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Looking for some advice.... NJ born and raised (Bergen County myself and my husband in Somerset), currently residing in Jersey City condo. Been trying to find a great Bergen County town to be close to family and city commute, and we loved Allendale, Franklin Lakes and Hillsdale, but overall the Northern NJ lifestyle is a bit too intense for us.
Short of making a move outside the area entirely, we are thinking about the Jersey Shore. I know it comes with its own set of challenges, but we have a beach house in Point Pleasant and feel so at home there, the pace, the lifestyle, less traffic and people. However, we really know very little about family towns down south. Heard that some people are taking the plunge and heading down the shore, but where? Wall? Rumson (too intense perhaps?) Point Pleasant? Monmouth Beach?
Best schools, best commute, best communities? Looking for people who are educated and working, and enjoying the shore lifestyle. Point Pleasant is a year round community, we just don't know much about young families living there, and while the car commute is an hour without traffic, the train commute is 2.0 hours. We would both be commuting up to NYC and Newark on a daily basis, any thoughts?
We also moved to the area to escape the "rat race" feel of north NJ- not right not wrong- just not for us- wanted a more relaxed open environment which we definitely found.
700-900K gives you lots of options- I think it depends on what type of house you expect- if you don't mind a smaller house or a smaller plot of land Rumson would be top choice- great schools and an awesome town with low taxes....
From there Fair Haven would be next followed by Little Silver/Shrewsbury. Little Silver and Shrewsbury give you access to the train for Newark commute. At each step your house would get bigger and nicer. Each town is great with its own offerings with Shrewsbury being on the outermost of the "two rivers peninsula." Plus you're close to red bank with a nice arts/restaurant/shopping scene with craft coffee and beer too.
Atlantic Highlands is another nice choice- but flooding and mediocre schools are an issue. Sea Bright and Monmouth Beach are great classic shore towns but they both are still dealing with post Sandy issues and schools aren't top notch.
Any further south and you're starting to really stretch commuting times into NYC & Newark to intolerable on a daily basis -nearly two hours. it depends on your commuting tolerance- where in NYC? If its downtown the ferry would be an option, otherwise you'd probably be best off commuting to midtown via the Academy bus and taking train to Newark.
If you want "shore living" I would check out Rumson/FH/LS/Shrewsbury as your best bets- each town is awesome and has great family activities, clean and crime free, open spaces, great parks and the like. Rumson is a bit removed from things like quick trip to Trader Joes or Costco but some people prefer that- it's also about 5 min to the ocean and you can drive by the Boss' old house in town. Fair Haven is next to Rumson and a bit closer to towns and therefore a cpl minutes more to get to the beach. LS/Shrewsbury are still only 10 min door to door from the beach but a bit closer to grocery stores/Wegmans/Costco/Target/Home Depot etc..
Rumson and Fair Haven share a HS which is top notch- LS/Shrewsbury share one with Red Bank which brings some diversity into the mix. All 4 towns have top rated elementary/middle schools.
A friend of mine from Bergen County settled down in Toms River with her husband and kids. She loves it there. They're in their early 40s and have been there for nearly a decade.
I grew up in Monmouth County and previously held a job that involved travel all over Monmouth and Ocean. I completely agree the local communities in Point Pleasant, Toms River, Bradley Beach, etc. all have great vibes, but I would not take the commuting factor lightly (I commuted to NYC from Monmouth County for a time before moving to Jersey City - so I guess I made the reverse of your move!). I'd recommend taking a close look at the North Jersey Coast Line schedule as well as bus (NJ Transit, Academy, etc.) and ferry schedules before falling in love with a given location.
Sadly, I don't think it is possible to truly have it all in terms of close-knit NJ beach town feel and reasonable commute to NYC. (I am considering "reasonable" to be roughly 1.5 h door-to-door; your tolerance may be higher.) If commuting by train, I would not consider any further south than Long Branch - much more limited service.
However, it is possible to *almost* have it all. Based on your criteria I would recommend Middletown. Great family-oriented community (a bit more fast-paced than a true shore town, but also a bit less uptight than its neighbors to the west e.g. Holmdel/Marlboro), very close to beach, several nearby train and express bus stations, and good schools - Middletown South is better than Middletown North, but the way the town is divided is not completely logical, so check where the specific neighborhood is sent. You could also look into Atlantic Highlands/Highlands (ferry access). There is also the Shrewsbury/Little Silver/Fair Haven area, or the Eatontown/Tinton Falls area, but transportation from those might be a bit more challenging.
Monmouth County also has a fantastic vocational HS district including strong pre-engineering and pre-health schools, if kids are so inclined when the time comes.
I would recommend with your budget and commute that you keep your search in Monmouth County. Pt. Pleasant Beach has a good school but that's it for Ocean County. The schools here are average at best and although even bad schools can be good for the right student, I wouldn't choose any of these districts voluntarily.
As far as the commute - 2 hours each way is A LOT! I do well over an hour each day and I wish I had more time with my daughter...and she wishes it too.
Thanks to each of you for the time you took to set us up with insider shore info! Needed some frank candid direction, and we got it! So I will look further North (Rumson-Middletown), expect less of a big commute and perhaps more of a budget! Any other thoughts on Rumson and surrounding towns, please share
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