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Hey guys! Relatively new resident in NJ here. I've been living here for approx. 2 years. Renting in Toms River and Lakewood. Both are about a 20 minutes drive from Lakehurst. I'm officially going to start looking for a house at the end of the year and I haven't traveled much in NJ so I don't know where to begin looking. I'm hoping you guys could help.
Thought I'd answer the questions from the "Questions for Future and Potential Residents" thread in order:
- I currently live in Lakewood but I came from New York.
- I moved down here for work.
- And I work in Lakehurst's Navy Base.
- I am looking to buy
- My budget is 280k. I am willing to spend 300k if it has everything I need and is move in ready
- I prefer a ranch with a basement but, after looking at all the real estate websites, the number of houses with basement in the Brick, Toms River area is not much. So possibly a cape. Anything that has at least one room on the same level as the kitchen just incase my parents ever get to that level where it's difficult traveling up and down the stairs and they want to stay with me. A Garage would be nice but not necessary as I can always pay to have one built. Which I will probably end up doing considering the houses I have seen have small garages and I need space to work on my cars.
- Girlfriend will be moving with me. May be planning to get a Corgi or African Gray Parrot. Don't really know yet.
- I want good public schools around me. Just in-case this ends up being my forever home
Description of the neighborhood I would like to live in: Safe neighborhood, in a good school system and at least 15-20 minutes away from good restaurants, doctors, supermarkets, and/or malls. If my girl and I don't mind driving a small distance <45min to go do things (hiking, skating, biking, beach, etc.)
List three things that are important to you in order of importance: Short commute to work (Lakehurst), Outdoor activities, Downtown area.
Hey guys! Relatively new resident in NJ here. I've been living here for approx. 2 years. Renting in Toms River and Lakewood. Both are about a 20 minutes drive from Lakehurst. I'm officially going to start looking for a house at the end of the year and I haven't traveled much in NJ so I don't know where to begin looking. I'm hoping you guys could help.
Thought I'd answer the questions from the "Questions for Future and Potential Residents" thread in order:
- I currently live in Lakewood but I came from New York.
- I moved down here for work.
- And I work in Lakehurst's Navy Base.
- I am looking to buy
- My budget is 280k. I am willing to spend 300k if it has everything I need and is move in ready
- I prefer a ranch with a basement but, after looking at all the real estate websites, the number of houses with basement in the Brick, Toms River area is not much. So possibly a cape. Anything that has at least one room on the same level as the kitchen just incase my parents ever get to that level where it's difficult traveling up and down the stairs and they want to stay with me. A Garage would be nice but not necessary as I can always pay to have one built. Which I will probably end up doing considering the houses I have seen have small garages and I need space to work on my cars.
- Girlfriend will be moving with me. May be planning to get a Corgi or African Gray Parrot. Don't really know yet.
- I want good public schools around me. Just in-case this ends up being my forever home
Description of the neighborhood I would like to live in: Safe neighborhood, in a good school system and at least 15-20 minutes away from good restaurants, doctors, supermarkets, and/or malls. If my girl and I don't mind driving a small distance <45min to go do things (hiking, skating, biking, beach, etc.)
List three things that are important to you in order of importance: Short commute to work (Lakehurst), Outdoor activities, Downtown area.
I think that downtown area has rendered everyone speechless. A few C-D members know something about that area, but an actual town center doesn't compute.
I think that downtown area has rendered everyone speechless. A few C-D members know something about that area, but an actual town center doesn't compute.
Lakewood and Toms River have downtowns. Toms River’s isn’t much to write home about, and Lakewood’s will probably not appeal to most Gentiles.
I think the issue is more the $300K price tag for a town with a good school system. There aren’t many towns with good schools period in that area, for any price.
I think that downtown area has rendered everyone speechless. A few C-D members know something about that area, but an actual town center doesn't compute.
Thank you for the heads up, I will take that out of my considerations - especially considering I really don't mind driving a bit to get to a fun area. I tried to edit that option out in my original post but I don't think we can edit posts?
If downtown was taken out of the list of criteria, would there be any areas aside from Toms River & Brick that I would look at?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leps12
Lakewood and Toms River have downtowns. Toms River’s isn’t much to write home about, and Lakewood’s will probably not appeal to most Gentiles.
I think the issue is more the $300K price tag for a town with a good school system. There aren’t many towns with good schools period in that area, for any price.
Thank you. I don't have any kids yet. This was added to the list as a likely future scenario. So it's extremely flexible and I am completely ignorant when it comes to defining 'good' relative to a school system. What comes to my mind is a place that'll teach the kids what they need to know and the tools on how to achieve their goals but also keeping down the violence and drugs to a minimum.
What would you define as a good school system? Taking central/south jersey out of the equation, where in Jersey would you consider a good school system? This way I can look it up and learn.
Honestly, when ever I ask someone at work about towns with good school systems, Toms River is always mentioned so I just assumed that it was fine. So I'm happy you posted what you did.
New, good schools are found in areas where people can afford to pay for them. Many sites rate schools. Read all of them and draw your own conclusions.
Years ago, my friend Suzanne accepted a position to teach French in a Wilmington, Delaware high school. She managed to make it through two years. She never taught again.
Hey guys! Relatively new resident in NJ here. I've been living here for approx. 2 years. Renting in Toms River and Lakewood. Both are about a 20 minutes drive from Lakehurst. I'm officially going to start looking for a house at the end of the year and I haven't traveled much in NJ so I don't know where to begin looking. I'm hoping you guys could help.
Thought I'd answer the questions from the "Questions for Future and Potential Residents" thread in order:
- I currently live in Lakewood but I came from New York.
- I moved down here for work.
- And I work in Lakehurst's Navy Base.
- I am looking to buy
- My budget is 280k. I am willing to spend 300k if it has everything I need and is move in ready
- I prefer a ranch with a basement but, after looking at all the real estate websites, the number of houses with basement in the Brick, Toms River area is not much. So possibly a cape. Anything that has at least one room on the same level as the kitchen just incase my parents ever get to that level where it's difficult traveling up and down the stairs and they want to stay with me. A Garage would be nice but not necessary as I can always pay to have one built. Which I will probably end up doing considering the houses I have seen have small garages and I need space to work on my cars.
- Girlfriend will be moving with me. May be planning to get a Corgi or African Gray Parrot. Don't really know yet.
- I want good public schools around me. Just in-case this ends up being my forever home
Description of the neighborhood I would like to live in: Safe neighborhood, in a good school system and at least 15-20 minutes away from good restaurants, doctors, supermarkets, and/or malls. If my girl and I don't mind driving a small distance <45min to go do things (hiking, skating, biking, beach, etc.)
List three things that are important to you in order of importance: Short commute to work (Lakehurst), Outdoor activities, Downtown area.
The interior of New Jersey is fairly undeveloped.
You'll find most of the homes either along NJ Turnpike or the Garden State Parkway.
I would start by using realtor.com or zillow.com and filter the results for your target price range and go from there.
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