Living in Ocean Twp, NJ

Ocean Township consists of several sections in the town.  West Allenhurst, Colonial Terrace, West Deal and Wanamassa are located in the southeastern part of the town. The Oakhurst section and Elberon Park  are located in the Northeastern section of town and the Wayside section is located west of Route 35. There are also many zip codes in town (07712, 07755, 07711, 07723, and 07740). The town is approximately 11 square miles.

Television talk show host, Wendy Williams, graduated from Ocean Twp High School. She was nice enough to return home and celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday with the children from the schools in town at the relatively new Ocean Twp Public Library on Deal Road which is part of the Monmounth  County Library System.  The library is located in a historic building that was preserved and renovated just a few years ago. The Ocean Township School System has always been rated as one of the top public school systems in the area (#3 behind only Holmdel and Rumson-Fair Haven). Recently Ocean Twp High School was listed as one of the top  High Schools in New Jersey as well as number 1484  in the Country by Newsweek Magazine.

Bamm Bamm Bigelow at one time lived in the Wayside section of Ocean Twp and his children  attended the schools here.

Former Oakland Raider Linebacker,Phil Villapiano, also lived in Ocean Twp and attended Ocean Twp High School. Here is a video where he returned to Oakland to cheer the team on with other former great Oakland Raiders from the 70’s.

Ashley Tisdale grew up in the West Deal section of Ocean Twp and went on to become one of the Disney Channel stars as well as a star in Disney’s  High School Musical movie series. Here is an interview with her promoting her first cd called Headstrong  

Bruce Springsteen lived and recorded in the Wanamassa section of Ocean Twp in the late 60’s and early 70’s at Eastern Challenger Surf Board Factory.

00/03/69 – CHALLENGER EASTERN SURFBOARDS, WANAMASSA, NJ

Complete set details are not known. CHILD conducts it first rehearsal at new manager Carl “Tinker” West’s surfboard factory. Tinker, a legendary surfboard designer/shaper with San Diego-based Challenger West Surfboards, had come to the Jersey shore in 1966 to set up a Challenger East business. Tinker (a guitarist and skilled harp player in his own right) had recently set up a concert promotion business called “Blah Productions”. Tinker was interested in new artists who performed their own songs. It was Vini Lopez who knew Tinker and brought Bruce to meet him – resulting in Tinker agreeing to manage the group. Vini Lopez has mentioned the Springsteen composition “Jennifer” as one of the songs played at this Challenger rehearsal.

“As it looked like in the late 60’s – the legendary Challenger East factory, the major Springsteen rehearsal center and band hangout from 1969 thru mid 1971. That’s Tinker West second from the left, with several members of Challenger’s Pro Surfing Team”.

There is a home in the Colonial Section of Ocean Twp that has had it’s fair share of celebrities visiting or living there. Prior to Billy Howerdel becoming a guitarist with A Perfect Circle and Ashes Divide he would stop by to play pool. A few years later, film maker, Kevin Smith, would rent the home for actors Ben Affleck and Jason Lee during the filming of Chasing Amy.

Shortly after that,  record producer, Ron Frangipane called this house, home. He played keyboards in the real band for the cartoon characters The Archies. He also produced numerous songs for artists such as John Lennon. 

Helping maintain the Jersey Shore as one of the premier music spots in the world is Ocean Twp based Petillo Guitars. They are considered one of  the best guitar craftsman in the country. Besides all of the Jersey Shore tallent that they serve (Nicole Atkins, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Stone Temple Pilots); they have also provided service to some of the top performers in the world  including Tom Petty, James Taylor, Elvis Presley, and Jonny Cash. Here Bruce Springsteen acknowledges how great Phil Petillo was.  

Eric Nies from Mtv’s The Real World Season 1 is also from Ocean Twp. His father Jack Nies was a long time NBA referee.

Ocean Township is a very convenient location for commuters. Route 18, Route 35,  and Route 66 all run through the town and provide easy access to Garden State Parkway exits 102 and 105. The North Jersey Coast Line runs along the eastern boundary of the town with train Stations in Elberon and Allenhurst. There are also a lot of national retail stores in the town in the various shopping centers located along Route 35. Some of the larger retailers include Wegman’s, Kohl’s, Target, Sears, Staples, Panera Bread, and Starbuck’s. There is also a Clearview Cinema with 10 screens.

The beach area is easily accessible between Asbury Park and Long Branch for the residents of Ocean Twp. There are  private and semi-private beach clubs in Loch Arbour, Allenhurst, Deal, and Long Branch along with the public beaches in Long Branch and Asbury Park.  The Southeastern part of Ocean Twp borders Deal Lake.

Ocean Twp has several municipal parks. Joe Palaia Park on the corner of Deal Road and Whalepond Road is host to several popular events each year including the 4th of July Fireworks Display and the Italian Festival that attracts tens of thousands of people each August. The town also has a swim club and lighted tennis courts on West Park Avenue for the residents of town. The town recently purchased the Colonial Terrace Golf Course to create a public course. There are also two prestigous private golf clubs in town. Deal Country Club and Hollywood Country Club. Hollywood’s golf course is rated as one of the best golf courses in New Jersey.

If you would be interested in living in the Ocean Township area, please call Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Preferred Properties at 732-224-9200 or email us at info@bhgmoves.com . You can also down the I-phone BHG App to locate shops and restaurants as well as other features. 

If you would be interested in a career in real estate, you can try the Real Estate Simulator.

Living in Red Bank, NJ

 

Red Bank, NJ is a town for all seasons and has been voted the Hippest Town in New Jersey several times in the past. If you enjoy cultural, musical, Boutique shopping as well as fine dining then Red Bank is a great place to live or visit.  Every Year Tim McLoone and his Holiday Express perform in downtown Red Bank for the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony as seen in this video from 2009.

During the Holiday Season you can have the opportunity to ride in a classic horse and carriage through the streets of downtown Red Bank.

                                              

Red Bank has a long history of ice boating on the frozen Navesink River during the winter season. Here is a video from a very snowy and abnormal winter in 2010 which saw over 5 feet of snow in the area.

Red Bank is host to the largest fireworks display in New Jersey. The event attracts well over 100,000 people to view the display and turns the downtown area into a pedestrian only zone.  Here is a video of  the fireworks display from 2008.

Although Asbury Park is generally considered the areas leading musical venue, Red Bank has its share of music as well. Many of the downtown bars and restaurants host local live entertainment. The Two River Theater was host to Bruce Springsteen’s VH-1 Story Tellers special which is also available on dvd.  Countless famous musicians from across the globe have performed at the historic Count Basie Theater which is named after the  musician Count Basie who was from Red Bank. Southside Johnny usually performs a New Years Eve concert at the venue and will be welcoming in 2011 for the upcoming New Year. This is a video from last years Christmas Show with Southside Johnny and Jon Bon Jovi performing at the Count Basie Theater.

Brian Fallon of the band Gaslight Anthem was born and raised in Red Bank. Here they perform  with Bruce Springsteen in London.

After this performance Brian joined Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band for the concert dvd London Calling live in Hyde Park and sang the song “No Surrender”  

Kevin Smith owns a store in downtown Red Bank known as Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. He has filmed several of his movies in the area including most of the movie Chasing Amy. You can catch him every once in a while at his store or performing at the Count Basie Theater.

                                          

If living in or near Red Bank, NJ would be of interest to you, please contact Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Preferred Properties at 732-224-9200 or email us at info@bhgmoves.com