Ocean City, Maryland Versus the Jersey Shore: Why Maryland's Beaches Are the BEST!
- Why Choose Ocean City, Maryland Over the Fabled Jersey Shore?
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!
Published by Patricia Elane
Maryland native, mother of wonderful daughters who are now grown. Avid sports fan! Writing is my passion; thanks, AC, for providing an outlet for that passion. We each have so much to share with the world. View profile
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10 Comments
Post a CommentJust got home after spending a week in Ocean City, MD. Not impressed. Every restaurant we went to had sub par menus. Went to Phillips, Embers, J/R's, Tequila Mockingbird, Little House of Pancakes, Dough Roller, Tommy's Sub Shop, BJ's on the Bay. Little House of Pancakes gave us the best meal but that's because breakfast is hard to mess up. Dough Roller was OK but not great. BJ's gave us the best dinner of the dinner places we visited but that wasn't saying much. I've had equal quality meals at Red Lobster. The hokey Rod Stewart tribute guy didn't help their cause much. But the rest of the restaurants were really sub par. Tequila Mockingbird was the absolute worst and we only chose to order from there(take out) because another website message board sang their praises. I've had better Mexican meals at 7-11. On the Jersey side, one big thing going for Ocean City is they're a dry town. Cape May is great too. And that's just South Jersey. Much better than MD.
I retired in Nov 09 and split my time between the DC area and Ocean City MD.
I also recently took the time to drive the south Jersey shore, from Cape May to Atlantic City.
Our Ocean City has the NJ one clearly beat. Our Boardwalk is cleaner and the
town is a nice mix of highrises, homes,
hotels and condos. The downtown area was once a scene of trouble. Now, it is clean, vibrant and inviting. OC NJ is a
not a bad place, but is dirtier and seems to have less variety in terms of
restaurants and shopping. We too have
some rude people, but most are visitots.
Atlantic City, however, is a ghetto on
the beach. While it has some interesting
casinos, the place is a bit scary. A
friend and I were warned not to venture
even one block off the Boardwalk.
Overall, NJ, DE and MD beaches nicely
complement each other, but Ocean City
MD is the most liveable, even in the
off season. Buses run 24/7, hotels
and restaurants are open year-round
and the surrounding areas are truly
places of charm and bea
Actually, I've lived in both Maryland and New Jersey - New Jersey for the past 20 long years, John O., guest reader. I've been to the beaches of Maryland and New Jersey for years. I wouldn't allow my daughters to visit/stay in The Wildwoods, so rough is the area - and Sea Isle City is refusing to let the Guido's and Guidettes of New Jersey back into town. So long, Snooki, Pauly D and the Situation: there are thousands just like you still in New Jersey.
whoever wrote this is telling a big 'ol lie. The Wildwoods are 100% free beaches, and offers every amenity OC has. It's also cleaner and quieter. I have no idea what you're referring to, but based on this op-ed, I doubt you've ever been to NJ/
I am from New Jersey and go to school in Maryland. Ocean City is by far worse than the Shore. OC is a dump, the beaches may be plowed but seem to be dirty as can be. Half of the population there is white trash and the cops harrass people over nothing. At least in Jersey you can pick if you want to be in a more party friendly trashy area or a quieter town.
I go to OCM every year. Didn't know you had to pay to use the NJ beaches!
The shore does not cease to exist without tourists. In Jersey, there are year round residents in almost every "shore town". We exist and flourish in the winter.
The only people making money in the summer are the boardwalk vendors. Most of whom don't live anywhere around here.
If there were no tourists at the shore, it would cease to exist.
My husband and I reside in a jersey shore town. During the summer months, we rarely go to the beaches or boardwalks. Our summer "visitors" are of the rudest and crudest. They have NO, absolutely NO respect for our year round home.
We usually go to OC Maryland for a week or two during the summer to get away from the horrid mess that our area becomes every tourism season. Believe me, OC has none of the problems on par with the Jersey Shore during the summer months.
Good job done here.