relocating to barnegat, NJ (from Long Island) help? (Toms River, Ocean Acres: where to stay, for sale)

[tcampbell]

This is so funny that you moved from the Island as well....I have family in Huntington and they too were like..."what..you are moving, where?" So...it must be a LI thing! LOL Do you have kids in the Manalapan elementary school? My sister and her family moved to Manalapan two years ago from Island park, NY and they love it! I wish you the best there.
Taxes are defintiley redicu;ous here in LOng Island...but at least in NJ they give more for what you are going to pay for. Thank you so much for responding..I am an anxious mover, but I am getting more excited as we get closer to selling...(that's another story)..Have a great weekend.

[tcampbell]

Originally Posted by DeeCee1967

We moved to Barnegat in 2007 (from Union County) and are very happy here. We bought new construction in a new development, and I think we really lucked out as far as the neighbors and neighborhood. The school system is one of the reasons we moved down here (our kids are almost 4). My kids are in pre-school and they're thriving and have a nice little group of friends. We're 15 minutes from the beaches in LBI. I can't even tell you how many days we spent on the beach in October with no one else around. There are quite a few adult communities, but it's nothing to be concerned about. Regarding Lexington Blvd, it probably is the worst street in Barnegat, but it's in the middle of a bulls eye of streets (if that makes sense) and you can't get to it unless you're purposefully looking for it. Downside is that there are no malls close by. Ocean County Mall is up in Toms River and Hamilton Mall is down in Mays Landing. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

My husnband and I are looking into freedom Hills sites with KHOV. Financially it appears that this would work better for us and since my son is three years old, the schools appear to be great and the taxes are much more reasonable than here on the island. You are not getting much more for your taxes here, that's for sure. It's great to hear that you have four year olds beginning school there and that they are happy. That definitley makes me feel beter. Not knowing anyone in the area before I moved was difficult, so thanks for the feedabck. If there is anywhere else in particular you think I should take a look in Barnegat, please drop me a line. Also..this may sound strange, but are there a few Catholic or Christian churches around? Thanks you again!

[DeeCee1967]

tcampbell - Check your DM.

[kelsie]

t: We moved to Barnegat in 1973 from No. NJ. Raised our kids there in a (at that time) very rural area. It was wonderful, we loved the life we all had in Barnegat. We now live in a rural area of NC that was like Barnegat was back in the 80's and love our new area and home. One thing to consider, Barnegat's taxes have always been higher than the surrounding area b/c they won't let rateables in, also Jersey Central Gas & Elec. is higher than Manahawkin's Atl. Elec. Have you checked Manahawkin? Manahawkin is the next town and considerably less expensive. After our kids left the house we moved to Manahawkin, you really get a better bang for the buck there now. Good luck, you will love your new area. I know we did and never looked back to No. Jersey. kelsie

[tahiti]

personally, I'd go to Manahawkin. Schools I believe are similar and taxes are much lower. Plus you're closer to the beach.

[forcedfx]

Oh, since you have kids make sure you get out and vote on school referendums. A lot of them get shot down due to the senior population voting against it. Not that I can blame them since they don't have any children to educate and taxes are already high. But I think fighting education in your town can only cause more crime. Educated citizens are productive citizens.

Manahawkin does have lower taxes but quite a bit more traffic during the summer. Trying to go anywhere on Rt 72 during the weekend is an exercise in futility. Barnegat is starting to follow suit. I remember being a child I could have stood in the middle of Rt 554 for a good long time. Now it is a constant flow of cars.

I think Barnegat will only continue to grow as people try to escape to the South.

[Underhill]

I lived in Waretown, just north of Barnegat for a year, then moved to Toms River. Barnegat has an EXCELLENT Catholic Church (St. Marys), right on Bay Avenue, just west of Rt 9. The pastor there (Father Ken) is VERY nice and the Church has a perpetual adoration chapel, right behind the Church. I was lucky to move to the other Ocean County parish with perpetual adoration (St Joseph's in Toms River).
There are a lot of stores being built in Lacey Twsp. They are building a big Walmart and just opened a Staples, Kohls and Home Depot.
I think you'll love South Jersey.
My wife is from Long Island (Farmingdale), and it is nice to be just a couple of hours away for family visits...

[monack]

Originally Posted by tcampbell

This is so funny that you moved from the Island as well....I have family in Huntington and they too were like..."what..you are moving, where?" So...it must be a LI thing! LOL Do you have kids in the Manalapan elementary school? My sister and her family moved to Manalapan two years ago from Island park, NY and they love it! I wish you the best there.
Taxes are defintiley redicu;ous here in LOng Island...but at least in NJ they give more for what you are going to pay for. Thank you so much for responding..I am an anxious mover, but I am getting more excited as we get closer to selling...(that's another story)..Have a great weekend.

We do not have kids yet - but that is definitely one of the reasons we moved here. Kids are in the cards, and we really wanted to settle in a good school district.

I owned a house for 5 1/2 years in Amityville, and moved to Huntington for 2 1/2 years as a renter when we sold. Glad we sold when we did, even if we do have to wait a bit longer to be homeowners again.

Best of luck with your move!

[eisme]

Hi. I moved to Barnegat from Brooklyn years ago, lived there for about 13 years and have since left. It is not as nice as it once was. I still have friends/family that live there and they said its really "ghetto" now. Most people I knew there left because of its downward spiral. Especially Settlers Landing/Deer Run where I used to live. They hear gunshots every once and a while they tell me. Their car got stolen out of their driveway as well. I went to Dunfee elementary, Brackman Middle school and graduated from Southern Regional (which was the highschool we went to at the time). Looking back on it now it was starting to decline in the mid 90's. I would personally never want to raise a kid and have them go to Barnegat schools with all the hoodlums there. Kids get in to trouble because there isn't anything around. That's a problem everywhere really, but trouble was really the only thing to do. Plus, you have to travel in order to go to a store that isn't a grocery store. You have to go to either Manahawkin or Toms River. Here is the thing...for people moving from northern NJ/NY it might appear nice for the sheer fact that it's like a completely different planet. Less noise. Less traffic. Trees ha. Don't be sucked in to that. Brick, NJ is one of the safest towns in the nation. The schools are apparently good. There are businesses/shopping. Close to the beach.

[Roselvr]

Do a forum search for Barnegat/Manahawkin to read about traffic and shopping.
You will have shore traffic from as early as March (depending on the weather) until at least September/October. I used to work on route 72 and had to leave earlier during these months, also depends on what day of the week it is.