This week, I am SO stoked to welcome guest blogger, and TOTAL Rockstar Mom, Jennifer Auer from Jersey Family Fun to The Rockstar Blog!
I never pictured myself the Jersey girl. When I moved to New Jersey in high school I couldn’t wait to get out. It was like I was counting the days. I graduated from Cedar Ridge High School and started my college years at Stockton. I figured I would graduate college and then move anywhere, anywhere but New Jersey.
Then, I met my husband, a Jersey boy from Atlantic County. As our love grew I found myself coming back to Atlantic County repeatedly. Even though I had transferred out to Bryant College in Rhode Island, I found myself returning to Atlantic County every school break, every holiday, and every summer so that we could spend more time together.
When we got married, I did so fully knowing I was never getting the Jersey out of the boy...or the boy out of New Jersey. Now, I can’t imagine living anywhere else. We’ve made a life here. We’re raising three boys here and every day I’m over on Jersey Family Fun sharing great things to do in New Jersey with kids.
Now, I might be a little biased, but of all New Jersey’s 21 counties I do love living in Atlantic County. (I’ve lived in 3.) If you’re considering moving to Atlantic County or perhaps you’ve thought about leaving. Let me show you why I love living in Atlantic County.
5 Things to Love About Living in Atlantic County
We get beach days 365 days a year!
In summertime, tourists flock to our beaches. Brigantine, Atlantic City, and other beaches may get a little crowded, but as locals we know the best places to go to avoid the crowds. We also know that tourists will eventually return to their homes but we’ll have the beach 365 days a year.
A beautiful day in September, October, or the early spring days… getting to the beach at the most would take 20 or so minutes. We can squeeze in a beach day while the kids are in school or perhaps a few beach moments on our lunch break. Not every New Jerseyan can say that.
We don’t even necessarily have to have the sun to have a great beach day either. A cool winter night, a snowy day when you live in Atlantic County these can also make for memorable beach days.
Fun, fabulous, and unique family attractions
Atlantic County is home to Lucy the Elephant. No where else in the world can you walk through an elephant, up to the howdah and take in the beautiful scenes of the Margate shoreline.
Beyond that we have the Absecon Lighthouse, Atlantic City Aquarium, Atlantic City Cruises, Historic Smithville, Noyes Museum, African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey. Each of these family attractions in Atlantic County are unique. School holidays, homeschoolers, or virtual learners can find not just fun places to explore in Atlantic County, but fun places to learn as well.
Beautiful places to connect with nature
Hike, bike, run, boat, or kayak… you can do all of these activities in Atlantic County. We have an impressive and picturesque bike trail that connects Pleasantville to Somers Point. Start at one end and do a round trip or park at one of the stops along the way for a shorter route. Even if you’re not a biker you can take advantage of these trails for walking or running. Make sure to stop at the Linwood Arboretum. It’s all outdoors and has a plethora of plants with colorful flowers. There’s always something in bloom.
Birch Grove Park, Estell Manor, Lake Lenape, Egg Harbor Township Nature Preserve, Forsythe Wildlife Refuge are just some of the incredible places that you can hike in Atlantic County.
Got a kayak? Estell Manor and Lake Lenape allow kayakers to kayak in their waters at no charge.
Three Cities just a short drive away
Some may say life in Atlantic County moves too slow. I think it moves just fine, but when we’re craving the city life we never have too far to go. Atlantic City is 30 minutes or less for most of us. We can get to Philadelphia in about an hour and New York City in 2-3 hours. We have the luxury of being close to the city without the big city traffic and congestion.
If you hate driving into the city that’s not a problem either. Many NJ Transit bus routes go into Atlantic City and NJ Transit offers a route that’s direct from Atlantic City to Philadelphia’s 30th street station. New Jersey Transit’s bus service also offers a bus that has an Atlantic City-New York City route too.
Scenic drives
On chillier days, we don’t need to be bored in Atlantic County. There are two wonderful options for scenic drives that allow us to get outdoors without getting outdoors.
If you’re into watching wildlife, head on over to the Forsythe Wildlife Refuge. Their 8 mile wildlife drive will allow you to stay in your car while you slowly drive along a dirt path through the refuge. Expect to see gulls, herons, egrets, osprey, ducks, and swan. I recommend going just before sunset as that’s when I’ve seen the most wildlife. Don’t forget the binoculars.
Love art?
Then, you definitely want to take advantage of the self-guided Atlantic City Murals Tour I put together. You can spend an entire morning or afternoon driving around Atlantic City and admiring the 60+ plus murals around the city. It’s one of the unknown treasures of our area that definitely doesn’t get talked about enough.
Have I convinced you yet to love living in Atlantic County? These 5 ideas just barely scratch the surface of what our area offers. Farms, city-life, museums, beaches, public art, parks and more, we have a little bit of everything all within our reach, but only if you live in Atlantic County.
Written by Jennifer Auer, Editor, Founder, Owner, & New Jersey Blogger, Travel Blogger
Jennifer Auer is a married mom of three boys, who saw a need for a resource that helps families find affordable family fun in New Jersey. She founded Jersey Family Fun to help families experience the best New Jersey has to offer. She is an overachieving, detail-oriented, hyperlocal blogger mom who uses her influence to plan events, spread social good and help small businesses and national brands reach her audience.
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