I moved there when I was six and left when I was nine, so I don’t remember a great deal about the place. Besides, all my impressions of it are colored by the fact that I was a child.
We lived in White Meadow Lake, in a house on Lakeshore Dr. I took my wife to see the house about three years ago.
Zev Steinhardt
Okay, I’ll spot you Philly (I’m living in Philly now), but great swaths of it leave me unimpressed:o
Harrisburg? :o
Pittsburgh?:o
The Main Line?:o
Born in VA, raised in upstate NY (now, a debate between upstate and downstate NY, that’s a debate), then moved to Hoboken (Hudson County) (work in NYC).
So yes, I’m one of the thousands of carpet-bagger “yuppies” that move to Hoboken to enjoy the amazing pizza and pseudo-college town nightlife. I was a little worried that the city has the word “Hobo” in it, but I’ve had a good time in my 6 months as a dirty jersey boy.
My one beef with Jersey (aside from the low motor and mental skills of the drivers) is the incredibly poor signage. It’s obvious that the population (around here at least) has outgrown the infrastructure, and sadly I’m not sure what you could really do about it. OTOH, the suburbs up North (esp. Ramsey/Upper Saddle River area) are great (just like home!).
Lastly, one great thing about being transplanted here has been that I’ve been a Dev’s fan since the early 90’s, so I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.
Dublin Pub… nice…
I live in Jersey… until my fiance is about to make me move to NYC…
I am from South Orange, I work in Summit…
I love NJ… everything you could waant is within a drive…
NYC in 20-30 minutes…
The shore in 50
The mountains in 50…
Decent Bar/Club scene depending on what you are into…
I am from South Orange too! I now live in PA.
Looking back, it was a good place to grow up. Good schools, a mixed community and quick train ride to NYC.
I don’t know when you went west, but that is not the case now. It is well-nigh impossible to get a really nice place within commuting distance of the NYC unless you are very well-heeled. This, of course, helps fuel companies’ being eager to move to some of the more suburban areas, thus increasing costs where ever they are. But I still love NJ.
Born in Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, raised in Fair Lawn. Went to Bergen Catholic in Oradell. Now living in Los Angeles.
We used to play Bergen Catholic in Lacrosse. IIRC, the BC field was mostly rocks!
I’m from Cherry Hill, which means I hate the Nets and love the Sixers.
I was in Princeton Junction from age 3 to 5, then we moved up north to Randolph where I grew up. I really wanted to leave, so I went to school at Syracuse, but that wasn’t far enough away, so I transferred to Colorado. Still, I kept meeting people from New Jersey. There’s just no avoiding us! I like going back and seing how stuff has changed, or not, but I’m not sure I’d like living there.
A couple of friends of mine were picked up by a couple of cowboys when their Volvo broke down somewhere out west -
“So where you from, Europe??”
“No, New Jersey.”
“Well, that’s Europe to me!”
Turns out one of the cowboys was from West Orange.
I grew up in Rahway. Kinda on the border between the Pine Barrens-and-seashore South and the suburb-of-New York north.
Thanks MLS for pointing me to this thread.
waving to all the NJians…
I was born in Santa Barbara, CA in 1964
Moved to Pennsylvania (York County) in 1967
Moved to Rahway, NJ in 1984
Moved to Matawan NJ in 1985
Moved to Neptune NJ in 1986
Moved to Rumson in 1990, still here.
I’m a native, unfortunately. I was born and raised in Essex County. Escaped NJ for awhile (4 years total, in two different states), but for complicated reasons I’ll skip, I got stuck back here. I’ve been living in Union County just over 17 years now. If I’m ever able to afford to move again, I’ll be out of the Garbage State for good. I hate – not necessarily in this order, it depends on my mood: the a**hole drivers and traffic, the crowds, the climate, the police-state mentality…I can’t think of ANYTHING good to say about NJ. Since I don’t go to NYC (it’s close enough but I’m petrified of the idea of driving there or having to return to my car at the train station after dark by myself if I was to take the train in), and I don’t go to the beach either (shore traffic is awful, plus I get bad sunburns and sun hurts my eyes too), I can’t even cite my relative proximity to these “attractions” as a reason to like NJ either.
When people from other states say bad things about NJ I can’t help but agree with them.
Yersinia
Couldn’t agree more! Born and raise in NJ. Let at 28 for 6 years in PA (not much better). Twenty plus years in CA. Huge difference.
I always like to say “the best view of NJ is in the rearview mirror”
LL
Well, NJ does have a way of weeding out the wusses, it’s that Darwinian thing at work… 
Grew up in Missouri, college in NY state & Michigan, lived in NYC 20 yrs, NJ the last 12.
A lot of people’s driving really does suck when it’s not downright dangerous. But I could say the same thing about Massachusetts.
Everything in life is a tradeoff. There are reasons why I’d rather live in Maine. There are reasons why I really like it here.
For now, we’re here, so I choose to focus on the good stuff.
I live in Madison. Like Mr. Mook, I went to Delbarton High School.
South Jersey.
Raised in Absecon, moved to Northfield. Egg Harbor Township High School. Exit 36 off the Parkway. Would give $25 right now for a cheesesteak from White House Subs in Atlantic City and a handful of Fralingers. Left after HS, wandering to Chicago, Korea, Taiwan now Florida, haven’t been there but three times in a decade, but I’ll always be a Kid from Jersey.
Maybe everything that dies, someday comes back …
Born in Washington D.C., lived in Bethesda till I was nine, when the family moved to Albuquerque. Left after college and ended up in Succasunna: the same place my mother was born, and her mother, and her parents and father-in-law, and his parents and a grandfather, back in 1844. Trading places indeed… I used to say that was one place on earth I’d never live, and now I are one. One son now lives in Flemington, a couple of miles from where his father grew up, though it sure ain’t as bucolic as it useta be.
LOL, I love this! Maybe someday…for more than just an out of state VISIT, that is…
LOL, I love this! Maybe someday…for more than just an out of state VISIT, that is…