O.K. Everyone! What's so wrong - or right - about New Jersey?

I think the thing is is that Jersey is being given a bad image (especially by shows like Jersey Shore). Also, a lot of people are quick to talk bad about it, especially if they’ve heard bad. I’ve also noticed that a good percentage of people who talk badly about it, haven’t even been to Jersey. In that case I just disregard what they’re saying anyway.

I’m from Jersey, and I happen to love it. It’s actually a beautiful place, especially parts of Morris, Sussex, and Warren counties. Who wouldn’t want to live super close but just far enough away from New York City and in close range to some great camp sites as well?!

Also: massive lurve for “fuggedaboutit” <3

New Jersey has the most toxic waste sites in the nation. Washington DC has the most lawyers in the nation. Why is this relevant? NJ had first choice.

When people think of NJ they think about the area around Newark Airport. If they’d see a bit more of the place besides the Turnpike they’d see some really nice places.

As far as being crowded goes, head off to west or north west NJ. You’ll think you ended up in a different state..

It’s those girls…

Jersey (we say that in PA, too) has been humping Pennsylvania, willy-nilly, for well over 200 years.

also, skanks.

I like NJ, it’s close to NY, Philly, and AC. I prefer north jersey and NY better than south and central jersey though. There is too many people here and jug handles are ridiculous, but we can’t help that.

@eponymoushipster Skanks for the input.

@DarkScribe I hope you were implying that the girls are a plus about New Jersey?

Jersey, home of the “bridge and tunnel” crowd. Wannabe New Yorkers, but just can’t handle the reality. I.e., they aren’t very tough.

New Jersey, home of the commuters and malls. Nothing but tract housing and Dick’s. Even the Pine Barrens are hardly barren any more. It’s the place of shore and summertime and who would want to go there any other time?

New Jersey—what exit? The state of highways and more highways and nothing but asphalt covered earth. Any river that couldn’t be eliminated completely has long since been covered over by cement. No one even knows they are there.

New Jersey—Saddle River, where the hoity-toity live hidden behind fences in their faux-European mansions. State of the lack of taste. The state with no real cities of it’s own (Newark—does anyone really count that as a city? ‘Nuff said).

Should I go on? I’ve lived at both ends of the state (but not in it) and I’ve traveled through it countless times, and even stopped in it and slept overnight (my inlaws live there and my wife grew up there). I even had a few relatives of my own who lived there, but they were very old and are no longer with us and their children have escaped to Vermont and Texas.

New Jersey. Turf. A good place to canvass. I’ve probably driven over one quarter of all the streets in Jersey that are within thirty miles of The City.

So, except for producing my wife, I guess New Jersey is kind of like an unfortunate in-law: really obnoxious and really unavoidable.

@janbb DarkScribe I hope you were implying that the girls are a plus about New Jersey?

Sure – I’ll take Bruce Springsteen’s word for it.

Plus, who doesn’t love some good diner food at 2am? ;)

@chels I’d rather have good Chinese…

@chels Why did you say diner food was good? Unless we are assuming everyone is drunk lol.

New Jersey is a lovely place to visit. The airport at Newark is way better even on a bad day than JFK on a good day.

@CyanoticWasp Now you’re just trying to placate me.

@Blackberry We are assuming everyone is drunk. Why else would you go to a diner at 2 a.m.?

This question is just asking for it, right? ;P

@meagan Oh yeah! It’s for fun.

I know nothing about New Jersey, but, I love all of our New Jersey girls here on Fluther.

@janbb isn’t that the best advice when dealing with New Jerseyans? Smile, back away slowly, say nice, quiet, friendly and placating things… and don’t take your eyes off them for a second?

The portrayal of Jersey on television and in movies is negative which leads people to believe the whole state is that way. Someone should seriously attempt to get rid of that fucking Jersey Shore show; it’s worse than the Twilight movies…and who thought something could ever be worse than that?! However, the state has some beautiful areas and pleasant people.

Well, I happen to like New Jersey, as my dad was born there and I really enjoyed going back with him and seeing some of the lovely places he grew up around. We still have relatives out there, and visit once in a while. There are some beautiful towns and vistas to be seen.

@CyanoticWasp So true.

@jjmah Love you too, girly!

@jjmah and we love you.

@janbb besides, the farther southwest I go in Connecticut, the less difference I can distinguish between New Jersey, New York and Connecticut… or the natives of either one. Except for the accents. Y’all down there have a distinctive patois.

Newark is indeed far superior to either JFK or LaGuardia.

More importantly, New Jersey is probably the most beautiful state to drive through in my humble opinion. Sure it has nasty fucked up cities, but what state doesn’t? I would choose an afternoon drive through central Jersey over any other state in the union.

@Blackberry

“There is too many people here and jug handles are ridiculous….”

What are jug handles in your reference?

@Brian1946 “A fork in the road that bends in a loop or “P” shape, letting drivers make a left turn or a U-turn on a busy road without having to slow down in the left lane. Most commonly used in New Jersey.”

I don’t know, @FutureMemory, I’d pick a two-day drive through Texas (the uninteresting parts) over a two-hour drive through (parts of) New Jersey.

I don’t know that much about NJ, but I’ve met some very nice people from there.
I figure it must be called the Garden State for some reason.

@chels

Thank youse! :-p

My mom is from new jersey… All I can say is, people from new jersey tend to talk very loud 0_o

@CyanoticWasp Wow, really? The one time I drove through Texas I was bored to tears.

@Brian1946 I figure it must be called the Garden State for some reason.

That is what I meant, although I neglected to say so in my post. The countryside is one long foliage orgasm.

@FutureMemory Agreed. NJ has some wonderful country drives.

@Arp Talk louder; I can’t hear you!

Too small!!!

@janbb I live in Kentucky, I can say nothing about Jersey. We get the same treatment.

@gemiwing People actually admit to living there?

@Adirondackwannabe Only on Thursdays in April

@gemiwing That’s not a very long time to be living there!

@gemiwing If you get down about it, you can always say at least it isn’t Jersey.

@chels Oh I get it now, it’s hard to detect internet sarcasm.

The last time I flew anywhere, we flew out of Newark Airpoint and had to leave our car in a private parking facility and take a jitney to airport.

On returning, we were carried back to the facility. The guy on deck (at 3 AM) couldn’t find our car, and after roaming around for a while, I swear that I saw the ghost of Jimmy Hoffa.

It’s all a matter of taste. People who rag on NJ without living here are people from the Midwest who are happy on their farms. I personally would committ suicide if I had to live on a farm, btu I don’t rag on Wyoming because hey, who am I to judge…it’s just not for me. As someone who has lived in NJ, I love it. Can’t imagine being somewhere else. You have access to major cities, some farmland (if you want), life, culture, tons of different ethnicities which I believe promotes tolerance. Diners at 2am are great! You can order breakfast at 2am or lunch or dinner…and at some of the diners, the food actually is decent even when not drunk! You can really run the gammet of lifestyles in NJ if you are willing to look past the Newark/Elizabeth industrial area that people on the outside see. I prefer the northern end of the state – the shore does have its quirks, but to each their own

I’d rather be in Jersey than in upstate NY or Long Island.

I agree with @Michael_Huntington: at least it’s not Philly or one of the NYC boroughs. Or Long Island.

I enjoyed living on the outskirts of Philly; I was born in the Bronx; I now live in and love upstate rural NYS. It looks just like the NW corner of CT.

The Princeton area (Mercer County) is gorgeous.

As a west-coaster, I have always wondered why there is so much trash talk about New Jersey. I thought it was the Garden State. Pretty, right?

@tinyfaery It used to be prettier and gardenier. I grew up on a farm here, but unfortunately a lot of the farmland has been turned into housing developments in the last 50 years.

@janbb Just like every other place. :(

Yup, yup!

Well actually, I’m about to retract my statement because the roads in both central and south jersey are f’in horrendous…..I’m going to get a Hummer (before they are sold out) so I can tackle this rough terrain.

I joke about Jersey being dirty, but I mean…that’s where most people in my area go for vacation..it’s “going down the shore”. Obviously it’s not too dirty for us to vacation at. North Wildwood isn’t pleasant though

I think that you should all move up to Canuckeville.

It’s pretty and the people are lovely.

Love it:

beaches
the New Jersey twang, or accent

Haven’t visited long enough to find reason to hate anything about it.

I’ve never been there, but when I visited New York, and looked over at New Jersey, it did not look like a place I would like to visit.

What’s right: My good and great friend Don lives there.
What’s wrong: The smell.

From the upper part of Manhattan, you can look across the Hudson to Palisades Park; a beautiful place to commune with nature.

http://www.njpalisades.org/buchhart_002.jpg
http://www.njpalisades.org/fiore_004.jpg
http://www.njpalisades.org/taranto_1360.jpg

When NYC flushes, the pipe empties into New Jersey.

So stop pooping and peeing up there guys!

well my boyfriend is from new jersey and the teasing never ends but really i have no problem with it. the town he is from is sooo f-ing adorable. i personally really enjoyed my time there. now, getting out onto the turnpike was another story. ugly as all hell, but hey it happens. i dont really think anything is more wrong with new jersey than any other state, i think it’s just easier to make fun of because of certain tv shows and the fact that everyone has been told that it’s a shit hole forever, even if they know nothing about it and have never been there.

@janbb There’s no better place for the outlet pipe.
To the rest of the world, it is a nice place, been there, liked it.

I can get diner food in PA at 2am, or 5am, for that matter. Jersey doesn’t have a lock on diners.

North Jersey is pretty dumpy. South Jersey is just kinda blah. It’s like Middle States Rednecks down there.

Yeah – but central New Jersey is the best. How many other people have Springsteen in their neighborhood?

I just happen to like Jersey diners best.

@chels Meet you for fries at 2 a.m. tonight?

any of you NJers been to Cranbury?

@deni HAHAH Yes. I ended up there accidentally!

@chels AWWWWW i thought it was seriously the cutest thing ever with its little one main street and one diner lololol :) :) :):)

Yup. That Diner on the traffic circle on route 70 is definitely a highlight!

Oh, wait. I think it went under.