relocating to barnegat, NJ (from Long Island) help? (taxes, vs.)

[DNJ]

I have lived in Barnegat for almost 20 years now. Last year we decided we needed a larger, new construction home and decided to stay in Barnegat. The stories of Barneghetto are exagerated. Dunfee school is one of the older elementary schools in Barnegat, not sure if your children would go there from Freedom Hills. You may also want to check out some of the newer homes that are going up elsewhere in town-Walters (in Ocean Acres) and Ryan Homes (especially in Carriage Estates-not sure if they are building in High Pointe anymore but I believe the model is for sale). I live in the area that is more behind Genuardi's (the part of town that is to the left as you head down Bay Ave off the Parkway). It is lovely. The homes are well maintained and my neighbors are mostly professionals-their children are not hoodlums! The area you are looking in is nearer to Settler's. Settler's is an older community that has its share of renters. Lexington is a small group of townhouses in the center of settlers. It is known for the riff raff that lives there. This is a very small area.

All in all Barnegat is a very family oriented community. It seems a lot of cops live here.

St. Mary's parish is amazing. The schools are much improved from what they were years ago.

I agree a good mall is needed in the area. But we have Target in Manahawkin now. It is only a few minutes away and Manahawkin keeps the traffic.

Good luck!

[GGina13]

Hi, I just joined this site and read your post. i know it was written a few months ago, but I was just wondering if you had made the move to Barnegat and if so if you like it? I am also from NY (Staten Island) and my husband is also a retired NYPD detective. Right now he has the freedom of working anywhere, but the question is, "are there alot of jobs available in that area?". I am looking into moving to Ocean Acres. It seems very nice, but am nervous about leaving NY. Just wanted some feed back from someone that seems to be in the same boat....thanks!

[canyouimagine]

Barnegat is a pretty decent town. I lived there for 10 years and I went to school in 3/4 of the schools in the town. All of the schools are excellent except one elementary school, Lillian M. Dunfee Elementary. It is located in the not so great area of the town. Settler's Landing is not the place to live in Barnegat. Pretty scummy. Not terrible, but not ideal. My advice is to try to find a home in Brookville Manor. Best area in the entire town by far. Very safe, many police officers live there. For a toddler, there is a great pre-school "Bright Start" right in the town. The town is great if you prefer a pleasant, residential "bedroom" town, but this makes for long commutes. Barnegat is 20 minutes away from any shopping at the moment, but the town is developing quite a bit. Lots of orange cones.

PS: Taxes on 2500-3000 sqft homes are over $8000.

Sorry, my ideas are somewhat scattered. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

[VeradoDan]

Originally Posted by 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.

Also, on the schools front, there is the All Saints Regional Catholic School in Manahawkin if you're interested. It's a brand new school (only a couple years old) so it might be a nice place for a kid given its young age and "newness."

[VeradoDan]

Originally Posted by GGina13

Hi, I just joined this site and read your post. i know it was written a few months ago, but I was just wondering if you had made the move to Barnegat and if so if you like it? I am also from NY (Staten Island) and my husband is also a retired NYPD detective. Right now he has the freedom of working anywhere, but the question is, "are there alot of jobs available in that area?". I am looking into moving to Ocean Acres. It seems very nice, but am nervous about leaving NY. Just wanted some feed back from someone that seems to be in the same boat....thanks!

Gina - Ocean Acres is a very interesting neighborhood. The homes are very nice, well-built and the streets are generally very safe. However, there is a lot of drug activity in that neighborhood. While it doesn't normally "spill out" onto the streets or into public view, it is a known haven for dealers and buyers and the local police make tons of arrests there each month. While many of the homes are owned by good, honest families, other are bought as shares by folks without a lot of money individually and that's where some of the trouble comes from.

I'm not trying to dissuade you from moving to Manahawkin/Stafford or the area, but just be careful about Ocean Acres. Like I said, it's not as if the place is some kind of hotbed of criminal activity. You're perfectly safe, in general. But this stuff IS going on and I'm not sure what the future will hold - whether it will get worse or better.

[jcjh20]

Originally Posted by VeradoDan

I'm not trying to dissuade you from moving to Manahawkin/Stafford or the area, but just be careful about Ocean Acres. Like I said, it's not as if the place is some kind of hotbed of criminal activity. You're perfectly safe, in general. But this stuff IS going on and I'm not sure what the future will hold - whether it will get worse or better.

I used to live there about 10 years ago.. I have heard about criminal activity and I still hear there's a lot of trash in certain parts of the neighborhood. I've never come across any major crime when I lived there, but you do have to pick your block and section wisely. There are some really nice sections that would be really nice to live in and have some beautiful houses (like towards the end of Nautilus Dr towards Barnegat), and there are certain blocks that look shady and probably have a lot of drug activity. Driving through it, you could pretty much tell where to stay away from, but overall it's still a pretty safe place to live compared to many other densely populated neighborhoods in NJ.

[GGina13]

Thank You for your response. I am very nervous and a bit confused by so many different comments about Barnegat. The drug issue is very concerning, especially being that I have young children. That is actually one of my reasons for getting off Staten Island, so it is really something to think about.

[Kyrbyboy]

I have seen the Freedom Hills Development, and it is party of Settler's Landing. The street itself is behind some trees and off to the side, but you have to enter Georgetown Blvd to access it (which isn't the nicest street). If you're looking at Barnegat, try Brookhill & Deer Run (I think that's what they're called) or Ocean Acres. Stay away from Settlers Landing or Pebble Beach. The surrounding towns call it "Barneghetto" and the residents are nicknamed "Barnegtuuters" but I think it may be exaggerated. Alos, they are getting a brand new exit on the Parkway.

Barnegat has a newer High School (opened around 2004) and the Middle school had a recent addition put onto it. Have you looked at Manahawkin or Tuckerton? Manahawkin has LOTS of traffic but the schools are newer and nicer, and has many private schools.

The Tuckerton/Little Egg Harbor area is much cheaper and has loads of new development and IMO, much nicer.. just stay away from Mystic Islands and you'll be fine. I know the Little Egg Harbor School District (K-6th Grade) is better than Barnegat (not sure about Stafford) but the Pinelands Regional Schools (7th-12th grade) aren't as good as Barnegat or Southern Regional Middle and High Schools) but it's smaller. Both Little Egg Harbor and Barnegat don't have much for teenagers to do (Manahawkin doesn't really either) unless they have a car or their parents drive them somewhere.

Hope this helps.

[sfabian]

I have a house in Settlers and live in Brooklyn and have been hesitant to live in Settlers full time because of the Lexington ave stuff that seems to be spreading to other areas of Settlers. My son likes the area for the obvious reasons that its a suburbia town with all that sports teams at the schools etc. It's a tough decision to make. Stay in a nice area of Brooklyn (Midwood) or stay in Settlers full time. From a quality of life issue definitely Brooklyn is where it's at. From a space issue, Barnegat is good but really its an artificial life like most suburban sprawl. Actually, Barnegat is too far from anything to qualify as even suburban sprawl. No real life at all especially from the late fall to late spring. Seems like one is just waiting while in Barnegat but its nice to be there on some weekends as an augmentation to city life. LBI in July and August is great but that's about it for the Barnegat area except that housing is cheap.

[VeradoDan]

Originally Posted by sfabian

I have a house in Settlers and live in Brooklyn and have been hesitant to live in Settlers full time because of the Lexington ave stuff that seems to be spreading to other areas of Settlers. My son likes the area for the obvious reasons that its a suburbia town with all that sports teams at the schools etc. It's a tough decision to make. Stay in a nice area of Brooklyn (Midwood) or stay in Settlers full time. From a quality of life issue definitely Brooklyn is where it's at. From a space issue, Barnegat is good but really its an artificial life like most suburban sprawl. Actually, Barnegat is too far from anything to qualify as even suburban sprawl. No real life at all especially from the late fall to late spring. Seems like one is just waiting while in Barnegat but its nice to be there on some weekends as an augmentation to city life. LBI in July and August is great but that's about it for the Barnegat area except that housing is cheap.

It sounds like you just prefer city life in general. Barnegat really isn't particularly different than any other suburban town in New Jersey, except maybe there's a bit more space and the homes are newer than in the established North Jersey 'burbs. Saying there's "no real life" except being able to go to the beach in summer tells me you'd find anything other than densely-populated urban areas to be "dead."