Interesting. Basically, East Jersey was quite a few Dutch (and then English, but the Dutch influence persisted), whereas West Jersey was just a few Swedes (and then overwhelmingly English).
Inevitably, this resembles the cultural evolutions of New York vs. Philadelphia.
I just wanted to jump in to say “Really great username / post combo !“. Got me thinking of Joe Piscopo.
Trenton in reality. Princeton when you are talking to Jersey haters.
I grew up in Cinnaminson, NJ (near Moorestown). I’m from South Jersey—and proud of it.
There’s just 2 Jerseys: North Jersey (silly NYC wannabes) and South Jersey (cool cats just outside Philly 
).
New Jersey has an hour-glass figure, like a woman (not an especially well proportioned woman and mysteriously having a small penis-shaped appendage dangling from her south-east border …but a woman nonetheless). Anything north of her skinny waist is North Jersey; anything below her waist is South Jersey. Nice and simple.
Now, you’re telling me there’s a Central New Jersey? :mad: And, my hometown lies in some sort of hazy zone between South and Central Jersey? I refuse to accept that premise!
If I’m from South Jersey I can say, “hey youse guys, I’m from South Joisey. We eat cheesesteaks, Italian hoagies and scrapple … sometimes all at the same sitting. We drink Schmidt’s beer (used to, anyway). For fun we play bocce ball in our wife-beaters and boxer shorts.”
If I’m reclassified as being from Central Jersey, I’ll be forced to say, “beg your pardon ladies and gentlemen, I’m a former resident of Central New Jersey. We eat Taylor pork roll, salt water taffy and disco fries. We drink Perrier Carbonated Mineral Water with a spritz of lime. For entertainment we take our polo ponies out for a stroll”
Nope, I’m not having it. Declassify “Central New Jersey” immediately.
I, too, have to ask how the OP defines Central Jersey.
I feel that I’m from Central Jersey, which to me would be centered right in New Brunswick – it’s right where the state is buckled in on the Eastern side by Raritan Bay and Staten Island, right smack in the center North-South. It’s not the Jersey Shore, since it’s not on the Shore. It’s not Northern Jersey with its tony suburbs and mountains, nor is it Southern Jersey with the Pine Barrens. It’s not Western Jersey with the Delaware River and the WAter Gap. It’s about as Central as you can get. I grew up some ten miles from New Brunswick, and am the only one in my immediate family who didn’t attend Rutgers at some point.
Pepper Mill is from the Princeton area. You may or may not consider that Central Jersey – it depends on how you define it. But it’s only 40 miles from where I grew up, so you’re carving up the state with a fine scalpel.
Would you rather be defined by how far you are from an airport, or what exit you use to get home from said airport?
For the 3 part state, I feel the Brunswicks are Central and no question to me Princeton is.
But yeah, northwest Jersey is very different from the rest of North Jersey.
By the exits along the Parkway for the east side of the state. The airport isn’t really important to how NJ divides.
I’m from Toms River. I would definitely consider us Central Jersey. We aren’t South Jersey - we had far more Giants fans than Eagles fans in school when I grew up. Then again, I went to school in the 80s and 90s and the Giants were actually good and the Eagles… well… weren’t. Then again, we tended to identify more with NYC probably because during the summer time, we were inundated with tourists from there. And far more into pizza than cheesesteak.
I liked that Gov. Murphy said he personally lived in “Central” Jersey, which Colbert called “the Narnia of New Jersey”, and when challenged to name the town he lived in there, said “Middletown.” (Which I know really is a town in Monmouth County, a family friend grew up there and we’ve been there many times, but it’s the perfect comeback.)
He also was confronted with a package of the Jersey Meat and asked, “what is this?” He immediately replied, “That’s Taylor Pork.” Whoa.
North & South; defined by Eagles fan or Giants fan.
Seriously, NJ is divided vertically E/W somewhere. The East side is North & South only, also defined by the only half joking of “what exit?”
The western side has a rural central part (where I play, at least when 45 isn’t golfing. :mad:) & a very rural northern part, which is unlike the rest of NJ.
People who’ve never lived in Central NJ love to pretend it doesn’t exist. I’m happy to see that Central NJ supporters agree my hometown of East Brunswick is firmly in that zone.
Personally I like to use the Turnpike to distinguish Central Jersey. It runs across the “waist” of the state (Thanks Tibby or Not Tibby!) from Exit 6 to Exit 11. I think 195 is a solid southern boundary because that would include Pt. Pleasant but defining the North is trickier. 78 is too far north in my eyes so I favor running a straight line across the state from where 1, 9, and the Parkway meet the Turnpike. Not the cleanest boundary but it mostly does the trick.
I did some Googling but struggled to find an old NJ area code map when we had the 201-908-609 areas. I had it in my head that a map of those 3 area codes was a pretty good visual representation of the 3 Jerseys but I might be misremembering.
Culture-wise the original East-West divide was (at least when I was growing up there) surprisingly still relevant.
I’d be more inclined to use Rt. 22. Once 78 goes up the Watchung ridge after 24 it loses it’s Central Jersey flavor. Or maybe 22 then 202 when it goes west from Somerville. Taylor ham.
195 excludes Brick, Lakewood & Toms River. Those really do feel like Central Jersey to me.
New Jersey is a prison that has proven difficult to escape over the years. Millions have tried and failed.
All you’re doing is naming the wings.
I used to live in South Brunswick, which is also definitely Central Jersey. It’s filled with businesses that call themselves “Princeton” this and “Princeton” that.
I’m in the Ewing-Pennington-Hopewell clump-- yes, Princeton pretends as if it doesn’t live in Mercer County 8 * )
Central NJ is drop dead gorgeous in many spots! When my Out West people visit me for the first time they are floored. Everyone expects the whole of NJ to look like the opening Elizabeth/Turnpike sequence of “The Sopranos.” They also expect everyone will tawlk like Tony Soprano and be Italian-y (my sweet neighbors are of Italian descent and Jersey-accented; my visitors are thrilled to meet “real Joisey people”).*
I make a point of saying I live in Trenton when I’m travelling and am asked where I’m from (I live eight blocks from the city boundary). I like challenging perceptions of who lives in and loves the area.
Finland WAS fiction, but in the past couple of years a enterprising couple, Lauri and Anni, have set up a shop out where Finland was supposed to be. They have mostly crushed things with a big hydraulic press, but they’ve also done things like make a hot tub out of ice and blow up a bunch of stuff. So I think they qualify as pioneers and can call themselves whatever they want.
Enjoy,
Steven
It does not. 195 goes to Belmar, which is about 10 miles North of Pt. Pleasant.
Though like I said before, being from Toms River, I’m hard-pressed to consider it (or Seaside Heights, which is right over the bridge) “South Jersey”.