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I voted NY/NJ/CT over DC/MD/VA. OP is asking for most cohesive, NOT geographically seamless, and it doesn't get any closer than the cultural, municipal and economic relationship between NY and NJ. There's no other state and/or district relationship at the same level.
While the DMV is more geographically seamless, it's slightly below the Tri State in the above metrics. Also, I think Baltimore/Annapolis has enough pull to weaken the MD side of the equation, honestly. DC isn't the unopposed alpha of its region like NYC is. EVERYTHING in the Tri State pretty much revolves around NYC. You can't say the same for DC.
I also agree with Jerseygal in that people are downplaying Jersey's draw for New Yorkers. Bottom line up front, it's cheaper and less congested than the city, qualities that make it inherently attractive, nevermind the shore and shopping outlets.
You have people from the Baltimore area (most especially from Howard County and even Baltimore City itself) traveling down to DC for work and even leisure. DC's pull goes as far as the West Virginia Panhandle and even Richmond, VA. Baltimore and Annapolis certainly have their draws but DC's still a major economic and entertainment/leisure power in its region. Some from the Bmore area even travel down to MoCo for work as well, mainly those from HoCo, Balt Co, and to a lesser extent Carroll Co.
New Jersey has very nice areas, but let's be honest here. The NY-NJ traffic is overwhelmingly one-way, and that way points to Manhattan.
Manhattanites don't leave Manhattan. Hiking and beaches? Upstate and the Hamptons. Brooklyn and especially Queens are far from NJ. It's expensive (approx $20 round trip in tolls), and Brooklyn and Queens are both located on Long Island so they're next door to Nassau County. Why would they pay to go to New Jersey when they can go to beach and do big box shopping in Nassau County for free? And quicker, since it's closer? Much closer when you include the horrendous tunnel / bridge traffic.
Staten Islanders are probably likely to go to New Jersey I suppose.
But yes, I still voted for tristate. The government bodies of the states act more in cohesion. PANYNJ is a huge agency and the DMV has nothing that compares.
The closest joint-jurisdiction here in the DMV Eye can think of is WMATA.
I would say DC. Jersey seems somewhat disconnected from Philly and NYC while metro DC (The DMV!) really functions like one metro area. Just having metro rail and buses crossing into MD and VA makes a difference vs the Jersey side of NYC and Philly which have their own rail lines etc that only cross the rivers and end in the cities.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by newbern100
My family is a southern/mid atlantic family that breeds horses and I have to say new jersey horse country is some of the best in the country outside of northern virginia and kentucky horse country, very posh and beautiful state with tons of gorgeous coastline. maybe manhattanites just focus on closer northern new jersey places they see from the trains, but it is a beautiful state. Even close towns like Hoboken have always been very popular with artists and writers, I played at maxwell's with my band and I love that town.
wikimedia commons photos hoboken
Getting back to my post about the dysfunctional DC/Va/Maryland traffic, you can jump on a train and be in manhattan very easily from parts of connecticut and new jersey, the Metro isnt like that in alot of northern virginia and southern maryland. Most likely you are driving into DC and dealing with very expensive parking and all the hassles of parking in the district . DC should be the very symbol of America, we shouldnt have the worst traffic and gridlock in the country.
This system of two states and a city trying to solve these traffic problems isnt working, this is not normal American metro traffic by any means, its getting to be like a third world country like mexico city style gridlock. DC should be the very symbol of American urban planning and not always at number one for the worst in the country for traffic and gridlock
I guarantee you that people who dont live in DC will see stories of the Popes visit to DC and the traffic, federal employees have been told not to come into work this week!
You sound ridiculous. First of all each of the three cities involved in the Papal visit have shut down areas and told people not to come to work. Second there is one system that seamlessly connects MD/DC/VA by train. NY's train does not seamlessly do this with CT and NJ. Thirdly just because a traffic report or two claim the gridlock is the worst doesn't mean it really is. Los Angeles is still worse in traffic IMO but DC's is obviously bad. The streets are actually clear right now in DC due to the Papal visit and I expect to see similar things happen in NY and Philly.
Many people from Philly/NE Philly, come to shop in NJ (Cherry Hill) and fill up gasoline full-service over the weekends. The King of Prussia Mall is a farther of a hike, but many go there too as well. Gas being so low everywhere, however, likely isn't the same appeal in NJ as when it was higher in price.
Seems like the price of the toll and extra gas expenditure would wipe out any cost savings. Even if gas were 30 cents cheaper in S. Jersey, I'm not paying a $5.00 toll to save $3.60 on gas. Plus there's the added inconvenience of crossing a bridge as opposed to going down the street.
People will go to King of Prussia because it is by far the best shopping in the region. It's more akin to Tyson's Corner.
Last edited by BajanYankee; 09-23-2015 at 08:24 AM..
Reason: typo
I voted NY/NJ/CT over DC/MD/VA. OP is asking for most cohesive, NOT geographically seamless, and it doesn't get any closer than the cultural, municipal and economic relationship between NY and NJ. There's no other state and/or district relationship at the same level.
The area is more cohesive because it is so geographically seamless. Cultural seamlessness seems to be a wash; it's not like NYC's cultural influence extends across the Hudson whereas the Delaware acts as some type of cultural forcefield. These places are metro areas after all. The economic and political relationship factor is a wash as well. DC, MD, and VA, for example, are all tied together through WMATA (all three fund the system) plus the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
Quote:
Originally Posted by qworldorder
While the DMV is more geographically seamless, it's slightly below the Tri State in the above metrics. Also, I think Baltimore/Annapolis has enough pull to weaken the MD side of the equation, honestly. DC isn't the unopposed alpha of its region like NYC is. EVERYTHING in the Tri State pretty much revolves around NYC. You can't say the same for DC.
Well, Baltimore is pretty tied into the DC economy too. I posted some study a while back showing that about a third of the Baltimore region's economy was either directly or indirectly dependent on the federal government (Ft. Meade, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Lockheed, etc.). The same is clearly true of Annapolis with the U.S. Naval Academy. And of course, Virginia has the C.I.A., Pentagon, Quantico and Ft. Belvoir. So they are all very much economically linked.
Quote:
Originally Posted by qworldorder
I also agree with Jerseygal in that people are downplaying Jersey's draw for New Yorkers. Bottom line up front, it's cheaper and less congested than the city, qualities that make it inherently attractive, nevermind the shore and shopping outlets.
I didn't mean a "draw" as in an attractive place to live. I meant a draw in the sense that the average New Yorker will rarely find himself in New Jersey.
The bottom line is that DC, Maryland and Virginia do not have the significant natural barriers of the NYC metro area. Getting to New Jersey from New York (and I'm talking about the other 8 million of us who do not live on Staten Island) is a huge production. Crossing from Montgomery County, MD to Fairfax County, VA, on the other hand, is a complete non-event. You might not even notice you've crossed into a different state if you don't pay attention to the signs.
In this sense, traveling from Tyson's to Bethesda feels much more like a trip from Teaneck to Bloomfield (only without tolls). It's simply easier to move from jurisdiction to jurisdiction in the DMV and on an average Saturday you could easily end up being in all three. It seems like everybody's forgotten that Connecticut is also part of the Tri-State region and that's certainly a voyage for any New Yorker not in the North Bronx or Westchester.
The media also reflects sort of a identity/cultural difference between the NYC area and the DC and Philly areas. Newark has its own newspaper, the Newark Star-Ledger, which has a larger circulation than the San Francisco Chronicle, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Baltimore Sun. And we're talking about a place that's 11 miles driving distance from Manhattan.
I would say DC. Jersey seems somewhat disconnected from Philly and NYC while metro DC (The DMV!) really functions like one metro area. Just having metro rail and buses crossing into MD and VA makes a difference vs the Jersey side of NYC and Philly which have their own rail lines etc that only cross the rivers and end in the cities.
You sound ridiculous. First of all each of the three cities involved in the Papal visit have shut down areas and told people not to come to work. Second there is one system that seamlessly connects MD/DC/VA by train. NY's train does not seamlessly do this with CT and NJ. Thirdly just because a traffic report or two claim the gridlock is the worst doesn't mean it really is. Los Angeles is still worse in traffic IMO but DC's is obviously bad. The streets are actually clear right now in DC due to the Papal visit and I expect to see similar things happen in NY and Philly.
a traffic report or two??? DC over the last few years has routinely rated the worst in the country for traffic congestion and traffic in every study and report out there and it is getting worse every year.
a traffic report or two??? DC over the last few years has routinely rated the worst in the country for traffic congestion and traffic in every study and report out there and it is getting worse every year.
What does traffic have to do with the OP? New York's traffic is worse anyway.
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