California or New Jersey- Which state is suffering most from the media? (place, life)

[LINative]

New Jersey is a much nicer and diverse state than the media would have us believe. The oil tanks and the Jersey Turnpike is a very small part of the state.

[PatDJohns]

Oh NJ hands down. I live in NYC and it is not nearly as bad as people think it is, its actually a very pretty state. If I had family there, I wouldnt mind living in Jersey.

[CookieSkoon]

New Jersey gets the worst. Everybody thinks it's just north-east Jersey. Granted it isn't incredibly rural, but there are many moderately rural areas in the state. Not to mention that the Piedmont leg of the Appalachians runs through it, affording some nice country scenery.

California is odd in the sense that despite not being just like the media portrays it, it is also exactly like the media portrays it. Being the most populous state will have that effect. Not to mention being enormous and encompassing every culture you can imagine.

New York suffers the same as New Jersey. Everybody assumes that it's all NYC. Couldn't be farther from the truth.

[Scott5280]

With little exception the people I have met from New Jersey far from resemble the negative stereo types the media does its best to portray. As an unbiased Westerner who has traveled through the state on a handfull of occasions, I never really got the whole dislike for the state thing. I don't know if I only restricted myself to the more pristine areas or not, but from what I have seen I was impressed. I rag on California quite a bit and have a love hate thing going with that state.My guess is that people who hate Jersey equate it to a rather marginally small area of the state, just like many of the California haters think California is one huge car jacking East LA.

Jersey takes a lot of needless crap on here and in real life..I just don't get it myself. I imagine the people in places like Alpine laugh it off about the same as those in places like Beverly Hills and Palos Verdes,,that's one thing I have noticed about CAl. and NJ. for the most part people in both places could give a flying F what outsiders really think.

[jayp1188]

bmwsterling, you do realize this thread is between NJ and CA, not PA right?

[LakeShoreSoxGo]

New Jersey is suffering from the media, California is suffering due to it's electorate.

[tommyc_37]

For anybody saying/thinking that NJ is a crime-ridden place - please know that NJ is one of the safest states in the US.

"NJ's problems"? NJ, like any state, may have some "problems", but it seems to me that there are less problems (at least less problems that affect the lives of the average resident) than in many other states.

There is a reason NJ is one of, if not THE most, expensive places to live. On top of having access within minutes to world class cities, beaches, and mountains, you've got the most educated residents in the US and an EXCELLENT public school system in the nation (I think #1?). NJ is also the wealthiest (rotates with CT and MD each year) state in the US. But the media/TV/movies would never have you believe ANY of this. The media tends to portray NJ as a gritty, blue collar state, when the exact opposite is true: NJ is the most WHITE COLLAR state in the US. I'm not saying that's necessarily a positive or a negative - but it's the opposite of what is portrayed in the media, that's for sure.

Anyway, NJ is far and away more negatively portrayed in the media than CA. CA may have an "image", but the image is generally a positive image.

When I was a kid, we moved to suburban NJ from NYC for better schools and a better family atmosphere. That's exactly what we got, as I attended one of the top 10 high schools in NJ (and one of the top 40 in the US), lived in a charming small town with a walkable downtown, rivers, streams, and lakes, and NYC a quick train ride away, and the beaches a 45 minute drive away. It wasn't until I was older and traveled a bit that I started hearing negative impressions of NJ (mostly from people who have never been beyond Newark airport), and I was like .... "Huuuhhh? How can this amazing place be viewed so negatively?"

Northern/Central NJ are the suburbs of NYC. How can a city be viewed internationally as such an utterly amazing place, and the suburbs of that city be viewed so negatively? It's truly bizarre. Think about it. (Hint: the media).

[BacktoBlue]

New jersy obviously. Jersey Shore is the dumbest show ever. I watched for 5 minutes and could feel my I.Q. drop every second.

[LakeShoreSoxGo]

Originally Posted by tommyc_37

For anybody saying/thinking that NJ is a crime-ridden place - please know that NJ is one of the safest states in the US.

"NJ's problems"? NJ, like any state, may have some "problems", but it seems to me that there are less problems (at least less problems that affect the lives of the average resident) than in many other states.

There is a reason NJ is one of, if not THE most, expensive places to live. On top of having access within minutes to world class cities, beaches, and mountains, you've got the most educated residents in the US and an EXCELLENT public school system in the nation (I think #1?). NJ is also the wealthiest (rotates with CT and MD each year) state in the US. But the media/TV/movies would never have you believe ANY of this. The media tends to portray NJ as a gritty, blue collar state, when the exact opposite is true: NJ is the most WHITE COLLAR state in the US. I'm not saying that's necessarily a positive or a negative - but it's the opposite of what is portrayed in the media, that's for sure.

Anyway, NJ is far and away more negatively portrayed in the media than CA. CA may have an "image", but the image is generally a positive image.

When I was a kid, we moved to suburban NJ from NYC for better schools and a better family atmosphere. That's exactly what we got, as I attended one of the top 10 high schools in NJ (and one of the top 40 in the US), lived in a charming small town with a walkable downtown, rivers, streams, and lakes, and NYC a quick train ride away, and the beaches a 45 minute drive away. It wasn't until I was older and traveled a bit that I started hearing negative impressions of NJ (mostly from people who have never been beyond Newark airport), and I was like .... "Huuuhhh? How can this amazing place be viewed so negatively?"

Northern/Central NJ are the suburbs of NYC. How can a city be viewed internationally as such an utterly amazing place, and the suburbs of that city be viewed so negatively? It's truly bizarre. Think about it. (Hint: the media).

Good post. I flew into Newark, it stank, but my friend lived in a great area. I think people think sporanos, cops, etc. and they just write Jersey off, but it is a great state. It's so small yet so diverse in landscape, people, culture, etc.

[Jermaine88]

New Jersey no doubt.