Considering building a modular home in Manahawkin (Ocean Acres, Beach Haven West: crime, mortgage)

[dsmgvr4]

Hi, I was thinking of moving to Manahawkin and building a modular home in the Ocean Acres section off of Natilus Dr. near Ocean Acres Elementary. Can anyone give me advice about life in Manahawkin? I am 36, married and have 3 children (8,7,5) and work as a therapist. I would mainly be looking for work in nursing homes. Any info on the schools, activities, traffic, shopping, and taxes would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, John

[riverg]

Manahawkin is a great place to live. There are definitely job opportunities as a therapist in the area. There are 3 nursing homes in town and a hospital. School are great I graduated this past year from Southern Regional it has every club or sport you could think of. Traffic can get pretty bad in the summer time on Route 72 but for the most part it's okay. For shopping there's basically everything here except a mall which there is 2 with 20 minutes. I will tell you that Ocean Acres has a lot of drug activity and kids running around at all hours of the night, but it's not like crime ridden. You may be better off building in a nicer section like Cedar Run or Deer Lake Park. Any more questions let me know

-River

[dsmgvr4]

Thanks River! I can build in Ocean Acres because my parents have a lot that I can build on. My move is mainly a financial one since my wife is at home for now and I am the only one working. Our current mortgage is hard to manage so building a home for less than what we currently owe is a good option for us.

As far as kids running around at night, is there any worry about theft or vandalsim??? Also, since you just graduated, how is the high school? What do most kids your age do for fun? Just trying to get a feel for the neighborhood. My oldest may only be going into 3rd grade, but time does fly!

[riverg]

It really depends on what section of Ocean Acres you're living in, there are areas where the kids are worse then others. But if you're by the Ocean Acres school which you are, I don't think you should really run into problems. For fun, a lot of people play sports or skateboard or go surfing, or theres the movies or bowling alley. As far as the schools, Southern is a great school. It's very big, around 2200 students i think. It does a lot of things others schools don't and they really spend a lot of money on their students. I can't really say anything about the Ocean Acres school because I went to the other elementary school, Oxycocus, but Stafford Intermediate and McKinley are also great schools. I don't know if any of your kids are into theater or music, but the school has a huge performing arts center. I think you will definitely like it down here though.

[kelsie]

If you can build now would be the best time. We raised our kids in the area before it became "the place" to live. We moved from OA 6 yrs. ago because it became too populated. The home that we sold off of Nautilus was just sold again 4 mos. ago and a 4 bd 2 1/2 bath home taxes are around $4600.00 a year.

[VeradoDan]

Originally Posted by dsmgvr4

As far as kids running around at night, is there any worry about theft or vandalsim???

I wouldn't worry so much about that kind of crime. It's a nice, suburban neighborhood. There are some drug problems, but I don't think those issues find their way into the schools. In addition, the Stafford Twp. Police and Ocean County Sheriff have been doing a very good job cracking down and a few of the people selling drugs have been arrested and the homes resold. In general, Manahawkin is a good town and, while it has a few issues like any community, children who grow up in a good family will have a great childhood.

In addition to what the recent SRHS grad mentioned, boating and fishing are also big activities, and the high school has a very active fishing club that I hear is run very well. In addition, all of the kids like to head down to the bay and go crabbing, etc. If you're into this kind of lifestyle, Beach Haven West might be a good neighborhood. It's probably one of the best deals in New Jersey on lagoon-front property.

Taxes are reasonable comparative to much of state, though it's "still New Jersey" and there's always room for the rate to go up. Still, it's a pretty decent deal. Shopping is a long Rt. 72 - there's every chain store and restaurant imaginable, but there are also plenty of locally-owned restaurants in town and right over the bridge on Long Beach Island. Mud City on E. Bay Ave. is a local favorite that has excellent seafood. Atoinetta's on Cedar Run Dock Rd. is also great and my absolute favorite restaurant for 20 years has been Octopus' Garden on Rt. 9 in the Mayetta section, which has some of the best seafood in New Jersey. It started on LBI but moved to Stafford Twp. a couple years ago.

[dsmgvr4]

Thanks for all the replies! I still trying to convince my wife to move here. She did say, "Only if we can have an inground pool!" Do any of you who live in OA have one? If so, any problems with it? Would you not recommned one or not being so close to LBI? Also, just curious if there is any issues with racism or gang related activity. I am a minority myself and have always lived in a town with a nice melting pot, but I'm curious if this has ever been an issue with anyone? I know this is the 21st century, but I am just looking for an honest answer. River, maybe you could chime in since you just made it through HS. Thanks!

[riverg]

Yes there are many people who have in ground pools in ocean acres. As far as racism and gang activity there is virtually none. I will tell you that there is almost no diversity in this town though, probably less then 5% of the kids in the schools are minorities. But, everyone is pretty accepting from my experience.