Greenbriar Woodlands sits at 1 Kensington Circle in Toms River, New Jersey, and is a large gated retirement community made for people aged 55 and up, and when you drive through the gates you see well-kept homes with gardens and lawns, sometimes with wooded buffers or golf course views, and the roads go past an 18-hole executive golf course and many walking trails that wind through the trees. Residents can bring their pets, and there are over 1,200 homes, built from 1989 to 1997, with a dozen or so different styles, and most homes have either one or two-car garages and two or three bedrooms, sometimes with upgrades like fireplaces, sunrooms, or lofts.
The clubhouse is pretty big, spanning somewhere between 18,000 and 20,000 square feet, and looks a bit like a mountain lodge from the outside, and inside there's a ballroom, a billiards room, a library, a dining room, a card room, multi-purpose spaces, and an arts and crafts studio, so you're never short on ways to spend your time, and the full-time event director helps keep a packed calendar with scheduled activities and special dinners. You'll find over 50 clubs, including those for knitting, sewing, music, cards, and exercise, as well as different fitness programs, movie nights, and resident-run events, and people often gather for games, dancing, or just to chat in the lounge.
Outdoors, there's a heated saltwater pool and spa that sometimes stays open past Labor Day, tennis courts, pickleball, shuffleboard, bocce ball, and horseshoe pits, plus a putting green and lots of paths for walking, some going past gazebos and well-tended landscaping. The community allows for independent living, with help available for daily needs like dressing, bathing, medication, housekeeping, laundry, and even meal prep if you want it, plus dietary accommodations for special diets like diabetes, and the dining room offers all-day service.
Many homes have private bathrooms and kitchenettes, and everyone gets Wi-Fi and cable if they want, and there's air conditioning, phone service, and high-speed internet across the property. Residents also get housekeeping, laundry, move-in help, family support services, and they have access to medical support, including a 24-hour call system, so if anything goes wrong someone's always there to help, and Ocean County's Office of Senior Services provides extra resources when needed.
The grounds are well maintained most of the time, but some people notice issues with grass cutting or snow removal during busy seasons, and like most places with shared space, there are rules about sheds, clotheslines, and other outside structures, which helps keep things looking neat, though it can feel a bit strict. Each home fits about six people at most, and the whole place sits close to shopping centers, cafes, hospitals, pharmacies, doctors' offices, theaters, and parks, with bus transport if you need it, and there's even an on-site realty office to help with moving in or selling.
Greenbriar Woodlands is managed by FirstService Residential, providing 24/7 customer care, and they keep everything running smoothly, from the clubhouse to the outdoor amenities like tennis courts and the golf course, and with all the programs and clubs running, it's easy for people to make friends and find things to do, all surrounded by woods and landscaped grounds. The website is greenbriarwoodlands.com, and the community is open Monday to Friday from 9 to 5 for business matters, but people live there full-time and use the amenities every day.
