Is New Jersey Really that Horrible? (Newark, Jersey City: apartments, condos, how much)

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by Alex07860

Perhaps she was part of the traveling circus?

Could be- that may explain why all she saw was the "hillbillies".....

[stevemorse]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Ahh....you "traveled" the state. Yes, taking a trip through an area really gives you a complete picture of what goes on there.

it does not take much to see that there are hillbillies, its not that hard to figure out. The question is why dont you believe me. Do you really believe there are less hillbillies in NC than NJ? I mean come on, in denial thats you. Just by sheer size and backwoods there are more hillbillies in NC.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by stevemorse

it does not take much to see that there are hillbillies, its not that hard to figure out. The question is why dont you believe me. Do you really believe there are less hillbillies in NC than NJ? I mean come on, in denial thats you. Just by sheer size and backwoods there are more hillbillies in NC.

No, I don't believe there are less "hillbillies" in NC than NJ- whatever a "hillbillie" may be in today's day and age. However, the entire state of NC is not "hillbillies", just like NJ is not entirely Soprano-esque Italian mobsters, so why keep bringing them up?

[stevemorse]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

No, I don't believe there are less "hillbillies" in NC than NJ- whatever a "hillbillie" may be in today's day and age. However, the entire state of NC is not "hillbillies", just like NJ is not entirely Soprano-esque Italian mobsters, so why keep bringing them up?

read the OP, thats why I brought it up. I was stating to the OP that NC has some issues more than NJ. Now we agree on something!!!

[gradstudent77]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Don't know, nor do I care- I never went to the one in NJ, so I don't feel like I'm missing anything. If a once-a-year Portuguese festival makes it worthwhile for you to live in NJ, have at it- it's not enough to keep me there. I'm sure there are cultural events here that don't occur in NJ- does that make GA the better place live?

My point is there are things which do exist in a place like NJ, that one cannot find in other parts of this country. It doesn't seem like you value the unique things that this area offers, which is fine, and makes me believe that your move to GA was well-advised and the right decision for you and your family. What I take issue with is your dismissal of the unique attributes of this state; just because you are not enamored with NJ's unique attributes does not mean that they do not exist. For some, like myself, diversity feels good, the energy in the air is different, and I find I can relate better with people from here.

I'm moving to Virginia for school for the next three years. When my family visited my new school, my mother loved the South, which I expected given the fact that she complains about a lot of the things I love about NJ- the foreigners (even though she is one herself), congestion, the urbanity, and the pace of life.

The Portuguese festival happened to be this past weekend and I had the time of my life at it, so that's just the example I used. I wish I would have made it out to the Puerto Rican Day parade, too, but I got too busy to head over.

On Edit: when I say NJ, I mean the NYC metro area. South Jersey is not representative of my feelings about the state.

[LittleMissSunshine]

We may be a lil expensive and in some areas a lil crowded, but other than that New Jersey is actually a pretty nice place.

A lot of people who talk trash either a) had an unusually bad experience or b) have only been to Newark airport and choose to judge the whole state.

There are plenty of towns in this state that are beaches, farms or in the woods and are very pretty...not urban or polluted at all.

Another good thing is you can choose to live in an urban area, suburban area or even pretty rural area and still have a 2 hour or less drive to NYC or Philly. Not a lot of states offer that kind of option.

[gradstudent77]

Originally Posted by LittleMissSunshine

We may be a lil expensive and in some areas a lil crowded, but other than that New Jersey is actually a pretty nice place.

A lot of people who talk trash either a) had an unusually bad experience or b) have only been to Newark airport and choose to judge the whole state.

There are plenty of towns in this state that are beaches, farms or in the woods and are very pretty...not urban or polluted at all.

Another good thing is you can choose to live in an urban area, suburban area or even pretty rural area and still have a 2 hour or less drive to NYC or Philly. Not a lot of states offer that kind of option.

And, lets not forget that in some people's eyes, the urban, polluted areas are beautiful. Indeed, more beautiful than anything god created.

[LittleMissSunshine]

Originally Posted by gradstudent77

And, lets not forget that in some people's eyes, the urban, polluted areas are beautiful. Indeed, more beautiful than anything god created.

Good point and totally agree...

when I was in college, my favorite thing to do when I needed to think alone was drive to Weehawken and sit by the river and stare at NYC. I know some people would prefer a ride to a mountain or the ocean, but to me that was pretty and peaceful.

[NJ Bear]

"Potholes and buckled roadways are different than litter. A lot of northern states have problems with winter damage to roads."

This is true, but NJ barely counts as a "northern" state climate-wise, especially in recent years. NY, VT, NH, ME all have much worse frost damage than NJ- and they still have better-engineered roads that are in better condition.... AND are actulally plowed and salted in the winter, too!!! I guess that's what happens when all the tax funds that are supposed to go to highway maintenance get redirected to the general fund instead. Oh yeah, don't forget that despite the high taxes, the state has been basically bankrupt for years.

Per a previous post or three, were it not for family and friends I'd leave. There's nothing here for me otherwise. USed to be that parts of the state were nice but that changed in 80s and 90s, now the whole state is pretty much just a giant 'burb of NYC with the associated high COL, sprawl, urban influence, materialism, traffic, etc. People who thrive in the urban/materialistic lifestyle love it here; those who don't either tolerate it for other reasons or leave. The biggest advantage is that even when the economy is down there are always jobs because there is so much business and industry located here; many places get hit a lot harder when the economy slows or a certain industry vital to the region closes or cuts back. So despite having absurdly high costs, at least you can almsot always count on there being work of some sort out there, whereas some places are far cheaper to live but if the economy slows there is no work.

[Liz555]

Yes, I must agree that I LOVE NJ!!! The extremely high property taxes maybe the one thing that may force me from the place that I love one day though. The rest of the stuff I can deal with (although the politics can make blood shoot out of my eyes on occassion).
Since I am a native I have always LOVED that in a few short hours I can be relaxing at my beach house or hiking a mountainside without leaving my state. I love that I can plan my lunch in Newark and my dinner in New York. I have such appreciation for so many cultures. I cannot speak for any other state since I have not had the opportunity to live anywhere else (except NY in college) but I guess I'm one of the suckers. I have always felt that maybe I'd like to TRY somewhere else for awhile but I fear that I would be awfully homesick.