Whoooo! Now I know where a WaWa is. Life is good. Thanks, BristleBeak!
Lived in Monmouth Junction/South Brunswick for about 10 years while growing up, and went to elementary school in Princeton. We had farmland across the street and cows and chickens ocassionally roaming through our back yard. But yes it got pretty bad towards Newark. Ick! :holds nose:
I went to Cleveland for the occasion of my friend’s wedding on August 20. I had never been to the eastern part of the US at all, and certainly had never considered going to Cleveland, Ohio, before, but that’s where my friend is from, and that’s where the wedding was. So I went, expecting a nasty, dirty, unpleasant sort of city.
Now, I don’t doubt that there are bad neighborhoods in Cleveland, but everywhere I went was very nice. Downtown was bustling and brightly lit, even at 1 am. Jacob’s Field looks lovely, and is right downtown. The Browns’ new stadium is beautiful. The rehearsal dinner for the wedding was at a very nice restaurant right on the Cuyahoga River which didn’t even smell, let alone burst into flame (I did have to resist the urge to drop a match into it, though). Everything was very green, which was startling, as I am used to brown in the summer. The bridges were lit up with very cool multi-colored spotlights. It’s not flat, like I expected it to be, and Lake Erie may be polluted, but it makes for good scenery. All in all, Cleveland struck me as a perfectly decent large city. I’m not moving there immediately, but IMO, the negative reputation it has is either undeserved or outdated.
Now, I have never been to New Jersey, but how can I diss a place where they have such fun accents? I had a roommate from NJ once, and I adored the way she spoke. “Let’s go get some coawwwfee!”
When I found out my Dad was transferring to New Jersey, I was less than pleased. I imagined passing by factories and refineries on my way to the gang-ridden high school.
Cape May was nothing like that.
brachyrhynchos, you’re in East Brunswick? Aww! I was born and raised in North Brunswick. I moved to the Midwest 6 years ago, and I miss New Jersey terribly. Have you ever been to the parks along Lake Farrington? I spent an awful lot of time around those, wandering around with my walking-staff and reading books on the ancient Celts. Ah, memories…
brachyrhynchos I lived in East brunswick until 1992. I know where you live too. I used to live on Pawnee rd which is off of old stage rd. I went back a few months ago and so much has changed. All in all that area is still a great place to live.
I’m proud to say that movie was filmed in the town where my family lives – Boonton! Some of the street shots are directly downtown on Main Street. Several episides of the Sopranos take place there and have been filmed in the town.
Boonton is your typical northern NJ small town – big, post-WWII houses, lots of Polish, Italian, Czech, and Irish families (with lots of Middle-Eastern and Asians starting to mix-in), a great Main Street with real delis, and my grandfather used to own/run the town movie theater!
Ways to Tell If You’re From Jersey:
http://www.math.cmu.edu/~rymartin/njokes.html
Another Jersey person checking in here.
[Jersey voice] How ya doon?[/Jersey voice]
A sort-of Newbie; I’ve been here since May 1 of 2001. I came out here with my fiance, who was born in Bayonne and raised in South Plainfield. Prior to coming out here, I would tease her about the poor water in New Jersey (vs the crystalline streams of the Black Hills), so for a joke once she got together with her sister and made up a bottle of Jersey water. She took one of those ubiquitous bottled-water bottles and emptied it part-way; then they filled it with dirt, grass and lots of little craft items such as soda bottles, cereal boxes and even a cup with my name on it!! (The teeny-tiny things you put in dollhouses). Then her sister made up a label on her computer that was VERY professional and realistic…reading New Jersey Spring Water. I laughed my ass off!!!
I’m discovering new things about my adopted state all the time, and I agree: most of the state IS very nice and clean, especially around the Freehold/Jackson/Monroe area where we’re house hunting. I never knew there were so MANY horse farms in Jersey.
The only thing I hate, truly hate so far (ummmm, I haven’t been much more than through the northeast part of the state, where all the population is, so I can’t speak to that yet) are the drivers. Basic theory of traffic safety here is: “Here I come, get out of my way!!”
…or geddoudda my way…
thanks for the laughs, Winnie. I’m from NJ and that list was great. Wow, never knew some stuff though – Iike mandatory, law enforced recycling isn’t cross country? And what about bakeries? I thought they were everywhere. I used to live in Boonton too. Great town.
Another 'Jersey resident checking in. People have such negative attitudes about New Jersey that you can live here pretty cheap. Chez-Lucwarm is in a good-school district, 30-45 min drive from Midtown Manhattan, and was about half the price of similar digs in Westchester.
Newark NJ is, honestly, the only city I’ve ever been allergic to.
Day 1 in Newark (business trip): good. Nothing out of the ordinary. Apparently, my body is busy building up histamines/antibodies/whatever.
Day 2: Woke up with pink eye in both eyes. Light sensitive. Headache. Stuffy nose. Headache. Did I mention a nice pulsing flashy-lights HEADACHE?
This is why I have determined I am allergic to New Jersey.
I was born in New Jersey, raised in New Jersey, and I hope to sometime die in New Jersey. . .
I grew up in Ramsey and hung out in Mahwah, Allendale, and Waldwick. I’ve got family in Elmwood Park, Paterson, Bridgeton, Elmer, Ringwood, and a bunch of other places I don’t recall.
I hike in Wanaque and West Milford. I used to hunt in Hackettstown/Allamuchy. I’ve hung out (and grew up in) Belmar, LBI, Cape May, and my favorite: Ocean City. I’ve worked in Ridgewood, Paterson, Elmwood Park, Linden, Nutley, Morristown, and Cedar Knolls.
I believe Bruce Springsteen is the Boss, Edison was more genius than he was given credit for, and there’s something freaky in the Pine Barrens and Ramapo Mountains. For some cool stories take a look at Weird New Jersey
I’ve seen and loved Jersey since the day I was a tyke. Yeah, it gets a bad rap, but I’m proud to say I’m from there.
Tripler
And I’m a Devil Worshipper since October 5th, 1982. 
Drewbert said:
No kidding! I lived in Kendall Park until I was almost 15. From there, I moved to a suburb of Cincinnati, OH. (Talk about culture shock!) I used to take gymnastics lessons at the Princeton Y. I spent lots of wonderful days hanging around the Princeton campus and areas nearby there.
Many, many moons ago, I moved from Cincinnati to Columbus, where I’ve been living for the last 10 years. Even though I haven’t lived in NJ in ages, I miss it a lot. I’ve come to terms with being in central OH for a while (at least until I finish my master’s), but I still think of NJ as my home.