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The worst mall in NJ I've ever been to is the Burlington Mall off exit 5 of the Turnpike. I have heard it finally closed recently, but had been considered a "dead mall" for a long time. The most ghetto would have to be Quakerbridge, the handfull of times I visited it. Right outside Trenton.
I never thought Woodbridge Mall was ugly. Nowadays its interior looks a bit dated compared to what they've done in nearby Menlo, but Oxford Valley Mall in Langhorne, PA where I live now looks like that too. I also don't feel it is really ghetto. The clientele is, shall we say, mixed since you have a lot of people heading straight down Rts 1&9 from places like Linden, Elizabeth and even Newark but this is nothing new. It was like this back in the late 1980s when we first started going there too. But I never really found the place devoid of clientele that are more well off too. The car theft thing is certainly news to me. I went to this mall regularly and lived in the area for the better part of 25 years and never had a problem, nor do I know anyone who has. Cherry Hill Mall in South Jersey is more known for a car theft problem, and while it has been updated more over the years, its clientele IMO is more ghetto than this, since it is very close to Camden.
I visited Freehold Raceway Mall maybe 10 times in the 27 years I lived in New Jersey. Back in the 1990s it was just fine. Now it's like they are trying to make it into a faux Mall at Short Hills with even more ridiculously consumptive stores and the times I was there those expensive stores were always empty while the cheaper ones were busier. I don't think the local demographic can support them. And the clientele is basically glorified white trash, or white kids that act ghetto. My favorite is the young girls barely in their teens already dressed like sluts, many who are overweight or even obese. And their loudmouthed moms who look and dress the same. Like a bunch of lowlives all trying to be fancy.
Menlo Park is probably the most diverse mall in the state. You get a little of everything. Race, ethnicity, and class and age.
Jersey Gardens is diverse but I've noticed there aren't too many white Americans. There's lots of white people, they just happen to mostly be Eastern European.
Short Hills and Bridgewater and Garden State lack in diversity both racially and economically.
Willowbrook is a little better, but its mostly kids.
I hate shopping. I buy almost everything online these days. The only thing I go to the mall for is clothes. I dont have much luck buying clothes online. The fit is never the way I want it to be, but it is usually close enough that the lazy part of me does not bother to send it back. Then i never wear it.
I try to time my clothes shopping with when I need something from the Apple Store.
I remember the original Menlo Mall - so nice and easy to shop in - then they re-did it full of overpriced and trashy stores that I never shop in - the only good store is Nordsrom for an occasional high end item.
I remember when Woodbridge first opened - it was one of the largest malls in the state and beautiful - it had a Sterns, Abraham and Strauss, Macys, and Orbachs - not just Sears or Penneys - all types of interesting stores and not junk stores. AAAaah those were the days.
Bridgewater Commons was the high end mall among my set - not sure how it is now
Now I shop on-line - always a good selection and price.
I’m not a much of a shopper but it’s fun to head to Woodbridge Center food court for some Auntie Ann’s occasionally.
Bull****! Eateries that operate within the designated square downstairs qualify as food court. Anything outside, of said designated square, is considered an autonomous unit for mid-mall snacking. Now, if you're going to wax intellectual about the subject...
How come there is no more pet shop at Woodbridge Center?
One time my cousin Walter got this cat stuck up his ass. True story. He bought it at our local mall, so the whole fiasco wound up on the news. It was embarrasing for my relatives and all, but next week, he did it again. Different cat, same results, complete with another trip to the emergency room. So, I run into him a week later in the mall and he's buying another cat. And I says to him, "Jesus, Walt! What are you doing? You know you're just gonna get this cat stuck up your ass too. Why don't you knock it off?" And he said to me, "Brodie, how the hell else am I supposed to get the gerbil out?" My cousin was a weird guy.
Livingston Mall takes the crown, Woodbridge is close to 2nd or 3rd I've said this in other threads years ago. The mall is totally lacking food court and the layout is terrible. Now they added Dave & Busters it's gotten a lot more traffic again.
I remember the original Menlo Mall - so nice and easy to shop in - then they re-did it full of overpriced and trashy stores that I never shop in - the only good store is Nordsrom for an occasional high end item.
I remember when Woodbridge first opened - it was one of the largest malls in the state and beautiful - it had a Sterns, Abraham and Strauss, Macys, and Orbachs - not just Sears or Penneys - all types of interesting stores and not junk stores. AAAaah those were the days.
Bridgewater Commons was the high end mall among my set - not sure how it is now
Now I shop on-line - always a good selection and price.
Earliest I remember Woodbridge had no Macy's or Sears. It had Penney's, Steinbach, Stern's, Fortunoff and A&S as its 5 anchors. There was also a nice fountain in the middle of the mall, where the carousel USED TO be, before they moved it in front of Penney's where they put the other kids' rides.
Bridgewater is pretty cool too. 3 levels. Kinda like Willow Grove Park in PA. But yes nothing beats online shopping. I hate dealing with the chaos during the holiday season especially.
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