Is there any truth in the stereotypes of brash New Jersey people? (Newark: vs, suburbs)

[xxSay]

Originally Posted by Bill Keegan

No, there ain't no truth to it at all. And anyone who says there is is gonna have to deal wit me. Got it?

Ummmm... slightly the kind of thing that Jerseyans who dont get super offended over every comment tend to avoid saying...

I mean, I'm from Jersey, and I personally give my best friend form the Carolinas a flick in the ear when she says, "ain't no".

One last thing: I'm from NJ, and we are direct. That was the point of this entire message, and it may have been influencing you when you wrote that, Bill, but let us keep our views tied to more intellectual standards, shall we?

[xxSay]

What I've tended to notice is; the whole stereotype thing depends on the day that your town got it's first traffic light. I mean, I live in Pompton Lakes now, but I've been to a town that has an entire yearly festival dedicated to their first traffic light, West Milford. I assure you that you have never heard of them, and maybe that is why NJ stereotypes are so negative? West Milford is 82 square miles of land that no one is aloud to build on to keep waterways clean (we're strict here, you can even drink tap) so it's full of trees, it has two botanical gardens with (last I checked) two wildlife/memorial parks, like the Long Pond Iron Works mill. I never lived there myself, but my best friend lived there before she moved away and came back. She didn't have any relitives or ties here, so moving back only helps prove that NJ is at least somewhat of a great place, right? West Milford's east of Milford and so far north that it's geologically ABOVE New York City (ironically). Basically, it's little-old-lady central, so safe you could let your kids trick-or-treat alone.

If you cant find when your Jersey town got it's first traffic light, check to see how old their first church is, that might help. The older the better, but this only counts for towns, not cities. I cant vouch for those simply because I've never lived in one or known any close friends that have.

All I'm saying is that if you take a magnifing glass to the parts of the map which aren't off the turnpike, you'll find towns like mine or Julie's that speak with more of Connetican accent, and though we will be direct in "Those shoes dont match your bag", we will most always be "But they go with your perfect necklace! Where did you get it?"

Oh, and one more thing: Yes, in most places all over the state, we will instantly dislike you, but on the other side; you do something, anything, the smallest thing and we instantly consider you someone who we'd like to know better. For example, stereotypically, if I saw you move in next door, I'm not rushing over with pie to 'greet the new neighbors' because im still pissed my last neighbors left. SO, right off the bat, you aren't liked. Kind of like how when you were in school you started every semester with a zero. But then you go and say, pick out the same movie as I would at the store or even simply hold a door open and I'd gather up people to be there to back you up the instant someone says they 'think you should lose weight'. We will not only honk but curse/flip-the-birdie if you cut us off, (not slow driving, it really isnt about pace) but if you cut us off and then hit the curb, we'll run out of our cars offering you help. Then forget we ever met you. It's just our thing. It isn't an "everyone from NJ is rude" thing, or even a "you need to work hard to get them to trust you" thing; it's more that we have the tendency to go through life taking our innermost emotions and putting them on display. Which can be good or bad, mostly neutral. It also means that, though we would defend you as I mentioned, it doesnt automatically mean we're in love with you, its that our current emotion is one of 'stand up for the person who i liked'. We ARE tough people. We DO like to cause a little stir every now and then, and we ARE quick to make fights, which is why quite a few posts on this thread are deticated to helping a certain Mrs. D "find her place". But after the talk is gone and over with, (and if you did a good job debating us; we respect those who are quick-witted) we'll bring you into our favorite diner and keep in touch- or, forget we ever met you. Not out of hate and not out of ignorance, but that we think in the moment; reacting to the "now" and not that our sewer sysetem's walls were too thin a year ago. |-see previous posts-| I for one, find it refreshing to hear honest remarks and not have to deal with those fake forced conversations that other states have, but I can respect you for prefering a gentler croud. Because that is alot of Jersey as well, respect, find it cliche or not.

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by Bill Keegan

No, there ain't no truth to it at all. And anyone who says there is is gonna have to deal wit me. Got it?

Originally Posted by xxSay

Ummmm... slightly the kind of thing that Jerseyans who dont get super offended over every comment tend to avoid saying...

I mean, I'm from Jersey, and I personally give my best friend form the Carolinas a flick in the ear when she says, "ain't no".

One last thing: I'm from NJ, and we are direct. That was the point of this entire message, and it may have been influencing you when you wrote that, Bill, but let us keep our views tied to more intellectual standards, shall we?

i'm 99% sure bill keegan was being sarcastic there, doing his best "nj tough guy" impersonation as a way to mock the stereotype of the brash new jerseyan.

[xxSay]

Originally Posted by WhiteMan

The two arm pits of the United States ... New Jersey and New York !! Stay there and out of Pa !! Thank You and God Bless !!

Dude- what the hell?? Fix your username, then maybe I'll get back to you.

[xxSay]

Originally Posted by pbergen

i'm 99% sure bill keegan was being sarcastic there, doing his best "nj tough guy" impersonation as a way to mock the stereotype of the brash new jerseyan.

Okay- my mistake. I don't know him as a person and I do tend to take anything in written terms more literal.

[ReluctantGardenStater]

Originally Posted by JimmyLane

i've lived in NJ all my life dingler and pretty much that's the case with people. they live in fear here and are always on guard. everybody thinks that if a stranger approaches them they must "want something." surely you'll get friendly folks if you want directions, but don't expect much in the way of conversation from strangers, or forging many friendships. any toughness is just a mask to hide their insecurity.

as far as fort lee or englewood, it's ridiculously expensive. you're going to spend in the way of $1400 for a two-bedroom, and that's average size. while much of englewood has undergone massive redevelopment, certain areas are still under par and draw shady people. fort lee is predominantly asian, nice it is, and the public school is okay. the downside of living in both areas is around-the-clock traffic. good luck.

I think this goes more to the heart of what someone else said. NJers won't let anyone take them for a ride. People even in the safest suburbs are constantly on guard and an advancement by a stranger can be met with a response that may seem vicious, but it is really just self-protection. That said, this has nothing to do with how a NJer will act or treat someone once they find themselves better acquainted. It's just a tough shell.

[angerinthenation]

It's not far fetched. Look on this forum. It's real.

And please do NOT get New York and New Jersey mixed up. They are two different places with two different types of people.

I'll tell you this. Jersey people are on some other *****. You might run into a cool head or two but the d!ckheads outnumber the good people. I'll tell you that for a fact. I've been living in this state for 19 years and there's people that will start a fight with you over NOTHING. You don't even have to go around to have some random dude talking **** to your face and you never SEEN or met scrappy in your life. You can go to NYC and mind your business and more than likely nothing will happen to you. People are all nice, friendly and just go their way. You go to Jersey, people are all up in your business like they don't have one of their own. It's sad. All paying attention to me instead of keeping it moving and they don't even know me.

I have so much stories. I'll give you one. I was walking down Springfield Ave trying to get home right in Maplewood after dark. I was on my cell phone trying to talk to my mom to let her know what's going with me. Some kids who I wasn't even paying attention too start talking a bunch of mess about me and my cell phone. These were some wannabe thugs trying to get some points or whatever. I didn't hear anything they said but I did hear them talking about taking my cell phone or something like that. I turned around and said "say what" to those kids pretty much inviting them to say whatever they was trying to say right behind my back to my face since they were all mumbling and trying to get my attention. They got all quiet then when I turned around, these kids start going off the mouth again like some punks.

For real... Jersey has a lot of people that are *****starters. They sure know how to start problems but a lot of them can't finish it. That alone makes me want to move out of this state.

[Sassygirl18]

I'm a lifelong South Jersey resident (near Phila) and the people in South Jersey are generally nice. I've never felt people were rude. (Of course, in Philadelphia there is quite a bit more rudeness and bad manners). I think the closer you get to NYC, the more brashness and rudeness you get. It's the culture of NYC and it spills over into NJ, so North Jersey tends to be more rude/brash than South Jersey.

Even as a NJ person, I am often caught off-guard by NYC-area rudeness/brashness. Occasionally I have had to deal with NYC-area people on the phone at work and it's amazing the cultural difference. Very short, very abrupt, quick to make you feel like you are taking up too much of their time, bad manners and interpersonal skills.

Just my observation.

[njkate]

I can't believe someone resurrected this two year old thread

[ilovemycomputer90]

I live in the northwestern part of the state and the people here are fairly nice. Maybe reserved like most other sections of North Jersey 'suburbia'. The rudest people I've dealt with were either from the northeastern part of the state or NYC.