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We moved from the East Village, NYC to San Diego a few years ago and now we're thinking of moving back East because we want to be closer to family (they live in upstate NY) and start our own family. Now that we have lived in San Diego, we love the Ocean and surfing but miss the city. We are not familiar with NJ and have been told we could live our dream life of living by a beach with surfing that has a walking neighborhood with restaurants and bars plus a decent commute to NYC for work. Please let me know if towns like the one described exist. Our price range to buy a three-bedroom house or townhouse between 400k – 450k
Hazlet, Matawan, Old Bridge, Highlands, Belford, Union Beach, Port Monmouth ... all nice towns, close to trains and ferrys and about a 60 minute commute to NYC. All are on the Raritan Bay.
For REAL surfing though you'd have to go further south, to the ocean, like Monmouth Beach.
When you say "living by a beach", are you thinking within walking distance of the beach? If so, you can forget your $400-450k price range. And to get decent surfing and a walkable downtown, you'll need to head further south to places like Belmar or Point Pleasant, where you'll be more than 60 minutes from NYC, and even further out of your price range.
I think if you want to keep your commute to an hour or less, you can't go much further south than Monmouth County; Brick Twp or Pt. Pleasant in Ocean County at most. Being that you are used to the amenities of major cities, I would recommend sticking with Monmouth County.
Great, thanks everyone! We are going to visit some NJ areas next month, so far on our list we have Middletown, Red Bank, Hazlet, Matawan, Old Bridge, Highlands, Belford, Union Beach, and Port Monmouth. From this list which would have the best NYC commute and best beach town. Not so much walking to the beach but a short drive or bike ride.
Before reading this post, I'm thinking beach town as accessible
to the ocean. This will help frame my perspective.
I'll be honest, Hazlet is not a beach town. We have easy access to Rt. 36 that leads down to Sandy Hook in about twenty minutes, but most residents skip the Sandy Hook beaches and go further south. (You get to know the better, nicer beaches). We have an awesome town, and access to city and beaches.
And Keyport, Union Beach, Belford (Hazlet, Holmdel) are all part of the Bayshore. Keyport, Union Beach, Belford (which is part of Middletown) is on the bay. You can see NYC from their waterfronts. They do have activities and festivals in the summer. And Union Beach has slowly improved over the years, but buying a house there and trying to resell it is still extremely difficult for their residents. Schools in Keyport and Union Beach are still iffy at best, with Union Beach students going to Keyport or down to Red Bank Regional. Belford has been really built up lately, and is part of Middletown. Belford (very surprisingly) tends to be on the lower economic status of Middletown.
In your list, Highlands is probably the nicest town for beach on your list and to meet your requirements, price and lifestyle. You are further down on Rt. 36, and have easy access to surpass Sandy Hook and go straight to Sea Bright. You can take the ferry to commute if so desired.
But I would definitley go to Pt. Pleasant Borough or beach for the pricing you want, but commute will definitely put you over your hour. Pt. Beach is the last stop on the Jersey Transit line which includes stops in Matawan, Hazlet, Middletown, Red Bank. You'll have close access to the ocean (which is what in my mind is the real beach, and really nice beaches at that. The commute will be the tradeoff.
For living just on the water, that's not ocean, you'll find the best of the best in Fair Haven and Rumson, but that's in the millions.
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