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Here are some of the photos that we took of Red Bank and the surrounding area:
Broad Street
Riverside Gardens Park
View across the river
Quaint train station
Train tracks
Twin Lights Lighthouse (one of them)
View of Manhattan from the Highlands
michgc, any updates on Redbank, Doylestown or Yardley? I'm considering those same areas. I'm also looking into Long Island, maybe Glen Cove or Port Washington. Have you checked out those areas?
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Originally Posted by LouiseB716
michgc, any updates on Redbank, Doylestown or Yardley? I'm considering those same areas. I'm also looking into Long Island, maybe Glen Cove or Port Washington. Have you checked out those areas?
That's so funny that you asked as I was just up in Philly and was talking about it at great length with my parents. I am originally from the Phila. area but live in NC now, so I stick in visits when I am up that way visiting family. We hope to move in 2025. Here is our update:
--I think we've ruled out Yardley. It's pretty, and my husband likes the access to the river and I like the towpath. I also really like the location near I-95 and that it's closer to the trains to NYC. But there is just not enough going on there to be a vibrant, walkable town for everyday living.
--Doylestown was my original pick and it still high up there. I love so many things about it. As I was up in Philadelphia, we took a drive to Doylestown. The town is so very charming, and there are a lot of nice restaurants, shops, museums, and is very walkable. The negative (to me) is that it's not as convenient to get to NYC by public transportation as other places. I will not be commuting but am heavily into genealogy, and all of my ancestors settled in NYC, so I love exploring the neighborhoods and doing research and hope to go to NYC about twice a month. It's also very "country" outside Doylestown which isn't my thing. There is a train to Philly which is nice, but I don't anticipate using it too often.
--I am now also considering two other Philly suburbs - Ardmore which has an Amtrak train directly to NYC but is farther and Media which is another adorable walkable town. Media is convenient to I-95 and the airport and has some decent public transportation but would be a more indirect route to NYC. Both are more urban than Doylestown and more centrally located. I don't want to rule anything out, so want to look deeper into these two (I grew up near these towns so am fairly familiar with them but not from an adult perspective and for our needs.)
--My final consideration is Red Bank. While I had originally considered places in NJ, I was thinking South Jersey and wasn't familiar at all with Monmouth County. I learned about it here on City-Data. Thanks, Mightyqueen! On paper, it has nearly everything combined that my husband and I like - river for kayaking, train to NYC, walkable town, close to the beach. I have only visited once - last summer - and it seemed very nice. It definitely felt "New Jersey" (not that there's anything with it!) and no longer in the Philly sphere. Will I get dirty looks for wearing my Eagles jersey there? It is much more urban than Doylestown which I enjoy but it's not as charming/quaint, which I am fine with. I didn't get a great feel for the friendliness of the locals and want to go back and experience that more. I LOVE the frequent trains to NYC. And being close to the beach is a nice perk. The high property taxes concern me, and I've thought that even taking the Amtrak twice a month from Ardmore to NYC, the cost might still be much less if the property taxes in PA are thousands less a year. Red Bank is definitely an outlier on my list, being farther from my Philly family and friends, but has so many things going for it. Plus having lived in NC for 10+ years now, everything will seem much closer to friends/family.
--We never considered Long Island for retirement. It's too out of the way for where most of our friends are (Philly and DC). But my husband had an opportunity for a job transfer there before we moved to North Carolina. We liked Northport and later looked at Sea Cliff which was great. So many nice towns there, but overall, it was too expensive and inconvenient for us. I had fears of sitting in traffic for hours trying to get off the island. 20+ years of DC traffic had me scared.
So our plan is to rent an Air B&B or something similar for about a week in each town on our final list and try to live like locals and see how we like it. I'm hoping we just "know" after each visit, kind of like when you are house hunting.
Hope that helps some. Keep us posted on your impressions and progress!
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Originally Posted by lancers
Maybe I misunderstood but Monmouth County is not South Jersey.
I meant that I had considered South Jersey but not parts of New Jersey north of there. In reality, Monmouth is actually closer to where my parents live AND has a train to NYC which is very appealing. I know that Monmouth County is Central Jersey.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Originally Posted by ecargua
red bank is an excellent choice but can be a bit costly, as it is desirable and not crime-ridden.maybe purchasing a fixer-upper, short sale, or foreclosure would be your best bet, unless you are affluent enough to go for a more conventional sale. some of them are in pretty good condition, actually. it's also right on the nj transit train line. the stores and eateries are excellent. you can't go wrong. the downside is congestion, especially in the summer, when driving or even walking becomes borderline nightmarish. another option might be ocean grove, directly on the beach with quaint little homes or even asbury park, as close to the ocean as is possible. other options, directly on the train lines and in close proximity to nyc are long branch and oceanport. long branch is lined with upscale stores and eateries directly on its beach, but oceanport, less costly, requires you to drive to places like that or to be enthusiastic long-distant walkers. folk can be cynical, especially during the winter, but there is an intrigue, camaraderie, and sort of a surprising enthusiasm about confronting hardships and ordeals that i haven't found in other areas. i think that a segment of the folk in this area are wannabe floridians, but have to remain due to high paying jobs and/or family proximity. it's easy to take walk right on the oceanfront nearby, as well. conversely, a lot of the county of monmouth has lookalike ranch houses and few pedestrians, which can be stifling to creative and/or unconventional types, excluding red bank, asbury park, and ocean grove. i live in bayonne, nj, bordering jersey city and staten island, nyc, and while i would be afraid that this would be isolating, slow, and too small town for me, as i am a native new yorker, i think a lot of folk love it. once again, the driving is frenetic. lengthy traffic lights and folk in flashy luxury cars exceeding the speed limit are prominent. i myself would prefer the poconos, readington, new hope for a weekend place or an occasional trip. good luck!
Thanks for your input. Walkability is most important to me and right on the train line to NYC if I'm going to do New Jersey. I don't need to live right at the beach but being nearby is a nice plus!
Maybe I misunderstood but Monmouth County is not South Jersey.
I think you misunderstood. The person said they were thinking South Jersey but had not heard of Monmouth County. The way I read that, I think it means they don't think Monmouth County is South Jersey, just that they didn't know there were other places in between.
I just joined this forum and found your post from 2022, "michgc.". I am researching places to retire for my sister-in-law and bro-in-law who live in Massachusetts. A lot of the criteria you listed in your original post apply to them. I'm curious where you ended up settling?
Thanks,
Ruth
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It is much more urban than Doylestown which I enjoy but it's not as charming/quaint, which I am fine with. I didn't get a great feel for the friendliness of the locals and want to go back and experience that more. I LOVE the frequent trains to NYC. And being close to the beach is a nice perk. The high property taxes concern me, and I've thought that even taking the Amtrak twice a month from Ardmore to NYC, the cost might still be much less if the property taxes in PA are thousands less a year. Red Bank is definitely an outlier on my list, being farther from my Philly family and friends, but has so many things going for it. Plus having lived in NC for 10+ years now, everything will seem much closer to friends/family.
