Where You Can Be Middle-Aged and Under-Aged At The
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10/1/2010
My wife and I moved to Whiting, a village in Manchester Township, NJ, in 1998. What attracted us initially was the low cost of housing (for New Jersey). At that time, our 2500 sq ft. home sold for just over $140K. Since then it has more than doubled in value and has been less effected by the recession than other places in New Jersey.
There are other nice things about where we live: The proximity to the relative wilderness (again, we're talking New Jersey here) of the Pine Barrens. The clean air and water in our area, and the absence of the chaotic rush found nearly everywhere else in New Jersey.
Visitors (even those from other towns nearby) often say they feel like they're in a different state. I contribute this to two major populations in our area: Seniors; and "Pineys." The median age of Manchester Township, NJ, is 73. That means that I, in my late 40s, is 25 years younger than the average resident. And what are "Pineys?" Piney is a local term for people who grew up in the Pine Barrens. We're talking the 4x4 big-wheel pick-up truck crowd.
Because the soil in this area is too sandy and acidic for most farming it never became widely settled in Colonial times. Because it lies at least an hour south of the main routes between Philadelphia and New York it has remained largely ignored by more recent commerce. And because it lies just west of the Jersey Shore, vacationers largely ignore it in favor of the beaches. Instead, the state has taken this undervalued area and pursued an aggressive limited growth plan to protect the wildlife and the aquifer beneath it.
The down sides? We average 37,000 miles per year on our cars because everything is far away. Why so much? Though New Jersey has the most malls per person, they aren't near us. Though fiddle music and carving pine logs are cultural activities we prefer to drive into New York City (about 90 minutes each way) or Philadelphia (60 minutes) for museums and restaurants.
There are very few public services: We have a well (thankfully, drawing from that same pure aquifer) and septic field. No garbage collection. Our development seems to get plowed last during winter storms. Our town's government caters almost exclusively to the seniors and is staffed almost exclusively by the Pineys so zoning is haphazard and many eyesores are allowed. and, though we live away from all the business and busyness of the rest of New Jersey, we still foot the same tax bills and insurance rates as the more populous areas.
All-in-all: A great part of New Jersey, but still a part of New jersey.
Neil | Manchester Township, NJ