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I live with my parents still obviously until I get a career after graduating college. I lived in Morris County in the same house and town my entire life. I do not like the east coast at all in general, but New Jersey particularly. I visited the west coast last year (SF Bay area in April to visit relatives; Seattle in August just for vacation) and I realized how much different the west coast truly is (weather/climate, atmosphere [happiness], people, roads, driving, scenery, etc.). When I graduate college, I really plan on moving to Seattle, Washington or Northern California when I grow up, and I am not planning on having children at all (please don't tell me I'll change my mind, I hate having children). Here are the pros and cons of New Jersey which is my birth and home state.
New Jersey
Pros:
1. Great food choices:
- Ethnic food, but not as many ethnic food places as the west coast.
- We have the best bagels and pizza (based on stereotypes, not from my perspective
2. Diverse (even though diverse it can have a significantly higher white percentage than California or Washington)
3. Gun laws prevent idiots from scaring us
4. Some suburbs are still safe as many people stereotype New Jersey.
5. You're never in the middle of nowhere compared to most states. You have a lot of ammenities out here.
6. Great schools for raising children and colleges (Rutgers, Princeton, etc.)
7. Safest, cleanest, and most fun beaches like Atlantic City and Wildwood.
Cons:
1. I hate the east coast climate. This is my top reason why I would wanna move out of the East Coast forever! I hate the seasons changing too much and I hate the fact that I have to shovel snow and I cannot bare with the humidity in the summer. I'd rather wish to grow up in Florida where I can live in humidity all year round and get acclimated to it,
2. Road system is bad.
- Intersections are horrible and have weird angles.
- Roads have potholes
- You have to take a jughandle just to make a left turn on mainly the state routes. That's ridiculous,
because only New Jersey and one other state has this. This bothers me, because jughandles take up
more space within a small state.
- Highways are complicated and you will accidentally take an exit without realizing it (but this applies
to most of the East coast in my experience).
- We have the smelliest, narrowest, and most dangerous highway in the country called the Garden
State Parkway or the Turnpike.
3. Overdeveloped and crowded. I love nature and the outdoors, but there is barely and scenery here and when you do see scenery, it's not endless like most states. I need a balance of both civilization and nature to feel less stressed out. I am surrounded by concrete and it really feels repetitive and I feel stressed out to drive through this state.
4. Traffic is bad.
5. Too many cops watching roads.
- The cops have no life. All they do is watch for speeders and they don't monitor real crime.
- I visited the Seattle area of Washington and I haven't seen one cop hiding out to catch speeders.
5. Rude drivers
- I have to drive the speed limit or 5 above, because the cops will catch me if I speed. Every driver
tailgates me or they always change lanes and speed so fast and then they go in front of me.
- All drivers here take too long to react to a green light.
- Drivers speed past crosswalks faster faster and every day.
6. Bad drivers
- People speed causing danger.
- Some drivers drive too slow.
7. Neighbors are all weird nowadays.
- When I was little, every kid on my block would play with each other.
- We acted like nice neighbors, but our neighbors just want to take advantage of us.
- I heard New Jersey was a better place 25 years ago, but it was okay when I was a kid back in the
early 2000s.
8. New Jersey people in general are just bad. MY hometown is clean and has barely any potholes, but the people just suck in my town and they are all Guidos and are very clique-y with me. In high school, I never got along with hometown people again! I never kept in touch with people from high school, because of their typical NJ attitudes! No other town in NJ was ever this bad and most people in NJ are nicer than my hometown! Also, I heard that in most states, it's common for people to talk to strangers, but people just keep to themselves out here and even the most extroverted person doesn't talk to anyone! In California, you can go to skate park and easily make friends with outgoing people.
9. Nobody seems established with their lives out here. They're always freaking out about the weather, so they have to rush to do something. But even in general, people always never seem happy or established about their lives.
10. Smells. We are truly the armpit of America.
11. We have the most boring and crime rated cities in the country like Newark and Camden. There is literally nothing fun in any of the New Jersey cities. New Jersey's great for its suburbs.
12. Boring after a while. New Jersey appears to be a fun state, but it gets boring and repetitive after a while and you easily run out of things to do.
13. Ugly. This applies to most of the East coast like the northeast. The trees are all ordinary looking and dark green. West coast rules when it comes to scenery and trees.
14. Small state. Less room to put things.
15. Ghetto NJ Transit train system that constantly derails.
16. Our fat and bad governor.
17. Suburbs all seem urban.
18. Suburbs get more crime nowadays. My town is peaceful and it is not extremely far from Newark, but we only get one crime a year, but now there are more than just one crime a year in my town.
19. Too expensive (Food, property tax, tolls are being raised).
20. No skate parks like what I saw in California.
NOTE: I might also add things later on in case I realize I forget something, but this is pretty much every pro and con that comes off the top of my head!
I can't say I hate the place. IMO there's more good about it (for me) than bad. Sure, there are plenty of things I hate 'about' it, but I love the state.
Funny thing is, I was a bit like you. I was much much younger, living with my father in east Essex County and wanted to leave. Once I joined the Army and left for a good number of years (coming back here and there before getting out) I realized how much I missed it. I also realized how much NJ offers that's really hard to appreciate while being here. Honestly, I think NJ's biggest hangup is its love for your wallet, I can get over the rest.
Might as well escape as soon as you have the opportunity. It took me 15 years from the time I graduated from college to the time I was finally able to escape NJ. Seven months in and far no regrets about leaving NJ (my husband and I decided on Vegas for our hobbies and low cost of living). I'm surprised as to how much nicer people are out here and I've made several friends already- in a city of transplants, people are less cliquey and closed off. And to your point, since every tiny municipality doesn't have an overpaid police department to support, there aren't cops waiting around every corner to write a ticket - nice change (although I did receive a BS no-fee parking warning yesterday).
The cities you mentioned you would like to move to (SF, Seattle) are extremely expensive so be realistic about that - on an entry-level salary be prepared to live in a dumpy apartment with six roommates. Another option might be Sacramento which is more affordable. As you pointed out, NJ is a good place to raise kids, but if NYC does nothing for you, then there is no reason to stick around unless you have a fantastic job. You'll likely have no regrets about leaving NJ. I also grew up in Morris County and didn't keep in touch with anyone from my school days - I get your mindset. NJ sucked me in for way too long - I should have made this move a long time ago. Jobs kept us in NJ for a long time, but now my husband and I can both be remote (which has its pluses and minuses).
OP - all good points, but wanted to point something out based on general experience - short vacations somewhere always highlights the goods vs. your current environment. It, almost always, take significantly more for you to form a subjective opinion and comparison of places.
Most of your complaints make you sound like a giant baby. The trees are ordinary and dark green... seriously? You literally need to search for reasons to justify your hatred. What kind of reason is that? Also can I see your proof that the Parkway OR Turnpike (your words) are the most dangerous in the country? Also where does the Parkway smell? By the natural salt marshes and bays? Yeah sorry about that nature.
I am positive there are 0 cops in Seattle/WA waiting to catch speeders.
You're probably trolling given that list, because for some reason people find it sooo fun to tell the NJ forum how much the state sucks, but if you're not... I agree with jaymoney. Some serious issues here.
Actually anyone who calls the AC beaches the "safest and cleanest" must be trolling.
Most of your complaints make you sound like a giant baby. The trees are ordinary and dark green... seriously? You literally need to search for reasons to justify your hatred. What kind of reason is that? Also can I see your proof that the Parkway OR Turnpike (your words) are the most dangerous in the country? Also where does the Parkway smell? By the natural salt marshes and bays? Yeah sorry about that nature.
I am positive there are 0 cops in Seattle/WA waiting to catch speeders.
You're probably trolling given that list, because for some reason people find it sooo fun to tell the NJ forum how much the state sucks, but if you're not... I agree with jaymoney. Some serious issues here.
+1--on all points.
While I suspect that the OP might be trolling, jay's comment regarding a person who has...a lot of issues...is also a likely possibility in this situation.. And, in that regard, I have to point out to the OP that unhappy people are rarely turned into happy people by a Geographical Cure.
Miserable people tend to be miserable no matter where they choose to live, and those who are happy with their lot in life can remain happy even if some things in their environment are not to their liking.
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