March 20, 2009 by ivylily
- Why Choose Ocean City, Maryland Over the Fabled Jersey Shore?
Three and a half hours is the difference between the location of Ocean City, Maryland, and the closest New Jersey beaches, those at Long Beach Island. Here’s why Ocean City, Maryland is by far the more superior destination for a beach vacation.
1. Maryland does not charge for the use of its beaches. New Jersey makes a small fortune by charging for ‘beach tags’ at every shore town, with the exception of those located in public parks – which are nearly always overcrowded and dirty. A Jersey beach tag can run you from $4 a day – yes, a day! – per person for the privilege of being on the beach – and paid township employees vigorously CHECK for these beach tags. Maryland’s beaches are free; New Jersey’s are not.
2. Housing is less expensive in Ocean City, Maryland. The New Jersey shore is, for the most part, comprised of houses, small bungalows and tiny motels. Ocean City, Maryland has in the vicinity of 3,500 rentals: individual homes, townhouses, condos, and trailers in mobile home parks. For decades, New Jersey – with the exception of Atlantic City – has strongly discouraged the construction of hotels and condominiums in its shore towns. You have far more options – and certainly far less expensive ones – by renting a place in Ocean City, Maryland than you do in New Jersey.
3. Maryland’s Ocean City was a pet project of Governor William Donald Schaeffer, the former mayor of Baltimore who personally loved Ocean City. Thus, the state plowed hundreds of thousands of dollars into beach replenishment and restoration. New Jersey, on the other hand, pretty much leaves it to individual towns to shore up their rapidly diminishing shorelines. Years of neglect and lack of funds have caught up with many towns in maintaining a decent beach.
4. O.C. has its beaches ‘plowed’ each and every night. New Jersey does not – nor has – had the funding to maintain its beaches to pristine condition. Your chances of finding syringes, medical waste, and just plain litter and trash are significantly higher on New Jersey beaches
5. New Jersey has its honky-tonk towns, most notably the Wildwoods; Sea Isle City has somewhat the same reputation. (Both towns have liquor licenses, not surprisingly.) Ocean City, New Jersey is probably the most family-friendly; Margate and Avalon bear the reputation of being elitist and snobby (with very few rentals available). While wild nights in Wildwood are legendary, Ocean City, Maryland has always promoted itself as a family-friendly resort. It has liquor licenses. It has night clubs and bars. It also has a very effective police force which patrols the town extremely well. The level of police presence at Jersey shore towns varies from town to town, depending upon each’s resources. Atlantic City, for instance, would like you to believe that it’s the glitz queen of the Jersey Shore. Actually, it’s more of the ‘bada bing bling’ type of town. Should you set foot outside of the direct casino areas themselves, the city’s streets are, frankly, very dangerous. It also has a quite high percentage of individuals with below national average incomes whose jobs are dependent upon the casinos. My husband worked for several years while in college at a lifeguard at an Atlantic City hotel. While an eye-opening experience for a kid fresh out of western Pennsylvania, it was not a pleasant one. You and your family’s chances of being physically safer are greater in Ocean City, Maryland than in most New Jersey shore towns.
My reflections on the differences between the two areas are based upon years of actual experience staying for extended vacations in both areas over the course of over three decades. While cited facts and figures are great tools in choosing a vacation spot, there’s nothing quite like the first-hand experience of someone who’s actually been there.
Have a fabulous summer vacation!
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