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Yes it definitely depends on what county your in. By the way, your Giants played so well today against the Eagles. I'm sure you guys have great playoff hopes this season.
No kidding. This year, I'm only a Mets fan until football season starts, and a Giants fan until hockey/basketball season starts. I know not of what you speak.
Jersey doesn't really have any big city of it's own, most of it's population forms part of the NYC and Philly metros. I'm wondering if most Jerseyite still consider themselves from Jersey first, or if they tend to identify more with being from the NY area or the Philly area. Do some of them identify as New Yorkers? Not the ones who moved from NY itself. Is there much of a rivalry between south and north NJ?
Why would I identify myself to NY or Philly? Never. I am from New Jersey.
Let me point out that there are "two" South Jerseys. There's the general tri-county area (Burlington, Camden, Gloucester - suburbs of Philly) where the bulk of the population lives. Then there is everything else (Salem, Cumberland, etc). I guess this is similar to how northwest NJ is a different beast than the northeastern part of the state.
There is a big difference as far as I'm concerned. South Jersey, at least the tri-county area outside Philly, feels very different from the rest of the state. I say this as someone who grew up in the nortwestern corner of the state, has family in Bergen County, dates a girl from Newark, did undergrad in Mercer County, and now spends a lot of time in South Jersey for grad school.
History: During colonial times the NJ was divided into two separate entities, East and West Jersey, with different capitals (Perth Amboy, Burlington, respectively). East Jersey was heavily influenced by NY merchants, but was settled by a mix of Dutch, Germans, and New Englanders. West Jersey was home mostly to Quakers from PA. The dividing line between the two, roughly today's Burlington county line, is the best demarcation point for modern-day North and South Jersey.
Geography/environment: South Jersey is very flat compared to North Jersey. Below Trenton there are almost no big ridgelines. Nothing comparable to the Watchungs in western Essex and Union counties or some of the hilly areas of Bergen, to say nothing of the real highlands in western Morris or Sussex (home for me). South Jersey seems less forested as well in the populated areas. Of course it is home to the huge tracts of pine barrens, but there's a lot less intermingled small forests and hiking areas that you might see in North Jersey.
Infrastructure/housing: There's a much greater diversity in North Jersey. North Jersey is of course more urban, with cities including Newark, Jersey City, and Paterson, as well as the built-up areas surrounding these cities such as Montclair, Harrison, the Oranges, etc. Also, North Jersey has many more small towns dating from the wave of 19th-century railroad suburbanization. Wealthy downtowns such as Morristown, Westfield, Summit, South Orange, Maplewood Village, and Ridgewood or almost wholly absent from South Jersey. Even tiny downtowns like the ones in Chester, Denville, Netcong, Newton, Cranford, or Somerville are tough to find below Trenton. What towns do exist in SJ are also flatter, rarely do you ever see a building over 2 stories even in the more bustling towns. Finally, SJ has almost no rail network, compared to the large number or trains running in NNJ.
Culture: Obviously there are the different TV markets and concomitant sports fandoms. There's also Wawa. Water (wooder) ice vs italian ice, hoagies vs subs. SJ is a bit more conservative and family oriented I think. Certainly the Quaker influence makes for a plethora of dry towns which you almost never see in NNJ. The demographics are different too. You don't see the myriad of Indian, Asian, and Hispanic immigrants you might come across in certain parts of NNJ. On the other hand, you see a much higher percentage of African-Americans in suburban and middle class areas, not just in cities, something one notices throughout the Delaware Valley. There are fewer young people in SJ, as there's no real hip downtown to compare to Hoboken or Jersey City. Most people looking for that lifestlye just live in Philly.
Economics: There are a few wealthy towns, SJ is poorer (and cheaper) than NNJ. Even the most expensive towns in SJ have median incomes around 90,000 (at least as of the 2000 census), about 50% less than expensive towns in NNJ. The emergence of the "wealth belt" is confined to NNJ, the 7 counties stretching from Monmouth up through Somerset and Morris and over to Bergen.
Go over to the Philadelphia suburbs subforum. You'll see the difference. I'm not sure how much of a rivalry there is though, it's more mutual ignorance. I do have class with a girl from Cherry Hill who called NNJ "a totally different state," and I know some NNJ folks who look at SJ as backwards and boring. If there is a rivalry though, I think it's most NNJ ignorance and SJ resentment. Remember, that half of the state did have a secession vote in the early 90s...
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