Mark Rosman
In the News
Something is wrong in a pair of western Monmouth County municipalities. Well, that statement is true, according to Money magazine. The magazine annually rates America’s best places to live, and this year is no different. The magazine recently published its Best Places to Live: Top 100.
I don’t put much stock in rankings of places to live; one, because I’m not certain how much the reporters who wrote this story for Money really know about the places they are describing (I’m not knocking my fellow journalists, they were handed an assignment by their boss and they did it), and two, because statistics and subjective comments that go into developing these lists can be deceiving.
For example, Money’s write-up of Marlboro, which came in at No. 33, indicates that one of the benefits of living in that community is its proximity to the “mini-business hubs of New Brunswick and Hightstown.”
Now, while some people who live in Marlboro may have heard of New Bruns-wick and may be able to get there, I’m not so certain that a majority of Marl-boro residents know where Hightstown is, nor do I think they will be visiting that “mini-business hub” anytime soon.
Without knocking that Mercer County community too much, let me just say I am immediately leery of any publication that describes Hightstown as a “mini-business hub.”
But why do I say something is terribly wrong in two western Monmouth County towns?
Well, according to the January 2004 issue of Money, Manalapan was ranked as the No. 2 community in which to live in the eastern third of the United States with a population of less than 100,000 residents. Marlboro was ranked No. 14 in that same group.
According to an article published in the News Transcript in December 2003, these “hot” towns had demographics that closely mirrored the typical Money reader: college educated, working professional and well-above-average median income. Another factor was the towns’ proximity to a major city. The limit was 60 miles so that residents of the communities selected could easily enjoy the cultural opportunities in the city.
I don’t believe any of those demo-graphics have changed for the worse in three years, yet as of today Manalapan is gone from the Money Top 100, dropped like a hot potato, and Marlboro has dipped from No. 14 to No. 33.
Asked about that drop last week, Marlboro Mayor Robert Kleinberg said the number makes no difference and the positive news is being on the list.
OK, maybe the mayor is right and maybe just being mentioned among the nation’s best small towns is an honor, but I’d like someone in Marlboro to tell me how great it is to be heading north on Route 9 on a weekend afternoon when they hit a dead standstill in traffic at Union Hill Road that does not break up until after Texas Road.
The intersection of Route 9 and Route 520 in Marlboro is a disaster and everyone knows it, but here’s news from the state Department of Transportation after several years spent studying the issue: No action will be taken to improve that particular intersection.
Enjoy the traffic while you are crawling through town No. 33 this weekend!
As to why Manalapan fell off of the Money list, who knows? Fame can sometimes be fleeting. How can Manalapan not still be a hot town to live in?
Ridiculous!
Just to add a bit of perspective to this matter, the Money list ranked the Mid-dlesex County community of Sayreville as the No. 47 small town in America.
Money liked Sayreville’s horse park and skateboard park, but apparently overlooked a cancer cluster that recently made national news, the unknown black dust that has been falling on a part of the borough recently and several toxic waste sites.
My take on rating towns is simple. If you make your home in a community and like it there, it doesn’t matter whether a magazine puts your town on a list of America’s best places to live or leaves it off. Feeling that you belong somewhere and wanting to stay in the place where you live is worth more than any number from 1 to 100.
Mark Rosman is the managing editor of the News Transcript.