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My wife and I are considering moving to West Long Branch. We can afford about $400K. Is this a safe town? What is the school system like? Are there other towns in the area that you'd recommend?
what are your housing/commute requirements? There's a sticky at the top of the board, if you answer those it would help in responses.
IF you don't mind sacrificing a bit of house you might be able to swing Shrewsbury (would be small house) or maybe Lincroft (would be ranch) and definitely River plaza section of Middletown (just watch for flood zones). Since you mentioned schools I would look to those towns as the schools there are much better.
You could also consider Oceanport- again watch flooding- schools aren't as good as the other towns mentioned but its a cute little town right by the water, the horse track in located in the town. Tinton Falls is another consideration.
There's nothing wrong with West Long Branch, lots of shopping located off of Rt 36, but the schools are ok to "kinda good", some of the towns mentioned above have better options. Also some areas border Long Branch and Eatontown and have some crime spillover that other towns don't. Also not sure if it matters or not to you, but I believe they have one of the highest concentration of Italian-American's in the state.
No, West Long Branch is not unsafe at all. It's a different vibe from Long Branch, which is good in some places and sketchy in others. WBL is more of a family-oriented town, while LB runs along the beach and so gets a summer population.
The one drawback, if you see it that way, is that Monmouth University is located there, so at times traffic on 71/Cedar Avenue can get backed up. If you live in the area, though, you know what roads to take to avoid that.
The one side of West Long Branch is along 36, which is lined with strip malls and gets backed up in summer. Again, if you live there, you know how else to go.
WBL has some lovely homes and neighborhoods. Friends of mine lived there many years and recently sold and went to a 55+ because the house is too much work now, but they lived on a nice street (off Wall) and had a beautiful home and yard.
Tinton Falls is indeed a good alternative, though.
Thanks so much for your replies. My wife and I are both teachers in Union, NJ (Exit 138 off the Parkway). We have a little one on the way due this September. Though WLB will be a bit of a commute, many of the homes seem affordable - more affordable than the smaller, cute towns east of Red Bank. So, that's why we decided to look there.
Thanks so much for your replies. My wife and I are both teachers in Union, NJ (Exit 138 off the Parkway). We have a little one on the way due this September. Though WLB will be a bit of a commute, many of the homes seem affordable - more affordable than the smaller, cute towns east of Red Bank. So, that's why we decided to look there.
The commute is definitely one to really think about before you move. Think about rush hour, bad weather, all with having a newborn at home. It will be difficult.
Thanks so much for your replies. My wife and I are both teachers in Union, NJ (Exit 138 off the Parkway). We have a little one on the way due this September. Though WLB will be a bit of a commute, many of the homes seem affordable - more affordable than the smaller, cute towns east of Red Bank. So, that's why we decided to look there.
Commute wouldn't be terrible, only issue would be traffic back-up by the bridge each AM on the parkway..
Houses do exist in your budget in some of the "nicer" towns that people usually mention. The sacrifice would be in size/age/updating of the homes- it's a question of what your family wants/needs....if you guys need/want bigger/newer/updated house (Which is a valid requirement) then I would look at Tinton Falls/WLB/ or even homes that feed into North Middletown HS. I would also still check out River Plaza section of Middletown as well- feeds into Middletown South HS, just watch flood zones.
I agree commute won't be bad. It slows a bit by 131, but ithe keeps moving, and by then he's almost there. As long as you don't hit the Oranges, you're good, and thats,before the Oranges.
Coming from WLB Rte 36 could have quite the backup though. If you want to be close to Red Bank, but not in Red Bank, then look at neighborhoods in Middletown that feed into Middletown South HS and Thompson Middle School, in addition to the Northern End of Tinton Falls. If I were commuting to Union I would not really want to venture past exit 109 on the parkway from a commuting standpoint.
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