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OT: Drawing on board expertise: Toms River for a retirement residence?

I actually know a fair amount about this from extensive exposure to Orthodox Jews:

Hasidim are a subcategory of Orthodox. That is, all Hasidim are Orthodox -- they obey the same religious laws -- but not all Orthodox are Hasidim.

Believe it or not, Lakewood is not Hasidic. When modern Hasidism arose in Eastern Europe at the end of the 18th century, the traditional Jewish authorities opposed them (in large part because the Hasidim threatened their power). The large yeshiva in Lakewood is a direct descendant of the Lithuanian "Mitnaggim," the opponents of Hasidism.

The biggest problem the Orthodox of any category pose is that they do not send their kids to public school. As a result, they vote against anything that would give money to those schools. This of course means that the pubic schools there are crappy.

Here are other problems:

The Orthodox (again, of any category) do not drive on the Sabbath or on Jewish holidays. Thus they want to live close to synagogues, which means they congregate in dense pockets, and bid up the price of housing. It also means there are neighborhoods that have only Orthodox.

The Orthodox tend to have large families. (They feel they're making up for the murder of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust.) That means that a lot of houses get expanded, often in ways that are not terribly attractive.

The Orthodox also often resent neighbors who do traditional things on the Sabbath or Jewish holidays (e.g. drive cars), which of course makes for friction.

There is also a problem of observance of secular laws. The prophet Jeremiah (who told the Israelites they were going to be sent into exile, and was quite unpopular for saying that) quoted God as saying that the Israelites should pray for the welfare of the country into which he sent them into exile. An essential principle of Jewish law is "dina malkuta dina" (the law of the king -- the secular authorities -- is law.) But one doesn't always see it (remember the large weddings that went on during the worst of the pandemic). The Orthodox are not violent, but there is a certain amount of low-level white-collar crime (particularly against the secular government), which other Orthodox will not report for fear of being condemned as informers.

I apologize for the length of this post.
It was a good post.

I scared my neighbor when I told them I was a heathen.

But I made up for it when I bought the kids Kosher ice cream.

And I overpaid when the kids had a lemonade stand
 
I actually know a fair amount about this from extensive exposure to Orthodox Jews:

Hasidim are a subcategory of Orthodox. That is, all Hasidim are Orthodox -- they obey the same religious laws -- but not all Orthodox are Hasidim.

Believe it or not, Lakewood is not Hasidic. When modern Hasidism arose in Eastern Europe at the end of the 18th century, the traditional Jewish authorities opposed them (in large part because the Hasidim threatened their power). The large yeshiva in Lakewood is a direct descendant of the Lithuanian "Mitnaggim," the opponents of Hasidism.

The biggest problem the Orthodox of any category pose is that they do not send their kids to public school. As a result, they vote against anything that would give money to those schools. This of course means that the public schools there are crappy.

Here are other problems:

The Orthodox (again, of any category) do not drive on the Sabbath or on Jewish holidays. Thus they want to live close to synagogues, which means they congregate in dense pockets, and bid up the price of housing. It also means there are neighborhoods that have only Orthodox.

The Orthodox tend to have large families. (They feel they're making up for the murder of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust.) That means that a lot of houses get expanded, often in ways that are not terribly attractive.

The Orthodox also often resent neighbors who do traditional things on the Sabbath or Jewish holidays (e.g. drive cars), which of course makes for friction.

There is also a problem of observance of secular laws. The prophet Jeremiah (who told the Israelites they were going to be sent into exile, and was quite unpopular for saying that) quoted God as saying that the Israelites should pray for the welfare of the country into which he sent them into exile. An essential principle of Jewish law is "dina malkuta dina" (the law of the king -- the secular authorities -- is law.) But one doesn't always see it (remember the large weddings that went on during the worst of the pandemic). The Orthodox are not violent, but there is a certain amount of low-level white-collar crime (particularly against the secular government), which other Orthodox will not report for fear of being condemned as informers.

I apologize for the length of this post.
Let me add that there are a fair number of Orthodox, especially Hasids, with big families and low income. (Today's ultraorthodox often tend not to have good secular educations and in any event think they should spend all their time studying religious law.) Many of those people (and those who run Orthodox institutions) are willing to "bend" secular laws to get governmental benefits. That is the primary source of the low-level white collar crime I mention.
 
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This is the law that drives all the cases

Yes and no. The Act protects some religious activity against laws that are neutral on their fact -- that apply to everyone. As the article says, the Supreme Court has held that the Act cannot constitutionally apply to states, and therefore it does not apply to municipalities or other state subdivisions. It only applies to federal action. So, at present, a state law that is neutral on its face (e.g. no one can consume peyote) applies even to someone who says he is using peyote for religious reasons.

Some states have passed their own religious freedom restoration acts. New Jersey so far has not.

OTOH, the conservatives on the Supreme Court have made pretty clear that they intend to expand constitutional protections for religious conduct; these protections would apply to states and state subdivisions. We'll see.
 
Yes and no. The Act protects some religious activity against laws that are neutral on their fact -- that apply to everyone. As the article says, the Supreme Court has held that the Act cannot constitutionally apply to states, and therefore it does not apply to municipalities or other state subdivisions. It only applies to federal action. So, at present, a state law that is neutral on its face (e.g. no one can consume peyote) applies even to someone who says he is using peyote for religious reasons.

Some states have passed their own religious freedom restoration acts. New Jersey so far has not.

OTOH, the conservatives on the Supreme Court have made pretty clear that they intend to expand constitutional protections for religious conduct; these protections would apply to states and state subdivisions. We'll see.
Did you see the Indiana abortion case?

I thought it was interesting
 
Did you see the Indiana abortion case?

I thought it was interesting
For those who don't know, a Jewish group brought a suit saying that Indiana's near total ban on abortion infringes their freedom of religious because abortions are permitted under Jewish law under some circumstances. (BTW, the group is *not* Orthodox -- far from it.) Indiana is a state with a religious freedom restoration act. While the stories I've seen aren't explicit, the suit is apparently based on that statute. So even if the suit is successful, the ruling won't have impact here.
 
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great example of swinging and missing but then swinging again after lobbing yourself a practice ball instead of the game ball. You should sit this one out, you really don't have a single clue about what is happening here.

You missed my points. Too subtle perhaps.

I am not oblivious to this stuff.
 
All the OP is looking for is a nice, reasonable place near the beach, and Tom’s River is as nice as any.

The theme of this thread seems to be don’t move to Tom’s River because of the Orthodox.

But I have yet to read a single tangible reason as to how the Orthodox will affect OPs quality of life should he choose to live in Toms River. I have yet to see a single Orthodox live in a retirement community, where op wants to live, because these aren’t places where the Orthodox can build their McMansions.

My friends live in the vicinity of Hooper Avenue in a retirement community, and enjoy a high quality of life, making frequent trips to Island Beach State Park, which might be the best beach in New Jersey.

I’ve grown up with Orthodox as neighbors, as my hometown neighborhood is walkable to the synagogue. My experience with them is that they are very shrewd, but fair, and are exceptional negotiators.

My neighbor, who was also a rabbi, did not pay property taxes because his was a religious house of instruction. But his presence attracted other orthodox families, who tore down the houses they bought, and in their place, built McMansions. So the property taxes for those lots went from roughly $10K to $30K. My hometown neighborhood block is filled with McMansions. In fact, after my mom sold, a McMansion was built in our lot. Our house had three bedrooms. Its replacement had 8.

So yes, while certain orthodox houses won’t pay property taxes, other orthodox houses more than make up for the difference. And from my experience, they were exemplary neighbors.

In any case, the average property tax bill in Toms River is 7,470, which is quite good for New Jersey.

OP should do his own due diligence.

LOL you are totally wrong. Orthodox folks move into a retirement community get on the board and all of a sudden there's new pool hours that exclude all men for hours during the day. True story...


I don't want any old man with a beard telling me how i will live my life.
 
Most know that I very much lean toward no discrimination and on the left side of things. And what I am about to say has nothing to do with these group's religion.
But in the towns they target- it is a business plan for them and they treat it like a hostile takeover. They will use their religion as a way to disrupt and cause enough havoc that long time residents would rather move then stay. They take over the school boards, they take over communities, they scam every government process that there is. They feel they can intrude on your property if their religion has rules that let them do it. They are taking mult underage wives with fake marriage licenses divorce them after pregnant so that they qualify for additional government handouts as well as affordable housing- which usually happens to be owned by their ex husbands.
Housing prices are driven down and like a hostile takeover- everything else is pushed to it's breaking point. And if anyone tries to put a halt to it- they get sued.
This is not a religion but a very powerful multi billion dollar business.
It's almost like a RICO enterprise but all legal under the guise of religion so its hard to challenge and in some ways protected and co opted by laws that are designed to protect the religion but can't prevent the undesirable aspects that result form it.
 
It's almost like a RICO enterprise but all legal under the guise of religion so its hard to challenge and in some ways protected and co opted by laws that are designed to protect the religion but can't prevent the undesirable aspects that result form it.
We all agree people should be allowed to live where they want.

We all agree that there is nothing wrong with being involved with the governing of your community. Either by voting or running for office.

We all realize that people vote in a way they feel is in their best interest.

We all agree that religious freedom is an important aspect of American life

It appears when that actually happens it upsets people.
 
Yes and no. The Act protects some religious activity against laws that are neutral on their fact -- that apply to everyone. As the article says, the Supreme Court has held that the Act cannot constitutionally apply to states, and therefore it does not apply to municipalities or other state subdivisions. It only applies to federal action. So, at present, a state law that is neutral on its face (e.g. no one can consume peyote) applies even to someone who says he is using peyote for religious reasons.

Some states have passed their own religious freedom restoration acts. New Jersey so far has not.

OTOH, the conservatives on the Supreme Court have made pretty clear that they intend to expand constitutional protections for religious conduct; these protections would apply to states and state subdivisions. We'll see.
I think a few of the park laws that were called into account
We all agree people should be allowed to live where they want.

We all agree that there is nothing wrong with being involved with the governing of your community. Either by voting or running for office.

We all realize that people vote in a way they feel is in their best interest.

We all agree that religious freedom is an important aspect of American life

It appears when that actually happens it upsets people.
What they do is pretty much the opposite side of what is illegal in real estate but has the same desired affect. They push people tge don’t want in a neighborhood out.
 
I think a few of the park laws that were called into account

What they do is pretty much the opposite side of what is illegal in real estate but has the same desired affect. They push people tge don’t want in a neighborhood out.
My neighbor will ultimately be 100% Orthodox. The people who have moved here has done absolutely nothing wrong.

The people selling have decided to move. Would it be different if the home was sold to Koreans, Nigerians or Indians?
 
That is what happened in Jackson.

Orthodox started buying on the eastern section of Jackson and along the area off of Cross Street.

I am sure there might have been some Orthodox investors buying property but from the people I know in those areas it was mostly just families buying homes to live in.

This started about 10 years ago and the houses in the Brookwood section were the least expensive and they went up substantially in comparison to the rest of the town.
Over the last few years they have been moving to my area which is towards the north western side of town. We are entirely on septic with at least an acre.

NW...is that Six Flags? This is what has been relayed to me about Jackson too.

It is definitely funny when people say about the condition of homes- it very well could be true but if you go on Zillow the prices in Lakewood are absolutely wild and likely higher than the surrounding towns in many cases.
 
Western section is near Great Adventure.

Great Adventure runs from about 2-4 miles from the Freehold border on the north to about 4-5 miles from the southern border with New Egypt. It is on the western border.

Jackson is kind of a 10 by 10 mile square.

I added a map


I figured this area would remain rural. It is very far from houses of worship.

Also this is quite close to Millstone (i think the ramp across 537 is technically there) and they will definitely fight any kind of intense development.
 
I figured this area would remain rural. It is very far from houses of worship.

Also this is quite close to Millstone (i think the ramp across 537 is technically there) and they will definitely fight any kind of intense development.
The line from the top left of the map is Route 537. It ends at Route 539
 
We all agree people should be allowed to live where they want.

We all agree that there is nothing wrong with being involved with the governing of your community. Either by voting or running for office.

We all realize that people vote in a way they feel is in their best interest.

We all agree that religious freedom is an important aspect of American life

It appears when that actually happens it upsets people.
With all due respect, Tom, get back to me when you’re way of life and what you’re used to and everything you’ve worked for is completely turn upside down because these criminals are allowed to do as they please under the false guise of religion, with no regard for anybody else except themselves, to the detriment of everything and everyone around them
 
My neighbor will ultimately be 100% Orthodox. The people who have moved here has done absolutely nothing wrong.

The people selling have decided to move. Would it be different if the home was sold to Koreans, Nigerians or Indians?
Yes, it would be 1000% different. Textbook definition of a false equivalency.
 
LOL you are totally wrong. Orthodox folks move into a retirement community get on the board and all of a sudden there's new pool hours that exclude all men for hours during the day. True story...


I don't want any old man with a beard telling me how i will live my life.
Has that happened in Tom’s River? Not to my knowledge. The notion that people should avoid Tom’s River because the Orthodox might move in and dominate the community is without merit. Orthodox Jews make up only a small percentage of Tom’s Rivers 95K residents.
 
With all due respect, Tom, get back to me when you’re way of life and what you’re used to and everything you’ve worked for is completely turn upside down because these criminals are allowed to do as they please under the false guise of religion, with no regard for anybody else except themselves, to the detriment of everything and everyone around them
Why would you refer to the 3 families who purchased homes by me as "these criminals". You stated you were Italian does everyone refer to you as a Mafioso?
Do you really believe that every Orthodox family is to be characterized the way you do?
 
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Has that happened in Tom’s River? Not to my knowledge. The notion that people should avoid Tom’s River because the Orthodox might move in and dominate the community is without merit. Orthodox Jews make up only a small percentage of Tom’s Rivers 95K residents.
I mentioned in an earlier post that I would not buy in a retirement community. The Orthodox clearly use the concept of voting to get what they want. In a HOA they will put rules that someone like me, a secular heathen, does not like. That said that is how HOAs work.
 
Yes, it would be 1000% different. Textbook definition of a false equivalency.
I think initially it would be different however once a high percentage of homes were owned by a specific non-white demographic the future sales would end up the same as the sales where Orthodox purchase.

I do not think the outrage would be the same but the results of who lives there would be.
 
My neighbor will ultimately be 100% Orthodox. The people who have moved here has done absolutely nothing wrong.

The people selling have decided to move. Would it be different if the home was sold to Koreans, Nigerians or Indians?
As I have said a number of times- this is not a "Religious" thing- it is big dirty business that is using Religion as a weapon. And if any of the others you mentioned, used the same tactics that we are discussing, it would also be a big deal.
I personally have no problem with who the heck may move in next to me but if it is part of a "take over" then I do
 
But what I have is 3 families who came and purchased homes to live in. The one that rents has had good tenants and plans to ultimately live in the home.

As far as I am aware there has been no widespread block busting or any untoward actions by the Orthodox that purchased in Jackson. I am aware and have actually seen vile remarks about the Orthodox when they initially started to move here.
 
Why would you refer to the 3 families who purchased homes by me as "these criminals". You stated you were Italian does everyone refer to you as a Mafioso?
Do you really believe that every Orthodox family is to be characterized the way you do?
Again, to compare Italians, Asians, Indians, or any other race to these people is an insult to that particular race.

None of them have the history, and documents at that, of doing what they have done to Lakewood and are attempting to do to the surrounding communities

I guarantee you will change your tune if Jackson turns into Lakewood
 
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But what I have is 3 families who came and purchased homes to live in. The one that rents has had good tenants and plans to ultimately live in the home.

As far as I am aware there has been no widespread block busting or any untoward actions by the Orthodox that purchased in Jackson. I am aware and have actually seen vile remarks about the Orthodox when they initially started to move here.
They’ve nearly outgrown Lakewood, and have started to spread out. Lakewood has made adjustments to continue building, but eventually that will not be enough as they all have multiple kids and plans to get bigger. Where do you think they will go once that happens?
 
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Again, to compare Italians, Asians, Indians, or any other race to these people is an insult to that particular race.

None of them have the history, and documents at that, of doing what they have done to Lakewood and are attempting to do to the surrounding communities

I guarantee you will change your tune if Jackson turns into Lakewood
This is what is confusing Tom- you arent helping.

We need to get past what religion they are- they are only using their religion as a weapon. Not all Orthodox are a part of these takeovers. Just like, not all Blacks are part of the BLM organization.
Not all Gays and or lesbians are part of some of the crazy agendas being pushed either.
 
Again, to compare Italians, Asians, Indians, or any other race to these people is an insult to that particular race.

None of them have the history, and documents at that, of doing what they have done to Lakewood and are attempting to do to the surrounding communities

I guarantee you will change your tune if Jackson turns into Lakewood
I expect Jackson to be different than it currently is. But it is different to the people who lived here prior to 1995 and that change is due to the influx from North Jersey.

I treat people on their action not on my assumption that others did something so they will too.
 
This is what is confusing Tom- you arent helping.

We need to get past what religion they are- they are only using their religion as a weapon. Not all Orthodox are a part of these takeovers. Just like, not all Blacks are part of the BLM organization.
Not all Gays and or lesbians are part of some of the crazy agendas being pushed either.
I have seen no indication that my neighbors or any of the others have used their religion as a weapon but it seems the assumption is that they are.

If they get permits to build houses of worship would that be using their religion as a weapon?
 
They’ve nearly outgrown Lakewood, and have started to spread out. Lakewood has made adjustments to continue building, but eventually that will not be enough as they all have multiple kids and plans to get bigger. Where do you think they will go once that happens?
That is already happening and has for 10 years. I do not have an issue with it apparently you do.
 
Again, to compare Italians, Asians, Indians, or any other race to these people is an insult to that particular race.

None of them have the history, and documents at that, of doing what they have done to Lakewood and are attempting to do to the surrounding communities

I guarantee you will change your tune if Jackson turns into Lakewood
What exactly is wrong with Lakewood? The property values have increased at a greater rate than real estate overall. Building and businesses are growing.

Its crowded but so are a number of municipalities more crowded than they were 40 years ago.
 
I expect Jackson to be different than it currently is. But it is different to the people who lived here prior to 1995 and that change is due to the influx from North Jersey.

I treat people on their action not on my assumption that others did something so they will too.
As do I
And Their actions have been nothing short of deplorable
 
That is already happening and has for 10 years. I do not have an issue with it apparently you do.
You will if your entire neighborhood gets taken over

And you’re damn right I have a problem with it when people are weaponizing their religion and compromising other hard-working people quality of life due to for own selfish gains
 
What exactly is wrong with Lakewood? The property values have increased at a greater rate than real estate overall. Building and businesses are growing.

Its crowded but so are a number of municipalities more crowded than they were 40 years ago.
Stop
What was once a thriving resort community or past president visited is now an overgrown shithole

Let me know next time you drive-through it - better yet don’t, because clearly you either have your head in the clouds or you have a vested interest in this particular group of bad apples
 
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I have seen no indication that my neighbors or any of the others have used their religion as a weapon but it seems the assumption is that they are.

If they get permits to build houses of worship would that be using their religion as a weapon?
Yes, it would be

The purpose of a neighborhood is not to have synagogues and churches all over, it’s to have single-family dwellings.

You’re smarter than this Tom, so I don’t know if you have a vested interest in these guys comings & goings or are simply choosing to be a contrarian

Either way, you are dead wrong on this issue, as there tons of facts and data to back up my pointed assertions and absolutely nothing to back up your obtuse assumptions
 
I am starting to go on an assumption that Tom just happens to have a close interest within the group we are discussing 🧐. No need to respond to him any more...
What exactly is wrong with Lakewood? The property values have increased at a greater rate than real estate overall. Building and businesses are growing.

Its crowded but so are a number of municipalities more crowded than they were 40 years ago.
Start with the school debt. Will be at $280 million if they receive what they are currently asking for. No chance its ever repaid. Is that part of a healthy township?

 
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