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Dont mind New Yorkers, as we all know they hate on EVERYTHING not New York (shame I have to admit it). The years in my life that I spent not living in New York helped me see how ignorant we are as a whole.
I lived in Jersey and I know there are good parts, bad parts, country (rural) parts and city parts. To me the greatest STATE (not city, that belongs to NY) of all. Most diverse state (IMO).
i can agree with that. some NYers think nyc is the whole world, it is in the sense that a lot of people from around the world aim/dream for that lifestyle and the diversity is an attraction for all kinds of people. people don't realize that u can find that in a lot of cities, even in new jersey. If u are a happy person u can be content in other cities as well
I'm originally from Long Island, so I've experienced the same type of stereotypes.
As I'm sure many people have mentioned, people mostly see the chemical plants, nuclear plants, etc..., as they travel through Jersey. Or even the congested areas in Newark, East Orange, etc..., and not the prettier areas.
I think the shore area can be beautiful....Cape May is great. Little towns like Ridgewood can be picturesque. I love the unique houses in the Oranges (not East Orange, necessarily). Most people are great. That said, there are areas that you get a lot of the stereotypical guys who look like they're on steroids at 18.
In one of my visits to the shore, I was at a bar with my wife, clearly together, when a guy physically grabbed hold of her right in front of me - tantamount to basically attacking her and trying to restrain her. She immediately yanked herself away and out the door before a major confrontation ensued, but let's just say that it didn't leave a good impression and I doubt we'd go back. I've never seen anything so aggressive.
Can it happen anywhere? Absolutely. Was the guy even from NJ? Maybe, maybe not. But when certain experiences feed the stereotype, it sure doesn't help.
As someone from Long Island, I know that it sucks when a few bad apples and stereotypes create an impression of the whole group, but I guess it's just the way things go when a certain segment of the population leaves that characterization.
Yeah but Scott...Long Island has an AMAZING reputation compared to NJ. Because it's NY. Long Islanders really look down at their noses at NJ. I know a lot of people (friends, family, and colleagues) who are from Long Island.
Oh no, I don't agree about Long Island having an amazing reputation! It is just about the same as NJ. People around the country mock LI as much as they mock NJ. Why, I don't know, not that I agree, it just is. I'm sure some people from the North Shore of LI have a hard time believing Long Island is not perceived as a glittering jewel in the crown of the northeast.... While people from the rest of LI are like, get me the hell out of here, I'm trapped in Long Island!
But I do think that NJ and Long Island do not mix--if a family member moves from one to the other people generally aren't happy about it, because who the heck would want to make that trek for a holiday visit????
Well, in my life, when I tell people I'm "from Long Island," I get two responses:
1) "You are? But you seem nice..." (I guess that's a compliment)
or: 2) "Where's your accent?"
Friends are usually shocked when I take them to the North Shore and they see trees, fishing towns and beaches - the perception is that most of Long Island is as dense as Queens and is filled with the stereotypical Staten Island / NJ / Long Island guys and girls that are supposed to have a Camaro or Mustang, big hair and no taste.
I'm Italian-American, but certainly don't fit the stereotypes - I think many areas get lumped into that same stereotype.
I live on Long Island - and the immediate reaction that I get when I tell people that I am moving to NJ is... "Jersey? GOD! WHY?" - and all I can think of is because - it's not HERE.
Long Island has it's positive points, but you're right - they think that they are living in suburbia up here. But the parts of Long Island that are anything like Jersey are few and far between. The houses are too close together here, as a general rule, and the traffic is unbearable.
Long Island is great if you don't ever want to leave the Island...
Houses on Eastern , LI are not to close together. When I was first married I lived in Mt Sinai, LI. I had 3/4 of an acre and was not near my neighbor. It was in 1975, and I paid $32,990 for the house then, and it was brand new.
The traffic was worst in NJ. Try going up Tennent Road in Manalapan at 4pm in the afternoon. I was once stuck going a 2 mile radius for over an hour! The infastructure there does not account for that much traffic. I did not find that in LI. Its still pretty country out in Mt Sinai, Miller Place, Pt Jefferson area.
Where I live now the roads are much better. It has to be a Major accident to see traffic here. With all the interstates its quite accessable. The infastructure here is just planned better.
NJ has to many country roads , with city traffic, and that is common in the Marlboro/Manalapan area. There are too many people in that small a state.
Diane G-
Just being honest, if anyone knows Tennent Road , which I had to go on since my house was off of it.(woodland circle) It has gullies, and many a car has fallen into one. Add to that Traffic, and you have big problems.
Well, in my life, when I tell people I'm "from Long Island," I get two responses:
1) "You are? But you seem nice..." (I guess that's a compliment)
or: 2) "Where's your accent?"
Friends are usually shocked when I take them to the North Shore and they see trees, fishing towns and beaches - the perception is that most of Long Island is as dense as Queens and is filled with the stereotypical Staten Island / NJ / Long Island guys and girls that are supposed to have a Camaro or Mustang, big hair and no taste.
I'm Italian-American, but certainly don't fit the stereotypes - I think many areas get lumped into that same stereotype.
How do NJ people look at Staten Island?
Yeah, but you're referring to people's perceptions of the PEOPLE, not the landscape. I cannot buy that LI gets it as bad as NJ. Sopranos intro didn't help. People around the country think of LI as a wealthy suburban area. People think of NJ as a wasteland.
Well, it's a little of both (land and people), but no, I don't think LI has it "worse." I just think there are some similarities in the stereotypes, particularly in people.
Obviously, NJ's perception has ALOT to do with the landscape off of the major transportation hubs: nuclear plant in southern NJ, industrial wasteland around Secaucus, Newark, chemical plants, the Turnpike, etc...
I think the NY vs NJ thing is really a joke overall, like a ribbing, the same way NYers tease people from Staten Island, or Yankees fans abusing Mets fans and vice versa. Some of it may manifest itself in real predjudices, but I don't think many people take it too seriously.
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