# why does everyone hate new jersey? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 11, 2002, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975 "2002-04-11T04:54:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/21 "2002-04-12T03:00:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by monstro \* > \*\* > -It’s got places like Hoo-Hoo-Kus, Watchung, and Hoboken. > \*\* What’s wrong with Watchung? And what’s wrong with Hoboken? (I’ve never been to Ho-Ho-Kus) And I think [not having self-serve at the gas station](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=108233) is a mark _against_ New Jersey! ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/22 "2002-04-12T03:05:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by monstro \* > \*\* > -It’s got places like Hoo-Hoo-Kus, Watchung, and Hoboken. > \*\* What’s wrong with Watchung? And what’s wrong with Hoboken? (I’ve never been to Ho-Ho-Kus) And I think [not having self-serve at the gas station](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=108233) is a mark _against_ New Jersey! ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/23 "2002-04-12T03:17:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Green Bean \* > \*\* > > What’s wrong with Watchung? And what’s wrong with Hoboken? (I’ve never been to Ho-Ho-Kus) > > And I think [not having self-serve at the gas station](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=108233) is a mark _against_ New Jersey! \*\* They sound like scary places. Ho-Ho-Kus sounds like where old Santa Clauses go to retire. And Watchung sounds like something a kung-fu guy would say after he gave you a beat down. _Watchung!_ And we all know that hobos live in Hoboken. That’s why the parking’s so bad. As for the gas pumping thing, having grown up doing it myself, I appreciate the service. I admit I was resistant at first, but during my first winter here, I changed my mind fast. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/24 "2002-04-12T03:34:32Z")
Ooooohhh! Consider me officially whooshed! I always thought Watchung sounded like the sound that a guitar string makes when it breaks–Wa-chung-g-g-g-g-g-g. Other bad place names: Mahwah and Piscataway. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/25 "2002-04-12T17:08:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Green Bean \* > And what’s wrong with Hoboken? (I’ve never been to Ho-Ho-Kus) > \*\* You mean Manhattan West (yeah right). Its a fine place to meet college kids and Jersey locals who don’t want to pay the extra $12 to come back and forth across the Holland Tunnel. But every night, a little bit of Jersey creeps into the town. “Yo! Tony! Wed you park da car?!” It’s not even cheaper to live there anymore. You pay the same rent as Manhattan, you just get a little more space. And that freakin PATH train blows! I don’t know how many times I get fed up with the ticket machine, throw my change at the NJ Transit guard to distract him and then jump the turnstile out of frustration. Just so I don’t have to wait 20 minutes for the next train. ---
**Author:** ![pbrtallboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f475e1/32.png) [@pbrtallboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbrtallboy)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/26 "2002-04-12T17:24:41Z")
While [it’s](http://www.cdnow.com/cgi-bin/mserver/SID=537474001/pagename=/RP/CDN/FIND/album.html/artistid=BON+JOVI/itemid=637710) one of my favorite Bon Jovi albums, it’s no _Slippery When Wet._ ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/27 "2002-04-12T17:27:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by msmith537 \* > **Its a fine place to meet college kids and Jersey locals who don’t want to pay the extra $12 to come back and forth across the Holland Tunnel.** Ummmm…if you’re such an expert, how come you don’t know that you only have to pay the tunnel toll in one direction? > [@](#): > > \*\* > But every night, a little bit of Jersey creeps into the town. “Yo! Tony! Wed you park da car?!” \*\* A little bit of Jersey creeps into Hoboken?? Ha ha ha! What do you think Hoboken _was_ before it was discovered by the yups in the late 1980s? Every night, a little bit more of New York creeps into Hoboken. And Jersey City. Sorry you don’t like the PATH train. Things have been a bit more difficult with regard to downtown mass transit since that little incident on 9/11. ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/28 "2002-04-12T17:51:22Z")
Because it’s _New Jersey_. The Mississippi of the Mid-Atlantic. Jeesh, a thought this was a universal constant- an absolute as it were. 😃 _-me_ ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/29 "2002-04-13T04:13:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Green Bean \* > Ummmm…if you’re such an expert, how come you don’t know that you only have to pay the tunnel toll in one direction? You discovered my secret. I’m not the expert on all things Hoboken. As a matter of fact I’ve never actually driven through the Holland Tunnel. Seems odd though that you only have to pay when LEAVING NJ. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Green Bean \* > A little bit of Jersey creeps into Hoboken?? Ha ha ha! What do you think Hoboken _was_ before it was discovered by the yups in the late 1980s? Scary > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Green Bean \* > Sorry you don’t like the PATH train. Things have been a bit more difficult with regard to downtown mass transit since that little incident on 9/11. \*\* I wasn’t terribly impressed by the service before 9/11. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/30 "2002-04-13T04:59:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by msmith537 \* > \*\* > Seems odd though that you only have to pay when LEAVING NJ. > \*\* Actually, this makes a lot of sense. You’ll notice that on all the Manhattan bridges and tunnels, you pay going INTO Manhattan, but you don’t have to pay going out. Therefore, it is easier to get out of Manhattan than to get in, because you don’t have to wait in line to pay. The effect is that cars get out faster, easing Manhattan congestion. p.s. I was in Hoboken tonight. Had dinner at Arthur’s. (Washington & 3rd) Boy, was that good! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/31 "2002-04-13T16:33:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Green Bean \* > Actually, this makes a lot of sense. You’ll notice that on all the Manhattan bridges and tunnels, you pay going INTO Manhattan, but you don’t have to pay going out. Therefore, it is easier to get out of Manhattan than to get in, because you don’t have to wait in line to pay. The effect is that cars get out faster, easing Manhattan congestion. And the Tappenzee Bridge? > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Green Bean \* > p.s. I was in Hoboken tonight. Had dinner at Arthur’s. (Washington & 3rd) Boy, was that good! \*\* I’ve been to Arthur’s. It’s not bad. There are actually a lot of good places to eat/drink in Hoboken. It’s just a pain in the ass to get to if you live in the city and don’t have a car (compared to getting around Manhattan). ---
**Author:** ![Flippin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@Flippin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flippin)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/32 "2002-04-13T19:27:45Z")
Whats wrong with NJ? I happen to have a thing for NJ men!! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![MannyL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/33 "2002-04-13T20:58:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Flippin \* > \*\*Whats wrong with NJ? I happen to have a thing for NJ men!! 😛 \*\* And to that I have to say How YOU Doin? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Flippin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@Flippin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flippin)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/34 "2002-04-13T22:28:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MannyL \* > \*\* > > And to that I have to say How YOU Doin? 😃 \*\* Hey Baby! ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/35 "2002-04-13T23:25:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by msmith537 \* > \*\* > And the Tappenzee Bridge? > \*\* The Tappan Zee isn’t a Manhattan bridge. ---
**Author:** ![Jantom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@Jantom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jantom)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2002, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/36 "2002-04-13T23:38:32Z")
I live in New Jersey, and I haven’t seen anything here that would trigger anyone to hate it. Yeah, there’s a city here and there, and though it is the most industrialized and densly populated state, I find it scenic and roomy. People tend to get the wrong impression. I visited New York City, and immediately thought all of New York was disgusting and polluted, but it’s not. Before you post, try living here and seeing what it’s like. ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2002, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/37 "2002-04-14T03:58:50Z")
For three years (horror of horrors!) I _reverse commuted **to** New Jersey._ To Newark. Voluntarily. Now, the law firm I was working for was and remains Evil Incarnate, but so are most law firms so that’s not particularly distinguishing. I actually kinda _like_ Newark. It desperately needs downtown housing and the overall sense of the city is a wistful what-was-and-might-have-been, but it’s still alive in many corners. The Ironbound, south of Newark Penn Station, is a fascinating Portuguese/Brazilian section with great markets and restaurants. The Newark Museum and the public library are underappreciated jewels. Yeah, there’s a lot of ugliness on the Turnpike. But think about it: who wants to live next to a 12-to-14 lane highway? Not people who can afford not to. Nor businesses that don’t need ready transport access. So what you’re left with is warehousing, petrochemicals, and other inaesthetics. Oh, but jughandles…jughandles are the work of a succubus. I have long been convinced that the New Jersey highway department hires only from special-ed classes… ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2002, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/38 "2002-04-14T05:05:07Z")
I like NJ. Have some friends there & enjoy visiting. Also like Liberty Park on the NJ side where you can see the Manhattan skyline & take a water taxi across. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2002, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/39 "2002-04-14T05:08:20Z")
It’s the turnpike. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Kahuna_Burger)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2002, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975/40 "2002-04-14T05:14:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Green Bean \* > \*\*Other bad place names: Mahwah and Piscataway. \*\* Bad experiences in both. Cousins had a Benai Mitzvah (they’re twins) in Mahwah and it was filled with Jersey Girls and the dance floor was a horrible amalgam of various perfumes. Luckily I spent most of the time outside the country club with my Uncle Marty listening to Game 1 of the World Series. Piscataway (I think, could be another P-place) is the site of an Embassy Suites I stayed in that had the pool invaded by 50 kids, way over the load limit, for some redneck family reunion. Some Jersey girls are hot though, and the Torch isn’t that bad when you get to know him. Wildwood’s pretty fun, it also contains the last memories of me with some other cousins before they became very frum orthodox Jewish, creating a tense family situation. Still, is there any part of it that isn’t either East Philadelphia or West New York? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-everyone-hate-new-jersey/102975.md?page=3)