Something New

Let's give a warm welcome to Ed Kelley, the AH Muse guest host this week. I tip my hat to the Beerman and say, cheers!

By Ed Kelley

I hail from the Atlantic Highlands. My family and I have lived here 19 months. One of the reasons we chose this lovely little town was the High Speed ferry to Wall Street, another was the 1896 Victorian home that we just had to have. Real Estate prices on the East Coast are essentially unreal, but at the time AH was more affordable than anything we saw in Northern Jersey and more commutable than just about anywhere in the entire state. I walk a half of a mile to the boat which takes 35 minutes or less to reach Wall Street and then walk another quarter of a mile to the Office.

My wife and I are active in the town. She is a Girl Scout leader, actively involved in the PTO and a member of the School Board. I am active in two scouting units, and have submitted a resume' to sit on the local Planning Board.

We enjoy the Coast, and find Sandy Hook an irresistible draw year round, time and weather permitting. Before living here we lived in Overland Park, Kansas for nine years, prior to that we lived in Glen Rock, New Jersey. My wife was born in Jersey and I was born in New York. We have three children in the Atlantic Highlands Schools. In short we love it here and we are settling in for the long haul.

Our little town of 4800 people is at a crossroads. My Blogs this week will mainly talk about a "Newbies" perspectives on what he sees now and what he feels could be done to face and embrace the change that is coming. There are those that may agree and those that may disagree. Discussion is a good way to test the validity of your theories. If you have a suggestion I would love to hear it.