Another vote for Ocean City, NJ. It is very different from the Outer Banks, but soooo much fun. It is probably one of the most family-oriented places you wil ever be in your life. It's a little bit like going back to a different time. If you go there, you will not regret it.

If you look in the Garden Sections of Ocean City you can find some.

Here is one

http://www.vrbo.com/515315

Stone Harbor and Vetnor NJ have some big houses with pools. They are crazy expensive though for a weekly rental.

The best beach in NJ for kids is Ocean City, NJ. It is nothing (I mean nothing) like Ocean City MD. It is a dry town so no bars and no college or high school kids. Tons of families. Great boardwalk, beautiful beaches. Wonderful homes.

LBI is another pretty nice place.

You should look on VRBO and click on house and click on pool and see what comes up. But you may have to think of getting a hotel room or suite that has a pool.

Avoid Wildwood, AC, and Seaside Heights at all costs.

I'm the 15:15 poster - the tradeoff with the Outer Banks is that it's far but you get much more space and it's a lot cheaper, relatively speaking. You are less likely to get a pool of your own at the Jersey shore.

There are lots of towns but it's such a different feel than the Outer Banks - much smaller houses very close together. I'd start with Bethany, Rehoboth, Stone Harbor, Margate. But the house will be much tinier.

We typically go to Corolla and love it -- big house with a pool, walking distance to the beach, nice kitchen to cook in. We have two little ones (who will be 2 and almost 5 next summer) and want to plan a beach trip but it needs to be somewhere between DC and NYC this year. Where can we get a similar type vacation -- specifically we want a house with a pool and walking distance to the beach. I need specific town names b/c "Jersey Shore" isn't helping me look online. Thanks!