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I've used this board previously and it's a wonderful resource. I hope I have the same luck this time.
Early 30's with young child family looking to move to Monmouth county in the summer/fall. We've looked at Holmdel, Fair Haven, and Oak Hill (Middletown). Like all 3 but nothing much out there inventory wise in our range - 500K. WE're leaving behind NYC to move to a more peaceful, safe, quiet town with a yard my family can play/bar-b-q etc. in.
Little Silver seems ideal- only real possible issue I can see is the HS is Red Bank Regional- do most families send to private?
I know the town has a very high median income- so it's seems to be upscale- between FH & Rumson. How does town compare to FH, Oak hill section, or Holmdel?
The elementary and grade schools seems to be wonderful.
Can anyone share thier thoughts on the town? I know there is a small downtown w/ some shopping and a few restaurants (and of course Sickles further out).
Anyone with first hand knowledge of the town and schools? Is it very family friendly?
Commute to mid-town would be via bus at PNC i assume....
How about dry cleaners, bagels, delis, coffee, etc? I know there is at least one good seafood market and an OK A & P in town as well.
I know the town was hit by Sandy- but I assume it's just homes close to the river. Any areas of the town to avoid?
Do not rule out Lincroft section of Middletown. Good grammar and mid-school. High school is Middletown south and their are some private schools (St. Leo's and CBA) in town. Rail station closer to Oak Hill section and buses to midtown near Exit 109 (but parking fills up quickly). The one downside is no real downtown shops but Red Bank and Little Silver are nearby.
I've used this board previously and it's a wonderful resource. I hope I have the same luck this time.
Early 30's with young child family looking to move to Monmouth county in the summer/fall. We've looked at Holmdel, Fair Haven, and Oak Hill (Middletown). Like all 3 but nothing much out there inventory wise in our range - 500K. WE're leaving behind NYC to move to a more peaceful, safe, quiet town with a yard my family can play/bar-b-q etc. in.
Little Silver seems ideal- only real possible issue I can see is the HS is Red Bank Regional- do most families send to private?
I know the town has a very high median income- so it's seems to be upscale- between FH & Rumson. How does town compare to FH, Oak hill section, or Holmdel?
The elementary and grade schools seems to be wonderful.
Can anyone share thier thoughts on the town? I know there is a small downtown w/ some shopping and a few restaurants (and of course Sickles further out).
Anyone with first hand knowledge of the town and schools? Is it very family friendly?
Commute to mid-town would be via bus at PNC i assume....
How about dry cleaners, bagels, delis, coffee, etc? I know there is at least one good seafood market and an OK A & P in town as well.
I know the town was hit by Sandy- but I assume it's just homes close to the river. Any areas of the town to avoid?
Thanks in advance for your answers.
Good schools (access to the MCVSD Academies btw) , pretty houses, ok downtown area but if I had to choose between LS and FH I would choose Fair Haven. The RFH is simply MUCH better than RBR, and even Middletown South for that matter. For me that would be the deciding factor. All of those towns are within easy driving distance of the great downtown area in Red Bank. Maybe its a city vs. burbs thing, but down here (I live in Manasquan but teach up near northern Mon Co) since we drive everywhere anyway, it doesn't matter if the best place is in town or the next town over. For example, best bagels around here are in Brielle, best Pizza is in Wall, and I shop in Sea Girt. Thats kind of the norm
Mets, you're going to be looking at about 10k/ year taxes on average for a house worth about 500k. Most of which goes to the school. My question to you is why pay that than have to put out extra cash to pay for private school?
There's nothing wrong with Little Silver and RBR hs for that matter. But it's not on the same level as RFH, as you've heard. If that's of utmost importance to you only F H or rumson will do. If you're ok with a decent school or and paying out 16k per kid per year L S is fine.
I think there is a great buy on Park Ave in F H in you're budget, check it out best buy in town right now in my opinion. Ill post to answer your questions next
Little Silver seems ideal- only real possible issue I can see is the HS is Red Bank Regional- do most families send to private?
Most prob send to RBR, except the million dollar plus houses, just a guess though. Keep in mind RBR takes kids from Red Bank, Shrewbury and LS. Of those three town only part of Red Bank the west side has lower income housing. Most are middle to upper middle class areas.
I know the town has a very high median income- so it's seems to be upscale- between FH & Rumson. How does town compare to FH, Oak hill section, or Holmdel?
LS feels to me similar to FH, shore town, small town etc, oak hill is very suburban, Holmdel is suburban to rural. All nice areas it's personal preference where you like to live. If you're like me and want to walk to the coffee shop, ice cream store etc FH or LS is or you. In Middletown or Holmdel you have to get in your car for everything and shop at the strip malls. On the flip side you'll get much more yard in Midd or Holmdel.
The elementary and grade schools seems to be wonderful.
They get the highest marks.
Can anyone share thier thoughts on the town? I know there is a small downtown w/ some shopping and a few restaurants (and of course Sickles further out).
I like the downtown, not as quaint as FH and not as big and all encompassing as Red Bank. But when you live in the area all are within minutes. Rays seafood, and Turning Point are both great eateries in town.
Anyone with first hand knowledge of the town and schools? Is it very family friendly?
No but these peninsula towns are all known for being extremely safe and family friendly.
Commute to mid-town would be via bus at PNC i assume....
You could take the train from LS as well
How about dry cleaners, bagels, delis, coffee, etc? I know there is at least one good seafood market and an OK A & P in town as well.
They have all your basic needs in the downtown LS, everything u need there or close by.
I know the town was hit by Sandy- but I assume it's just homes close to the river. Any areas of the town to avoid?
The two bridges going over to Oceanport are the low points. They have 7 bridges closed for sometime now. I don't know first hand if there was damage but if it were me I'd avoid. Keep in mind the Shrewsbury side is much lower than the real estate on the Navesink side.
I think Holmdel may even have higher ranked schools than Rumson because I think more people in Holmdel send their kids to public school. Of all of them, I think Middletown schools rank the lowest.
Red Bank High School was ranked 41st in the state in the latest survey (2012) by New Jersey Monthly. The Washington Post ranked it 45th in the state in 2011. Sounds pretty good to me. It even offers the International Baccalaureate.
I don't think that you would need to send your kids to private school if you moved to Little Silver. Seems like a nice town.
I was a little surprised to see that someone would be worried about Red Bank Regional. Didn't know it was supposed to be less than OK or why it would be. I don't have real knowledge, though, since I moved down here post-child-raising.
Anyway, only other comment is the commute--Little Silver has a train station on the North Jersey Coast Line going to NY Penn, so not sure why OP would assume that a bus all the way up at PNC is the only option to midtown.
Thanks to everyone who replied for your assistance.
Oyster- curious- have you found anything yet? Inventory is so low right now.....
I sent you a DM, you have to keep in mind inventory in the most desirable towns will always be low. It's all about supply and demand. I heard realtors saying the best deals usually don't even make it to the MLS, they sold before they could even get there. That said there are a couple of good deals in these shore towns. You'll never get everything you want, but focus on your must haves.
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