Leisure Village West

Leisure Village West is one of New Jersey's largest and most established gated 55+ communities, sprawling across 825 acres in Manchester Township, Ocean County. Built between 1972 and 1993, the community is home to 2,692 attached single-story homes and condominiums housing roughly 3,800 residents — a genuine small town for active adults, tucked between Route 70 and Route 37 about 6 miles west of the Garden State Parkway. The community's social life revolves around three clubhouses, each with a distinct personality. Willow Hall is the main recreational hub, featuring a ballroom with stage, lounge, arts and crafts studio, ceramics studio, catering kitchen, woodworking shop, billiards room, and card room — with an outdoor pool, gazebo, barbecue area, six shuffleboard courts, and six bocce ball courts just outside. Club Encore is the fitness and entertainment center, housing an exercise room, billiards, music room, photography studio, performance theater, and library, plus a heated outdoor pool with spa, tennis courts, pickleball courts, and additional bocce courts. Leisure Fair, the smallest of the three, provides intimate gathering rooms and larger multipurpose spaces for planned community events. LVW residents can pick from more than 50 active clubs and interest groups — bowling league, chess, book club, camera club, current events, bridge, aquacizers, ballroom dance, art appreciation, ceramics, music and photography among them — with a full-time activities director helping to coordinate programming. Outdoors, the community offers two 9-hole executive golf courses, three scenic lakes for fishing, walking and biking trails, a climate-controlled greenhouse, and a dedicated lot for RV and boat parking (nominal monthly fee). Homes are all single-story attached, ranging from roughly 737 to 2,013 square feet across more than 20 floor plans, with one or two bedrooms, one to two-and-a-half baths, and either a one-car garage or assigned parking. Buildings in the newer section closer to Route 37 typically have two homes per building, while older sections can have up to six homes per building. Some homes are electric-heated, others gas. Pricing is among the most affordable of any Jersey Shore 55+ community, making LVW a longtime favorite for retirees seeking a big-community lifestyle without a big-community price tag. The community is gated with three entrances — the Route 70 gate is staffed 24/7, the Route 37 gate is staffed about 8 hours a day, and the Colonial Ave gate is unmanned. Location is a major selling point: roughly one hour each to New York City, Philadelphia, and Atlantic City, with Island Beach State Park and the Jersey Shore beaches a short drive east. Community Medical Center in Toms River and Garden State Medical Center are nearby, and everyday shopping (Stop & Shop, ALDI, Wawa, CVS, Walgreens) is all within about 20 minutes. The HOA covers a notably comprehensive package — lawn care, snow removal, trash, common areas, exterior building maintenance (roof, siding, gutters on most buildings), a limited appliance service contract, and as of October 2025, Xfinity cable TV and 1 Gig internet.