relocating to barnegat, NJ (from Long Island) help? (Newark, Toms River: new home, neighborhood)

[tcampbell]

Hi everyone,
I am a stay at home mom of a toddler and my husband and I are really contemplating moving to Barnegat, NJ. I have family in manalapn, NJ but it's very $$$ over there. he will be commuting to work and I am originally from Long Island, NY) which has changed so much that I am not too happy here. Can anyone who has been brought up there or currently lives there shed some light on Barnegat or the surrounding areas? You have no idea how helpful it will be. Thank you. Any website to visit or people to contact would be great, thank you.

Tara from Long Island!

[blaize86]

Tara, Barnegat is real nice. Great schools. You are not far from the water, shopping, parks, great outlets, GSP can get you alot farther in a shorter time than the LIE. Anywhere is NJ is cheaper than LI. i'm originally from NY and would take South Jersey over any place. The big difference is the taxes and the fact that your still not far from NYC,Philly, and AC. Good Luck

[tahiti]

Where does he work?

[tcampbell]

Thank you so much for your quick response back. This is very helpful, you have you know idea. People who have been born and raised in LI really don't like leaving here...they get funny when you say you would like to move. So getting feedback from you is HUGE! Thank you.
I am originaly from Queens and came out to LI in the hopes that it could have been long term. However, my husband is a retired NYPD officer and the taxes in LI are killing us. In addition, to high taxes, the population is growing tremendously and the property is quite small. The school districts are also becoming worse. So...thanks so much again and I look forward to a "happy" transition to South Jersey!

[tcampbell]

My husband is a retired NYPD officer so he is currently doing security and has free reign to work anywhere..NYC, NJ or AC. This is why we were looking toward Barnegat. I have been there a couple of times and it was just looked like a beautiful place to raise a family. Thank you so much for any information you can throw my way.

[forcedfx]

I grew up in Barnegat and am actually moving back there. The schools are excellent even though the taxes are a little higher than the surrounding areas, but you get what you pay for. That's because there are few ratables. Barnegat tends to cater to the senior citizen population. Manahawkin is more business heavy. The parkway is great to travel but terrible to go North on in the mornings due to traffic.

They are finally building a full interchange between the parkway and Rt 554 which (I'm hoping) should bring some more business to the west side of Barnegat. Thereby, decreasing taxes for everyone.

Stay far away from a road called Lexington Blvd in Settlers Landing. It's about THE worst part of Barnegat possible.

[monack]

Originally Posted by tcampbell

Thank you so much for your quick response back. This is very helpful, you have you know idea. People who have been born and raised in LI really don't like leaving here...they get funny when you say you would like to move. So getting feedback from you is HUGE! Thank you.
I am originaly from Queens and came out to LI in the hopes that it could have been long term. However, my husband is a retired NYPD officer and the taxes in LI are killing us. In addition, to high taxes, the population is growing tremendously and the property is quite small. The school districts are also becoming worse. So...thanks so much again and I look forward to a "happy" transition to South Jersey!

I -just- moved to Manalapan from Long Island (Huntington) last week. And you're -so- right about the funny looks you get when you tell people you're moving - and especially when you say you're moving to NJ.

Agreed on the tax front. While taxes in NJ are high, they seem to be exponentially higher on Long Island.

I don't have much advice to offer about Barneget, but I wish you a lot of luck with your decision to move.

[Newarkbomb]

What's you budget?

If anything i would suggest the Toms River area. It got rated as one of the safest places in the country (see Camden and Newark aren't the only rap nj has)

Toms River is a great place to raise a family and it's semi affordable. Many new homes are being put up in the area also (Jackson, NJ especially). But I'm not to familiar with any other south Jersey areas since i have been in North Jersey all my life. But I'm sure you'll be happy in SNJ.

Good Luck

[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.

[tcampbell]

To Forcdfx...

This is great information, thank you. I have never heard of settelers landing or Lexingtons Blvd, I am going to Barnegat during the week, so I will be sure to take a look. It's great that you are moving back there, I hope all of that works out for you as well. I guess catering to the seniors is a pretty good thing as well....at least I know that the area will stay pretty nice for along time. LOL Thanks again for your information, it really does help.