In the fifth and final part of our week-long series Sandy: Then and Now, the storm's lingering effects are still felt by some residents, while others admit they've already put it behind them.

The Princess Cottage Inn (R) stands across the street from a onetime residence in Union Beach
The Princess Cottage Inn (R) stands across the street from a onetime residence in Union Beach (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
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After Sandy, recovery of the state's economic and tourism sectors shifted into high gear. While much of the industry was able to return in time for summer, many residents still find themselves not much further from where they started a year ago.

One Keansburg resident we spoke to laments since the storm it's been very difficult to find reasonably priced apartment rentals.

"Someone should be regulating all these people that are renting homes out. There's no reason a one bedroom home should be $1400 when it's essentially a bungalow," the man said.

He, like many, are part of a group of Sandy victims not counted on the list of "displaced" because they still live with family and friends, and haven't used housing assistance.

"I'm thirty years old and living with my parents since the hurricane. I haven't lived with my parents since I was an eighteen year old kid," he said.

While Sandy remains a hot topic for those affected living at the Shore, Central and North Jersey, those who managed to escape the storm's wrath are finding themselves putting Sandy in the back of their mind.

"I think most people don't forget about what happened, but they just go on with their lives. I mean what else can you really do," a Manalapan resident said, adding he is a fan of the "Stronger than the Storm" advertisements.

A North Jersey mother points out her visit to the Jersey Shore this summer was the first time she experienced Sandy's effects first hand.

"It just wasn't the same, with the houses being gone, the boardwalk being down. We go down every year, but it was just different this year."

 

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