Ocean County Ranking as One of the ‘Worst’ is Not Going Over Well

Hey, you sayin' the Jersey Shore ain't that great?

I'm talking to a certain television station that claims that not just the Jersey Shore, but all of Ocean County, is not a good place to live, and that rating by a new report has naturally pissed a lot of people off.

According to pressofatlanticcity.com:

A Weather Channel report slamming Ocean County as one of the worst places in the country to own a home has set off a storm of protest among people who live there.

Officials and realtors say the ranking is pretty much due to Sandy, which of course is no surprise, but as one realtor, Pattie Romano (a Realtor at Re/Max at Barnegat Bay) commented, “I don’t agree that it is accurate. It was a one-time thing.”

The report named Ocean County sixth among the 50 worst places to buy a home in the United States, based on weather and the risk of natural disasters, and also placed Cape May County in the rankings’ 30th spot.

County Freeholder Joseph Vicari had this to say about the report's ranking:

“Sandy was a once-in-a-lifetime freak storm that struck not only Ocean County but the entire coastline from southern New Jersey to New York state. It should also be noted the worst damage to homes and businesses was inflicted directly along the coast, not inland.

Ocean County has a quality of life second to none. Our population has grown from 200,000 in 1970 to nearly 600,000 today because of the environment, low crime and low taxes our county offers."

He also noted that many areas of the country face natural threats, from earthquakes to tornadoes to flooding to hurricanes.

“To simply say Ocean County is a bad place to buy a home because of a single freak storm is not only disingenuous but outright irresponsible,” he said.