You may have noticed the article is titled "Living at the Beach" instead of "Living at the Shore," because when you live in South Jersey and you refer to the beach as the shore than you are immediately considered a tourist by locals.
For as long as I can remember, I have always wondered what it was like for a tourist to come and visit the beautiful beaches that I have had the privilege of seeing my whole life. Every year, especially around Memorial Day Weekend, the population of any beach town just about triples in size. Sure, tourists are great for the economy but for any local, we wait for the day the lights turn off and we can travel anywhere in the normal 10-20 minutes instead of 45-60 minutes.
For people who only grace their presence on our beaches only a few months out of the year, thank you. You not only help to keep our taxes from reaching awfully high, but you also make each town look its best. On behalf of most locals though, one thing to keep in mind here at the beach is that we always test the speed limit, so when you are going 10 miles under the speed limit, you are bound to be labeled a B.E.N.N.Y.
If you live anywhere near Seaside, you know that no matter where you go on vacation, someone will ask you why you do not look like Snookie or the Situation, which honestly gets old. If anyone actually followed the G.T.L strategy of life, then as a whole at the beach, we would have our own sitcom. For those of you who believe "The Jersey Shore" accurately represents this place I call home, then you have clearly judged a book by its cover, or shall I say, its sitcom. Not everyone here is tan to the point of being orange and we do party, but not 24/7 because we have work in the morning. Although Seaside, the iconic location of "The Jersey Shore," is not New Jersey's most prestigious boardwalk, it has cleaned up quite a lot and has become a place for families to visit.
When you are here, you know there is not anything better than going to Wawa, getting yourself your favorite hoagie/sub, quesadilla, or club, a frozen beverage and eating it alongside the beach. Anything and everything seems better when done at the beach here. As a local, you not only know how beautiful the sunsets are in the summer, but also how unique they are in the winter. When the lights finally turn off after labor day and the population returns to its normal size, something beautiful happens here. The beaches, wrought with use for the past four months appear to be almost untouched emanating a sense of purity. The waves crash and sing a song of familiarity that makes this place we call home feel like home.
Although the carnival games at the boardwalk and your favorite Kohr's ice cream no longer stays open for as long you liked, the return of peace and quiet is an even better exchange.
