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We want out of NY city and have always dreamed of living by the beach.
I am keeping my job in NY and most of our friends still live there - so we have to be fairly close to the city (1.5hr commute max). Walking distance to a train station would be great - since our city friends don't own cars and we hate the idea of the morning drive in traffic!
We don't want a beachfront condo apartment - too many visions of my aunt's place in Miami - think Del Boca Vista. Preferably townhouse or small single-family home. I want ocean views, a short walk to the beach and pay less than 800K.
A relatively quiet area that is a walkable distance to a town center with restaurants and coffee places, etc. would be great.
Monmouth Beach, Sea Bright, Deal, Long Branch...I just moved to Atlantic Highlands, no ocean views, but 10 min to Sandy Hook, and views of the Raritan Bay. Other nice areas that are 10 min from the water and offer a relatively short commute to NYC (via ferry or train), are Navesink, Rumson, Red Bank, Fair Haven
Don' forget Belford, the new Ferry service is said to be great. 45 min to the city. And with Belford you are still close to Sandy Hook, Red Bank and of course the terrific middletown area.
You are going to have to make some compromises. 1.5 hrs on the train from Penn Station is only Long Branch. You may find what you want there. Really though $800k is not a very big budget for close to the beach houses in a town on the Coast Line (train). Condos sure, but not houses. Also, many of the train stations are not that close to the beach.
If you are willing to accept a longer commute and no train then look at towns in northern ocean county.
If you are willing to fore go "ocean view" and accept "reasonable walk to beach" and a slightly longer commute, Bradley Beach is nice, has a train and a lovely downtown area. Belmar might also work.
If you are willing to expand your budget then somewhere like Allenhurst would be perfect. But expensive.
Sea Bright has ocean views, a nice little downtown and houses in your price range but it is a 10-15 minute drive to the train in Little Silver or Long Branch. Also, I am not sure how safe I would feel living there since it is a peninsula with very few ways to get back over the river. If the area ever had a big time hurricane Sea Bright would be toast.
Wow, I do not know how I missed the price range. At $800K I would say a townhouse or Condo right near the beach is possible. A home right near the beach is going to be tough and probably going to need a lot of work. If you are willing to go a bit of a distance from the beach, say a few miles, then you have more of a shot.
Thanks for the really informative reply, Petey. I agree that I'll probably have to compromise somewhat, but I just wanted to see if there was a place where I could get most of the things I was looking for.
Like you mentioned, Long Branch does seem worthy of checking out. I could go a little higher in price (850-875K) but I don't want a condo apartment - a townhouse with ocean views would be great though. Possible?
Seaside Heights is pretty far south for a commute and it's not within walking distance of a train station. Pt. Pleasant has a train station and is a really quaint town but I don't know about the affordability or how long the commute would be.
I live in Toms River. I own waterfront property (lagoon which leads to barnegat bay and I am a 5 minute walk to a bay beach and 8 minute drive to the ocean.) I commute to Elizabeth every day and it takes me approx. 1 1/4 hour drive to reach the Goethals bridge. There is defintely waterfront property here in your price range but the commute is long.
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