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I think the real bennies are non NJ residents to be honest, if we're going to play that game.
No No No...I beg to differ. LOL I am from PA and FAR from a Benny! LOL
No worries... I know you weren't the original person to be calling anyone a Benny and I see you are also against it. This is not directed towards you...just the BENNY/SHOOBIE HATERS.
Like I said... I am from PA and have been spending my summers on LBI since I was 8 months old in 1973!! I truly love my island and respect it there so very much..sometimes more than people who live there.
I pay my VERY FAIR SHARE of my money to the Jersey shore for years and years... so tough crap to the certain locals who are haters.
So no...not a BENNY...I won't even call myself a Shoobie. Those are the lamest things to say anyway.
People are very immature and can't give it up.
When locals use those terms, they are forgetting that they are tourists wherever they visit... SO VERY HYPOCRITICAL.
AND....if they don't visit anywhere (say NYC , Philly..or anywhere out of state) and just stay in their home towns at the beaches in NJ, then really, they have no lives which is sad.
I have been on LBI for 40 years and nothing any says or does will change the way I feel. My special place that I love very much. My home away from home every summer.
I don't even mind buying beach badges every summer.
A beach/ocean is like air, it's a natural resource. Plus most states don't have toll roads, that's what property taxes are for, so that analogy is specious. Honest question, have you been to other states aside from NJ?
Almost every State I have been in, has at least one toll road or bridge. Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia require Beach Permits that you pay for. The Beach nor the Ocean is free for you to use as you want. Government has total control of the water, if its tidal, up to the high water mark. The Beach can be private or State Property, or a Part of the National Parks, as in Virginia. They have full control.
The Beach nor the Ocean is free for you to use as you want. Government has total control of the water, if its tidal, up to the high water mark. The Beach can be private or State Property, or a Part of the National Parks, as in Virginia. They have full control.
It's free in California and hawaii.
Nj is a special kind of awful. Let's say you're a surfer who wants to check a couple of beaches to see how they're breaking on daily basis....how do you do that? Get a season pass to 10 or 15 beaches and then still pay to park? It's insane.
Never mind that they ban people from entering the water during a hurricane swell Even with a hurricane offshore putting a ground swell into NJ, hawaii/california gets more way more powerful waves everyday on a daily basis. NJ is a lake most of the time. Many times during a hurricane swell, it's just a chest high ground swell, which is perfectly safe for experienced people. Hell I've seen them banning people from entering the water for 3 foot waves because or "rip currents". There's always rip currents when there's a swell in the water.
This crap doesn't exist out west or in hawaii. The guards use common sense on who they let out depending on conditions.
So when the notorious east coast flat spell finally ends then you can't even go in! It's a joke. Hell, some beaches won't even let you out there before the lifeguards show up. Impossible to get a pre work surf session in or a swim in. Then come labor day, everyone disappears including the lifeguards(which makes no sense safety wise and people drown every year during this time) and it's a complete free for all while the water is warmer than it is in June. Oh and then you can go in the water during a hurricane swell at least. But with no lifeguards. All rules disappear. LOL The lifeguards should be patrolling from may 1 to oct 31 on some beaches at least.
Between the parking situation, the overzealous cop on every block writing as many fines as possible, and the absurd beach tags, "private" beaches. too many rules/regs, nj is a disgrace when it comes to open access to it's beaches. They need to write laws into effect giving ocean access to the public and "right of ways". And people are obviously building homes to close to the ocean.
The towns don't want you there, but they do want your money! It's nothing but a big cash grab.
I don't get any sense of freedom. It's one big circus.
Last edited by mikelizard860; 02-22-2015 at 12:59 PM..
In theory I agree with you 100%. But identical houses in the next town which has bars, restaurants and public beachs it is true the rental income is much better. More folks VRBO etc. Friends and family can use house. You have no restrictions etc. But oddly the identical homes are worth less.
Identical houses are worth 100K to 200K higher in the towns with private beaches. My town The homeowners, children of homeowners, son in laws, daughter in laws and parents of homewowners are entitled to the picture ID passes. But oddly my sister and brother are not guess you have to cut it off somewhere. We also have a no grouper law in place so single family only.
The rule drives down rental values and drives up home values. The beaches are amazing and when you take folks on they have to buy to use them. Unlike the other town you can be a day tripper.
Also I noticed Rich Folk who actually use the house all summer and dont rent dont want renters coming and going next door. Kinda like exclusive coops in NY that allow zero subletting and keep prices high. They are walking away from any chance of rental income but in exchange they get safety high quality people.
Towns on LI such as Point Lookout, East Atlantic Beach and Atlantic Beach do not charge to get on beach. Only for home owners. No parking on nearly all streets except for residents, no grouper houses allowed and no rentals less than 30 days. And if owner rents they have to give up their beach passes. And renter must be a single family only.
Guess what nearby Long Beach with grouper homes, bars, no parking on streets and tons of airbnb and vrbo ads houses are worth much less. Why you cant enjoy your summer home if you dont intend to rent that much. You have hoards of day trippers, grouper houses and apartments and illegally subdivided houses everywhere it is filthy, crowded and dirty in the summer.
It's free in California and hawaii.
Nj is a special kind of awful. Let's say you're a surfer who wants to check a couple of beaches to see how they're breaking on daily basis....how do you do that? Get a season pass to 10 or 15 beaches and then still pay to park? It's insane.
Never mind that they ban people from entering the water during a hurricane swell Even with a hurricane offshore putting a ground swell into NJ, hawaii/california gets more way more powerful waves everyday on a daily basis. NJ is a lake most of the time. Many times during a hurricane swell, it's just a chest high ground swell, which is perfectly safe for experienced people. Hell I've seen them banning people from entering the water for 3 foot waves because or "rip currents". There's always rip currents when there's a swell in the water.
This crap doesn't exist out west or in hawaii. The guards use common sense on who they let out depending on conditions.
So when the notorious east coast flat spell finally ends then you can't even go in! It's a joke. Hell, some beaches won't even let you out there before the lifeguards show up. Impossible to get a pre work surf session in or a swim in. Then come labor day, everyone disappears including the lifeguards(which makes no sense safety wise and people drown every year during this time) and it's a complete free for all while the water is warmer than it is in June. Oh and then you can go in the water during a hurricane swell at least. But with no lifeguards. All rules disappear. LOL The lifeguards should be patrolling from may 1 to oct 31 on some beaches at least.
Between the parking situation, the overzealous cop on every block writing as many fines as possible, and the absurd beach tags, "private" beaches. too many rules/regs, nj is a disgrace when it comes to open access to it's beaches. They need to write laws into effect giving ocean access to the public and "right of ways". And people are obviously building homes to close to the ocean.
The towns don't want you there, but they do want your money! It's nothing but a big cash grab.
I don't get any sense of freedom. It's one big circus.
Couple of comments... We rent the same house for a week each summer (on LBI), I have observed how things work there. The house sleeps 10 or 12 comfortably, yet the owner only provides 4 badges You'd think a few extras might be included for $10,000 rent, but that is a small gripe. But it leads to a problem, especially when some friends stop by to hang out on the sand for a few hours. The daily fee badges are the most expensive, so somebody usually gets pinched if they aren't paying attention. The badge checkers roam up and down a several block section every so often. They wear distinctive yellow shirts, so you can spot them rather easily. So the game is to hop off your chair or blanket and dip your toes in the water until they pass. Anything below the high-tide line is fair game anyway. Also, they won't bother you if you appear to be napping on your blanket. They don't really care all that much. It is just a summer job that often pays enough to let them rent a room for the season and otherwise relax at the beach for 3 months. That leads to the coverage dates - since most of them are students, they need to get back to school soon after Labor Day. There are very few full-timers to cover the miles of sand. Typically, each section is manned (or womaned?) by a pair of guards watching a small bathing section denoted within two red flags. Next to that is a blue section reserved for surfers. The two groups never cross and the guards ignore the surfers. And since the surfers are in the water 99% of the time, none of them bother with badges. Surfers (and swimmers) can do whatever they want before 10am when the guards set up their chair. At 5pm, the guard will blow the whistle to get everyone out of the water (not the surfers). After 5 minutes, they are gone and anyone who wants will simply wade back out. By that time, most people have packed up and left anyway to go think about dinner. These beaches are not really friendly for day trippers since there are no facilities aside from the guards, and little parking. Most all the people on the beach are either owners or weekly renters. The surf does suck for surfing in the morning when the water is close to dead calm. They do pick up a 3 footer fairly often. The wind usually picks up later in the day, but the surfers are usually gone by mid-morning anyway. Some of the waves following the tide coming in can get pretty brutal. We don't bother with the real day-tripper beaches that Snookie and friends hang out on. Those do hit you up for the fee before you can step on the sand, and may have loads of other rules you don't see in most of NJ. There was an infamous lawsuit brought up by some dumbass who kept his back turned to the surf, got smacked down, and ended up paralyzed. He won millions after the judge ruled that the town was at fault. many towns look at that and decide to add in as many absurd rules as possible to reduce their risk. Much like McDonalds cooling off their coffee after some fool burned her crotch and cashed in. Tort madness drives more and more things like this.
The daily fee badges are the most expensive, so somebody usually gets pinched if they aren't paying attention. The badge checkers roam up and down a several block section every so often. They wear distinctive yellow shirts, so you can spot them rather easily. So the game is to hop off your chair or blanket and dip your toes in the water until they pass. Anything below the high-tide line is fair game anyway. Also, they won't bother you if you appear to be napping on your blanket. They don't really care all that much. It is just a summer job that often pays enough to let them rent a room for the season and otherwise relax at the beach for 3 months. That leads to the coverage dates - since most of them are students, they need to get back to school soon after Labor Day. There are very few full-timers to cover the miles of sand. Typically, each section is manned (or womaned?) by a pair of guards watching a small bathing section denoted within two red flags. Next to that is a blue section reserved for surfers. The two groups never cross and the guards ignore the surfers. And since the surfers are in the water 99% of the time, none of them bother with badges. Surfers (and swimmers) can do whatever they want before 10am when the guards set up their chair. At 5pm, the guard will blow the whistle to get everyone out of the water (not the surfers). After 5 minutes, they are gone and anyone who wants will simply wade back out. By that time, most people have packed up and left anyway to go think about dinner. These beaches are not really friendly for day trippers since there are no facilities aside from the guards, and little parking. Most all the people on the beach are either owners or weekly renters. The surf does suck for surfing in the morning when the water is close to dead calm. They do pick up a 3 footer fairly often. The wind usually picks up later in the day, but the surfers are usually gone by mid-morning anyway. Some of the waves following the tide coming in can get pretty brutal. We don't bother with the real day-tripper beaches that Snookie and friends hang out on. Those do hit you up for the fee before you can step on the sand, and may have loads of other rules you don't see in most of NJ. There was an infamous lawsuit brought up by some dumbass who kept his back turned to the surf, got smacked down, and ended up paralyzed. He won millions after the judge ruled that the town was at fault. many towns look at that and decide to add in as many absurd rules as possible to reduce their risk. Much like McDonalds cooling off their coffee after some fool burned her crotch and cashed in. Tort madness drives more and more things like this.
That's incorrect. The surf is generally best in the morning when near shore winds are calm assuming there's an actual swell in the water. With light winds the surf is "clean" and well groomed. If the wind stays OFFSHORE than it will be good all afternoon as well! This happens often. But it's definitely not worse in morning. "Dawn patrol" is surfing lingo for getting the waves first thing in the morning when winds are light! NJ is not California. It's lake flat 90% of the time. About 6 days per month average good rideable clean surf for surfing or boogie boarding with good winds. Some years more, some years less.
Another gripe about the NJ shore, they're so MONEY oriented that they basically have NO LIFEGUARDS in Sept when the water is warmer than June and it's the 70s/80s air temp. Compare that to the year round lifeguards provided in florida, california(CA water temps are colder in july than NJ in sept!) Oh and surfers can drown to. They've got hard boards that can knock them out and razor sharp fins on the bottom of the boards.
A ****load of people drown every year at this time in fall and spring as well. It's disgusting that a few beaches can't be guarded from may 1 to oct 30. There should definitely be some beaches guarded during this "off season". The off season at belmar has plenty of people on the beach. During summer at some of these beaches, it's literally a sea of people and you can't even see the sand. These are insane crowd levels and represent $$$$$ to these towns.
It's crazy how they go from all these "rules" to a complete free for all come labor day with no lifeguards. And people drowning every single year with some beaches making ABSURD rules that you can't go in the water when there's not lifeguards!!! And the beaches turning into a dog park with morons running their dogs including some aggressive ones off the leash. People don't know what a leash law is. All the police disappear. It's like you're in a different place. Very strange. I'm a big believe in swim at your own risk if an area has no lifeguards, but people should be given an option of a few beaches to have guards on them in sept/oct/may to swim, boogieboard, or surf with lifeguards.
Yes it's absurdly "law suit" oriented. This results in ridiculous overzealous banning of people from entering the water when waves aren't even that big. I've seen them banning when it's chest high waves. An average day in Cali. They also can't seem to tell experienced people from inexperienced. (Ie someone with a wetsuit/children vs adults ect/they can tell in 2 seconds if they talk to the person. They don't just allow anyone at at pipeline. Only experienced boogie boarders and surfers and those waves are WAY bigger than nj could dream of!) They don't have enough guards to handle the amount of people in the water in the summer because they want to make as much money as possible!! More lifeguards means more money spent, even if it's a TINY fraction of what they take in with beach badge fee's/parking/food ect. They want to make a big of profit as possible off something that doesn't really belong to anyone. It's mother nature.
As far as badge checkers, it depends on the beach. If you have to park in a main parking lot and get on the beach at many places you're stuck. They got you. There's a lot of beaches like that. It's all a big money grab.
Last edited by mikelizard860; 05-22-2015 at 08:02 PM..
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