North Jersey vs South Jersey "The Difference"? (Newark: home, neighborhoods)

[newteacher]

I have lived in South Jersey for 23 years (my whole life). I love it, but as a newly married college grad. I can't afford to stay. I am moving to FL so I can actually get a teaching job and not have to sub for 3 years! Plus, I'll actually be able to afford a starter home there... something that doesn't exist in S. J. anymore, unless you count a 150K condo....

[mcmartian]

northern NJ - extremely liberal
southern NJ - extremely conservative

[kort677]

Originally Posted by mcmartian

northern NJ - extremely liberal
southern NJ - extremely conservative

that's not true at all, camden county is very liberal, in the south, hunterdon, sussex, even morris county all in the north are quite conservative

[CrazyJerzyKidUNO]

south jersey for the most part looks the same wherever you go(not everywhere i said for the most part so dont go crazy) North Jersey has more character and the different counties has way different feel to them. Just like the boroughs of New York.

[jy_2007]

Originally Posted by CrazyJerzyKidUNO

south jersey for the most part looks the same wherever you go(not everywhere i said for the most part so dont go crazy) North Jersey has more character and the different counties has way different feel to them. Just like the boroughs of New York.

agree. i've lived in both north and south jersey. You don't really have "neighborhoods" and "downtowns" in south jersey. Every major artery is a flat, pin-straight, two lane road for miles and miles. I'm serious, you could set the cruise control and not have to touch the pedals or steering wheel for 20 minutes at a time. You drive through farmland and woods, as you approach the next town, you're bombarded with strip mall after strip mall. turn off the main road onto a smaller road, then turn off that into your development - which is either a cluster of modest split-levels built in the 70s or 80s, or a bunch of poorly constructed mcmansions and not one tree in sight. Maybe there are a few pockets of original homes, but they are probably run down and ready to be bulldozed to make room for more mcmansions.

And then there's the age-old pizza/bagels thing.

For what it's worth - the pine barrens are incredible - far nicer than any of the woodlands in north jersey. And the south jersey shore kicks the crap out of north jersey shore in every way.

[LittleMissSunshine]

I have lived in Bergen for 18 years and now Burlington so I can see some differences.

North Jersey: Live revolves around NYC, very fast paced, subs, italian ice, people think south jersey is anything below union county, people think down the shore is point pleasant or belmar, ny tv and radio

South Jersey: Very philly oriented, a lot more farms, pine barrens, water ice, hoagies, philly tv and radio, people think down the shore is wildwood

[newteacher]

Wrong! South Jersey "down the shore" = LBI ( Long Beach Island )

[Summer16]

So what do you think the dividing line of North and South Jersey is? I'm curious because I live in central NJ.

[bigjersey]

South Jersey is really three different areas.
1. Area #1: Philly Suburbs around Camden and Cherry Hill. These neighborhoods extend up and down the Delaware River, all the way to Trenton. Some are charming, some are not not. Traffic can be deadly.
2. Area #2: Greater Atlantic City. Casinos, beaches, boardwalk, nightlife, entertainment, visitors from up and down the east coast. Atlantic County is sort of its own city/region and is in many ways distinct from Philadelphia.
3. Area #3: Cape May, Cumberland, and Salem Counties. Farms, nice beach towns, Vineland, Millville, Bridgeton. Poor and Conservative. Feels more Southern than Mid Atlantic in many ways.

[bigjersey]

Also, I've determined that the Philadelphia Phillies/New York Yankees line starts in Tuckerton, New Jersey and heads north on route 539. Everything south or west of 539 is Phillies, everything north or east is Yankees or Mets.