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I spent most of my life in NJ until 2015, when I moved to the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. New Jersey has gotten progressively angrier over the years. Everyone seems pissed off all the time. I would visit my sister here in NC and say "Your friends are all so HAPPY. Can they possibly really be that happy?" Well yeah, they are. Yes, outside the Triangle it's full of angry Trumpazoids, but here people are content and friendly. And when I go back to NJ, I know why.
Here in NC, there's something green all year. Maybe you have shrubs that stay green. Or you have pine trees. Yes, we have 1-2 ice storms a year and then you don't go out for three days till it melts. When I fly into EWR, everything is gray. All the roads are surrounded by gray, gray, and more gray. When I fly into RDU, the surrounding area is green. (It's also a much nicer airport.) To the extent that we have a-hole drivers here, they are transplants from NJ. And I know who the NJ transplants are every time I go out on the road.
Store cashiers smile and say hello. No one has a chip on his/her shoulder just daring you to knock it off. I tell people here that NJ is the "You want a piece-a-me?" state, the state where everyone is picking a fight. NJ didn't elect a jerk like Chris Christie and give him great approval ratings for far too long for nothing.
Now granted, I lived north of I-78, where the shoulder chip is huge. It may not be as bad in South Jersey.
Oh my god, I can't believe that situation with the NJ State Trooper happened. They seem stricter than cops in just any NJ town. They hide out on highways and they are there to catch speeders so that the speeder can still be caught if they cross town borders. The cops in my town especially got smarter in finding hiding spots around town. That law about taking a photograph in the NJ state parks are ridiculous! I can't believe they exist! I am so happy you even posted on here, because I learned some mind twisting facts about New Jersey that I would never imagine. I never had a speed ticket in my life, so I would not know what it's like talking to a NJ police officer.
Oh by the way, in answer to your question about Jersey: Typically, when I cross the Mississippi going east I need a bottle of Xanax, one pill for me, and I pour the rest into my pick 'em up truck just so we can settle down enough to do the deed.
I am not no troll! I've seen stuff online that prove that New Jersey has safe beaches! I am not no baby! People on this site are typical New Jerseyan themselves for even saying that about me.
Christie destroyed the opportunity to improve upon the infrastructure when he cancelled the ARC so he could
look like a Republican hero. So there was a chance for improvement, but it was squandered for an egomaniac's political ambitions, which ultimately got him nowhere and after last week's train debacle he's now a pariah. The tunnel should have been opened in 2018. Now it will probably be 2030, if the existing tunnels that are currently held together by chewing gum and duct tape can survive that long. Maybe last week's issue was AmTrak's fault, but AmTrak is starved by politicians in flyover country that don't care about NE infrastructure (but that's another issue for a different thread). The larger issue of no new tunnel for at least 10 years IS kind of NJ's fault (at least Christie's fault).
If there's money to be made and approvals are granted (through greased palms or other means), developers in NJ and NY will continue build regardless of overcrowding infrastructure. I'm not a fan of overdevelopment either - but like so much in NJ, it's not easy to fix. Odds are there will be a Hyperloop transporting commuters from NJ into NYC before the development mentality changes in NJ.
Was this the tunnel that NY wasn't going to help pay for or was that something else?
I spent most of my life in NJ until 2015, when I moved to the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. New Jersey has gotten progressively angrier over the years. Everyone seems pissed off all the time. I would visit my sister here in NC and say "Your friends are all so HAPPY. Can they possibly really be that happy?" Well yeah, they are. Yes, outside the Triangle it's full of angry Trumpazoids, but here people are content and friendly. And when I go back to NJ, I know why.
Here in NC, there's something green all year. Maybe you have shrubs that stay green. Or you have pine trees. Yes, we have 1-2 ice storms a year and then you don't go out for three days till it melts. When I fly into EWR, everything is gray. All the roads are surrounded by gray, gray, and more gray. When I fly into RDU, the surrounding area is green. (It's also a much nicer airport.) To the extent that we have a-hole drivers here, they are transplants from NJ. And I know who the NJ transplants are every time I go out on the road.
Store cashiers smile and say hello. No one has a chip on his/her shoulder just daring you to knock it off. I tell people here that NJ is the "You want a piece-a-me?" state, the state where everyone is picking a fight. NJ didn't elect a jerk like Chris Christie and give him great approval ratings for far too long for nothing.
Now granted, I lived north of I-78, where the shoulder chip is huge. It may not be as bad in South Jersey.
More classic claims - "People in NJ are so angry" "Everyone is picking a fight" "People don't smile and say hello"
Who do you guys hang out with?? Where do you go?? I don't hang out with angry, miserable people. I also don't notice them around every corner and in every store, working as clerks. Either you (those with these types of complaints) are the problems, you have really s*itty friends/go to really horrible areas, or both.
Clerks smile and say hi to me. They even make minimal conversation: "That mascara is really popular, a lot of people have been buying it", "Oh, this is so good, I loved it when I first tried it", etc.
Now, green all year, I would take that - however, there's something so beautiful about a fresh snow when everything is white. I would also really miss the falls, though.
you might want to google "Seattle freeze" before you get all starry eyed about moving there- (as if you could afford it) Seattle also has a TON of red light cameras ask me how I know...................
To set the record straight you don't need a permit to take pictures in a state park. You need it to take commercial pictures. It's the same in just about any city. How much it is enforced will vary.
Was this the tunnel that NY wasn't going to help pay for or was that something else?
As an NJ resident, would you want your tax dollars going towards improving the LIRR? Per some quick googling, the Feds were providing $4.3b, Port Authority was providing $3b - the overall projection was $9b. If it stretched to $11b, NJ would have been on the hook for around $3.5b. I'm not sure how much of the Port Authtoroty funding was coming from NJ. If it was the full amount, that would be $6.5b. It was an imperfect design, but better than the alternative (i.e., nothing for another decade or two). Even if you/your spouse do not commute into NYC, it certainly has an impact on your property value.
The Gateway estimate is $23b - Feds are supposed to pay half and NY/NJ will pay 25% each. That puts NJ on the hook for a little less than $6b. Is it worth waiting another decade or two to potentially save less than $1b while the existing tunnels are on borrowed time? This time around there's something in it for NY since Penn Station will be revitalized - they're not providing funding just for the betterment of NJ commuters. Now there's a risk federal funding might not come through: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/04/0...n-the-air.html
There are many reasons as to why NJ is leading the nation in out-migration for the past few years - that's a fact that can't be disputed. I don't know anyone that has left and regretted the decision. I don't despise NJ, but regardless of the OP's youth and life inexperience, they made a few valid points. And that's the beauty of 'merica - we have the freedom to choose what suits us best. And we also are free to respectfully disagree.
As an NJ resident, would you want your tax dollars going towards improving the LIRR? Per some quick googling, the Feds were providing $4.3b, Port Authority was providing $3b - the overall projection was $9b. If it stretched to $11b, NJ would have been on the hook for around $3.5b. I'm not sure how much of the Port Authtoroty funding was coming from NJ. If it was the full amount, that would be $6.5b. It was an imperfect design, but better than the alternative (i.e., nothing for another decade or two). Even if you/your spouse do not commute into NYC, it certainly has an impact on your property value.
The Gateway estimate is $23b - Feds are supposed to pay half and NY/NJ will pay 25% each. That puts NJ on the hook for a little less than $6b. Is it worth waiting another decade or two to potentially save less than $1b while the existing tunnels are on borrowed time? This time around there's something in it for NY since Penn Station will be revitalized - they're not providing funding just for the betterment of NJ commuters. Now there's a risk federal funding might not come through: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/04/0...n-the-air.html
There are many reasons as to why NJ is leading the nation in out-migration for the past few years - that's a fact that can't be disputed. I don't know anyone that has left and regretted the decision. I don't despise NJ, but regardless of the OP's youth and life inexperience, they made a few valid points. And that's the beauty of 'merica - we have the freedom to choose what suits us best. And we also are free to respectfully disagree.
Penn Station is in NY. NY uses Penn Station, including for LIRR. Amtrak trains come through NJ, through the tunnels, which at some point about halfway across the river cuts a boundary between NY and NJ, and into NY to bring passengers to and from NYC. NJT does the same. The subways, some lines at least, also are accessed via Penn Station. NY'ers use these services, so do NJ residents. There is no reason NY should not help pay for tracks/updates to a station that they share/have on their side of the river. I was under the impression that NY was not to contribute to one of these plans, and that's why it was canceled. It should not be all on NJ. If this is wrong, then it's wrong. That's why I asked.
OP had some valid points, sure. But the trees (not just here, but the whole Northeast apparently) being "ordinary" and "dark green" and "some drivers are too slow, some are too fast" pretty much ruins his argument. Even the good points. At that point, he's just another whiner who is grasping at straws. And no, the grass isn't always greener.
I'm glad you're happy in NV, but I sure as hell wouldn't be. To each their own. But perhaps you're unfamiliar, there is a lot of NJ bashing here on our own forum. Every couple months someone joins just to post ridiculous complaints like this. It gets tiring. We also tend to get a lot of trolls coming through, asking ridiculous questions and basing their posts off stupid stereotypes. And honestly, all this crap we get as a state is really not deserved, not to this level.
Penn Station is in NY. NY uses Penn Station, including for LIRR. Amtrak trains come through NJ, through the tunnels, which at some point about halfway across the river cuts a boundary between NY and NJ, and into NY to bring passengers to and from NYC. NJT does the same. The subways, some lines at least, also are accessed via Penn Station. NY'ers use these services, so do NJ residents. There is no reason NY should not help pay for tracks/updates to a station that they share/have on their side of the river. I was under the impression that NY was not to contribute to one of these plans, and that's why it was canceled. It should not be all on NJ. If this is wrong, then it's wrong. That's why I asked.
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I'm glad you're happy in NV, but I sure as hell wouldn't be.
The cancelled ARC project did not include improvements to Penn, so no incentive for NY to contribute. The new Gateway project includes improvements to Penn so NY now has an incentive, but it's entirely possible NJ will be paying just as much for the new project, but in the meantime the region is at risk with the current tunnels on borrowed time. That's the crux of the very serious issue.
As for the 'sure as hell' comment, not sure if you paid attention to my RESPECTFUL disagreement comment, but a few years ago I would not have imagined living in NV, much less enjoying it. Although in all fairness I'm sure I'd be miserable in a place like Mississippi. And yes, the stereotypes are unfortunate- I cringed when I saw a question here last from someone the Deep South with the perception that NJ is dangerous since it way safer than states in the Deep South (and NV for that matter - I like it here, but I'm not blind to the problems). Going to college in Vermont I heard all of the bad Jersey "jokes". No, I never saw syringes at the shore, I don't live off an exit off the Turnpike or GSP, no, I'm not a Bon Jovi or Springsteen fan. Yes, there actually are pretty parts of the state -it's not all Turnpike refineries. Fortunately that was before the Jersey Shore show and Real Housewives of NJ.
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