Park is the highest of all). But compared to New Jersey in general, and compared to the rest of the world, Keansburg is fine. Thousands of people live in Camden, Trenton, Patterson, Newark, Jersey City...these towns truly do have high crime rates. Keansburg doesn't even come close to having the level of crime that these other towns do.

[Dion1usa]

I moved here a year and half ago... so I dont know everything about Middletown. But when I was looking for a house, about 5 houses In Middletown were un-accessible because of flooding. Personally I didnt like North Middletown... too cramped to me, thats your opinion! I'll agree that Middletown has some very nice areas though... but North Middletown I didnt like. I think North Middletown is similar to Keansburg, if you call Keansburg unsafe I wouldnt call North Middletown any safer... to me there very similar, I wont put it down, I just think Keansburg had more postives! But I did consider it there... that I did... and I wouldnt have anything against living in North Middletown.

I'll agree to your Middletown statements, but Union Beach oh my I drove through there... and its a white trashville, bungalow city. Sorry but your wrong, Keansburg is definitely better than Union Beach. Keansburg is definitely more upscale than Union Beach... I would be embarassed to say I'm from Union Beach.

Laurence Harbor is a dump... Keansburg standard of living is so much higher than Rat Harbor, should we call it! My friend and his daughter lived there, a shack ... some were hanging off cliffs... I wouldnt live there if you bought me a house there.

Aberdeen... has definitely its sketchy places... a large growing African community... and low white trash... I wouldnt want my kids walking those streets alone at nite! Keansburg is definitely better than Aberdeen!

Keyport has some nice areas as they are starting to rebuild the place. But Keyport has its share of bad bars and there is no beach there. Its a nice town in some parts... I'll give you that credit.

Middletown and Keyport have there nice share of positives! but Keansburg had more of what I was looking for. I wouldnt dare move to the other bayshore towns... unless you want to wear sunglasses and pretend they are better than Keansburg. Clean the paint on the car... and Keansburg is a shiny diamond in the rough... some of those other towns I mentioned are rust buckets...with nothing to offer!