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Yikes, here we go again. Any criticism of good ole NJ is met with love it or leave it. Ummmm how about neither. I intend to change it. And I started to change it on November 3rd!
No, it's not "love it or leave it". Nobody said that to you. It was a question asked of you as to why do you choose to live in NJ, if you don't think NJ is the best place to live?
There is an innate hypocrisy in the whinings and complaints of every single NJ resident who claims that NJ is not worth the price because the fact is they choose to pay the price.
It's like someone buying a gallon of milk for $3.50. If that person needed the milk, and found $3.50 to be a reasonable price to pay for it, and actually CHOSE to pay that $3.50 for the gallon of milk, then he very obiviously believed that it was worth paying $3.50 for that gallon of milk. For that person to ever say that he never believed it was worth $3.50 for that gallon of milk would be a lie, and would be betrayed by his very action of having bought the milk.
It's no different with self-loathing, whiney New Jerseyans who whine and complain that NJ isn't worth the money; the fact that what they are saying with their words contradicts what they are saying with their money means one of the two is a lie. Words are cheap, dollars aren't.
Every last whiner and Jersey-basher who lives in NJ is a hypocrite and contradicts himself every time he makes ignorant comments about NJ not being worth it, because at the same time, with his money he's screaming "YES! NEW JERSEY IS WORTH THE MONEY!" as he forks it over, willingly, month after month, year after year.
At least the people who left NJ have put their money where their mouths are. Those people TRULY believe NJ isn't worth the money, that's why they live elsewhere. That's fine, that's their taste; they don't like NJ, not everyone will. But NJ is worth the money that people pay and the proof is in the fact that those people choose, willingly, to pay the money for living here.
No, it's not "love it or leave it". Nobody said that to you. It was a question asked of you as to why do you choose to live in NJ, if you don't think NJ is the best place to live?
Many people who live in New Jersey live there because of factors beyond their control.......not because they "choose" to. Many who would gladly move someplace else find themselves trapped because of job commitment and tenure, etc.......many stay because of freinds and family but would rather be elsewhere......many just can't handle the cost of moving.....your way off base if you think those that stay here are here because they "choose" to be.
I will pass. They are filled with snowbirds, hick culture, awful nightlife that night after the beach and horrible restaurants.
Anything outside of Miami is that way in FL to me.
Snowbirds ? Any New Jerseys shore points don't experience heavy out of town vacationers during the summer months ? I visit Ocala frequently and while there are chain restaurants there to be sure there are also plenty of other individual restaurants too if you know where to look, like Harrys, Marks Prime, Ipanema and Stumpknockers. And, I can enjoy all this, including nice clean free beaches without having my taxes extracted through my nose.
excellent post. and 100% true too.. The people of NJ who despise it have no clue to how good they really have it..
Quote:
Originally Posted by soulsurv
VERY interesting thread, I must say I have to agree with those who say that whomever truly despises the state: cut your losses and make a plan. Put everything you have into it, all your money, energy and resources, and do it as soon as possible.
I hate where I'm living in SE PA, and the towns I do like very much, in Chester County, are way too expensive for me. I can, and plan to, purchase a home with ground in very South NJ, for considerably less than Chester County, PA, and for the same property taxes I'm paying now in the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District (for a postage stamp-sized lot). Don't forget there are really TWO New Jerseys: North and South. And in the South taxes are much lower, the pace is much slower, the culture and history are solid and beautifully intertwined with legends and charm, the beaches are pristine, and the food is marvelous. Sounds like a good deal to me.
And young and old can't live in the same state....someone is going to break into your home and tie you to your bed at 7 pm and read bedtime stories till you fall asleep ?
It's a preference. Young professionals (23-35) who are starting careers and in the dating scene don't want to look over and see a city that shuts down at 5 and thats filled with geezers.
I am 26, don't want it. I will look for that scene in 40 years.
Many people who live in New Jersey live there because of factors beyond their control.......not because they "choose" to. Many who would gladly move someplace else find themselves trapped because of job commitment and tenure, etc.......many stay because of freinds and family but would rather be elsewhere......many just can't handle the cost of moving.....your way off base if you think those that stay here are here because they "choose" to be.
True, many people have a victim mentality and consider themselves "trapped" by "factors beyond their control", but the fact is that nobody is really trapped. The reality is that those people are only "trapped" by their own priorities, by the choices they made about what their priorities are. Then, they make themselves "victims" and instead of rightfully blaming themselves and their own choices, they blame something external, and blaming NJ seems to be very popular target because it's a convenient and impersonal (i.e. won't defend itself) target.
The VAST, VAST majority of those that stay here DO CHOOSE to stay here. Period. It is the extremely rare exception where a person is truly "stuck" in a place, and that almost always has to do with being unusually poor or physically disabled. Beyond that, no, there is no way anyone is "stuck" here, Mod cut.
Last edited by Viralmd; 01-16-2010 at 10:05 AM..
Reason: Better, but still rude.
Listen, I don't have the patience to sort through ALLL of these pages, so I'm going to put in my two cents
NJ is a decent place to live, you can do better, you can do worse, it all depends on what you want and how much your willing to pay. Yes, it has it's problems, but there are other places in the U.S. that are worse. There is no shangrala. NJ is not for everyone, and it really depends on what part of Jersey your from.
Would that be the shore and beaches you actually have to PAY to use as opposed to the 100s of miles of free beaches in Florida ? Is that the same shore that hospital waste, used syringes and military artillary shells wash up on ? Perhaps the same shore that water quality constantly has to be monitored to determine if the water is actually safe to enter because at times isn't ?
Please direct me to the beaches that hospital waste and military artillery shells wash up on, oh wait you can't because they don't exist. (the artillery shells were pumped up onto Ship Bottom's beach durring a beach replenishment project) When waste did wash ashore, they discovered that it cam from NYC's Fresh Kills Landfill. NJ sued NY for millions (and won) and that landfill is now closed (although it was temporarily reopned for 9/11). There currently are plans for turning that landfill into a park. Such an event has not occurred for well over 20 years. (although a few syringes did wash ashore in Avalon's back bays, but they discovered that a dentist from PA was dumping them there. That man is currently serving a jail sentence)
NJ beaches are help up to some of the HIGHEST standards in the U.S. because of past problems and to dispel rumors of pollution. If it's closed, it because it does not meet a standard, that is higher than that of Florida. I HAVE NEVER in my life EVER seen trash wash ashore on the beach. Yes, I've seen the odd plastic bag or coffee cup that someone left on the beach, or was blown there by the wind, but that does not happen regularly, nor did it wash ashore. The only things that I've ever had to step over are all the thousands of people on the beach (and of course shells, but that should go with out saying)
If I don't want to pay to use the beach I either (a) sneak onto it, (b) go to Strathmere or Wildwood, or (c) wait till 5 when the lifeguards are gone and go for free. In Ocean City, the beaches don't close at night, when the lifeguards leave, it's swim at your own risk, same goes for Sea Isle and Cape May.
NJ beaches are some of the best in the world. They have soft sand, there is ehhh to good surf (usually falls in the ehh to okay range though), they're VERY clean, not too crowded, the sun/heat is bearable, the water is cool and refreshing (durring the summer seasons), and there's a nice boardwalk nearby.
Former NJ resident here - kudos to all for an entertaining thread.
A few thoughts: "Filet mignon" is not the phrase that immediately springs to mind when trying to summarizing most parts of the state. A tasty, filling but over-priced hoagie is more like it. Second, glad that Billy Joel never met BCJ, or there'd have been one less album and Broadway musical:
"You oughta know by now - You oughta know by now
Who needs a house out in Hackensack
Is that all you get for your money?"
No, it's not "love it or leave it". Nobody said that to you. It was a question asked of you as to why do you choose to live in NJ, if you don't think NJ is the best place to live?
There is an innate hypocrisy in the whinings and complaints of every single NJ resident who claims that NJ is not worth the price because the fact is they choose to pay the price.
"NJ" doesn't have one price. The price I pay for my one bedroom rental in Jersey City (not the "good" part of town) is relatively modest.
Unlike South Orange, West Orange, Montclair, Alpine and some other towns, no-one who can choose to live wherever they want lives in my zipcode.
It is worth the money for me to live here -- I pay a modest sum of rent, my apartment is nice, the people in my building are OK and I have an easy commute to a job that pays quite well.
However, my 'hood is more like a knock-off McNugget than Filet Mignon.
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I have to agree with those who say that whomever truly despises the state: cut your losses and make a plan. Put everything you have into it, all your money, energy and resources, and do it as soon as possible.
