Greetings From New Jersey
by Jenners • 01/27/2009 • Life • 59 Comments
Welcome Blog Around the Worlders and my lovely regular readers! Today’s tour stop is the wonderful Garden State of New Jersey! Woo-hoo! Aren’t you excited? Now tell me, when you think of New Jersey, do you think of any of these things?
A Little About Our Little State
I found the following description of New Jersey on Wikipedia, and I think it sums up our state fairly well:
New Jersey is sandwiched between two large cities — New York City in the northeast and Philadelphia in the southwest. Benjamin Franklin called her “a barrel tapped at both ends.” South Jersey is the area within the Philadelphia sphere of influence, whereas North Jersey is the area within New York City’s influence.
I live in South Jersey, which is pretty much a suburb of Philadelphia but with Atlantic City and parts of the Jersey Shore included. Somewhere to the north of us is the murkily defined “Central Jersey” and then you get to North Jersey.
I am not going to presume to speak like an expert about the state, and I don’t think you want to hear me toss around facts and factoids like our state bird is the goldfinch, our state animal is the horse, and our state dance is the square dance. (Really???? I knew the goldfinch but was surprised to learn the others. Did you know New Jersey has a state dinosaur and a state soil but no state song? That is really weird. If you haven’t, you should look up stuff about your own state/country like this; it was kind of interesting.) Anyway, I feel like I’m writing a school book report so I am going to abandon the format I was originally going to use and just interview myself about being from South Jersey. This is probably easier for me to do and will most likely be more bearable for you.
So why the heck do you live in South Jersey?
I know all the flack that New Jersey gets, so why live here?
Because you can easily travel to big cities like Philadelphia, New York City, Baltimore or Washington DC without having many of the hassles but all of the cultural and historical goodies.
Because I can live in an “old fashioned” neighborhood with tall trees, kids riding bikes, neighbors who leave their doors unlocked (not us, of course) and people who leave their cars running with the keys in it while they run into Wawa (again, not us).
Because you can pop over to Atlantic City for some “real” gambling (albeit nowhere near as glamorous as Vegas) or have old-fashioned family fun at the Jersey Shore.
Because we have real nature in the Pine Barrens (home of the Jersey Devil) and the Delaware Water Gap. (I mean really, how many states have their own mythical creature lurking in their woods?)
Because we have wonderful Jersey-grown fresh fruit and vegetables in the summer. There are tons of “pick your own” farms around us, and it has been quite a thrill to pick peaches, corn, strawberries, blueberries, apples, pumpkins and more with the Little One.
Because we have easy access to amusement parks, zoos, aquariums, children’s museums, old-fashioned villages (along the lines of Williamsburg), art museums, major sporting events, concerts, mountains (Poconos), beach, ethnic restaurants, shopping, parks and historical sites.
Because we get four seasons and don’t have problems with earthquakes.
Basically, I like the diversity of New Jersey and that you can get to so many different types of places easily. Living in South Jersey, I could easily spend the morning at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, take a short hike in the Pine Barrens, and then spend my night gambling in Atlantic City. There is pretty much something to fulfill anyone’s interests.
The Pine Barrens with the Atlantic City skyline in the background
Photo from Phillyskyline.com
Atlantic City Shoreline
Photo from Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority
Blueberries from Hammonton, NJ – “The Blueberry Capital of the World”
Photo from Atlantic Blueberry Company
Boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ
Photo from VisitUSA.com
What are the down sides of South Jersey?
Property taxes, auto insurance costs and traffic.
A funny thing about the traffic. When my brother visited from Montana, he asked me directions to all kinds of places he wanted to see. I kept saying “Oh…that is about 20 minutes away.” “That place is about an hour away.” He said “But how many miles is it?” I told him it didn’t matter how many MILES something was — a place could be about 5 miles away and take you 45 minutes to get to at certain times. In New Jersey, you give directions in terms of driving time, not miles.
Is it true that South Jersey is pretty much a suburb of Philadelphia?
I think the “big counties” of South Jersey (Burlington, Camden, Gloucester) are pretty much a suburb of Philadelphia. You are pretty much raised to root for the Eagles, Phillies, 76ers and Flyers, and your diet must include Philly soft pretzels and cheesesteaks (and we know how to order them too). Many people (my husband included) commute into Philly for work.
The other thing about these three counties is that all the towns pretty much blend into each other. A visitor would pretty much have no idea when they left Pennsauken and entered Merchantville or departed Haddonfield and entered Barrington but someone living here would. And let me tell you, although there are no real physical breaks between different towns, each “town” has its own — how do we say this nicely? –persona.
This excerpt from Wikipedia breaks it down nicely:
In 2005, Money magazine named Moorestown the “best place to live” in the United States, although they stated that a number of adjacent municipalities (particularly Mount Laurel, Haddonfield, Medford, Marlton, Cherry Hill and Voorhees) could have just as easily been given the distinction. New Jersey’s population density, as well as the geographic limitations of such a populous state, make disparities between adjoining or neighboring towns readily evident. For example, Maple Shade, which abuts Moorestown, is a township of working class and middle income families.
By contrast, nearby Camden has excessive poverty and crime. Lindenwold, Clementon, Mt. Holly, Gloucester City, Pemberton and Atlantic City contain large segments of working class citizens.
It is very odd to me how everything blends together but is so distinct economically. On my husband’s train ride to Philadelphia, he passes through Haddonfield (which is a pretty wealthy, chi chi little town with million dollar plus homes) and then two stops later is in Camden, which as recently as 2004 was named “most dangerous city in America.” The standard of living changes so dramatically in just a few train stops that I seriously marvel that there are not riots around here.
So what famous people are from South Jersey?
Am I shallow or what? But Kelly Ripa and Ali Larter are two well-known folks who hailed from right around here. Actually, there are tons of well-known people from New Jersey, but these two are from actual towns I know and go through on a regular basis.
Ripa photo from Daytimeconfidential.com and Larter photo from Allposters.com
So what else can you tell me about New Jersey?
Well why don’t I let you hear from some other New Jersey bloggers — each of whom have their own unique perspective about this state of ours? I’ve shared a little bit about where I live, so now I want to toss it to these lovely ladies:
- Mrs Staff Sergeant at Married to the Military
- Robin at Cinnamon & Honey
- Janet Faye at Grammy Janet’s Place Note: Janet seems to be missing in action on our four-way blog post about New Jersey (hope you are OK, Janet!) but her blog has some nice giveaways if you are interested in that!
yeah kelly ripa is from berlin, and I don't know how you can say Mt. Holly is workin class. you a joke
I just clicked on the south Jersey label and found this post, as well as the photo of Ocean City! I once had a summer nanny job in Ocean City…it was one of the best times of my life. I just blogged about the family I helped out, actually. I miss them!
I’m really late catching up on my batw reading! Thank you for the fun tour!
We give directions in terms of driving time not miles, too. (So Cal. you know?)
I was at the Boardwalk about 4 years ago! My husband’s aunt lives in Trenton so we went to visit her and got to visit NJ for the first time.
Holy friggin’ cow, woman! Over 50 comments?!?!? Rock on, sister! I might have to check out this blog around the world thing. I’d never looked at it before. Looks like you’ve got some great exposure through it. Thanks for sharing some fun facts about your part of the world. And those blueberries are making my mouth water!
Oh there are lots of nice things there… I love the U Pik Ems, but I’ve never heard of picking corn. I love the idea!
And I must say that I had the best sushi I’ve ever eaten when I was consulting near Princeton. If only I could remember the name of the restaurant. That forever changed my view
Blueberries! I’m there!
I now know more about Jersey than I did previously. 
Very interesting post. A lot I didn’t know about any part of New Jersey. My husband has been and has worked there but I have never been. I really enjoyed the tour. Congrats on being featured at BATW!
This is such a great post! Nice job! I wish my New Jersey was like this!
Robin
And thanks for the linky love!
Thanks for the awesome tour! I have learned a lot about NJ today! If you ever want to really get away from it all (especially in the winter!) come down my way to NZ!
Everything I know about New Jersey I learned from You!… Great post and I hope you are enjoying your day and all your visitors. I’m coming by from Houston.
Your Jersey Shores looks really pretty. That is not how I had it pictured.
Sounds like you have a wonderful life there. Glad your enjoying staying home with your little one.
God Bless,
♥
Joy
I know someone really cool who lives in Jersey!! hint, hint.. me!
My brother and his life live in New Jersey (about an hour from NYC) and we love visiting them there. It’s so much more beautiful than what people imagine it will be. And the added bonus of being able to visit NYC is wonderful!
Thanks for such a fun visit to your state!
I found that post to be very interesting!! Thanks for the info.
Excellent post about New Jersey. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Looks like I’ll need to investigate this part of the country a little bit more. All I remember of NJ is the turnpike.
The tour was wonderful. Thank you!
You’ve convinced me. Sounds and looks great.
*sigh* So much to see, so little time.
How wonderful to include some fellow bloggers on your feature. Thanks for all the interesting tid bits about New Jersey. It looks absolutely beautiful!
I didn’t know you were from Jersey! I lived in Eatontown at one point and drove up to Woodbridge to work every day. I loved how plugged in it was too. Atlantic City and NYC were so close and we made use of it! Those were pre-kid days for us.
thanks for the tour!! What is the state dinosaur, anyway?
Greetings from Wisconsin. Congratulations on your BATW feature! I hope you enjoy your day in the sun:-)
Great post – thanks for sharing some of those little known facts about the Garden State!
Greetings from California! I learned a bunch of stuff today. Thanks!
When I first visited your fair state, I was so surprised that it had such a reputation because it was so beautiful. Square dancing, though, really? Great tour!
Thanks for sharing New Jersey. The shoreline looks beautiful.
Thanks for helping me be a little less ignorant (at least about New Jersey)!
It’s nice to learn something new about places in our country. Congrats on your BATW feature!
stopping by from BATW what a wonderful tour of Jersey!!! makes me wanna come visit now
I’ve heard about Jersey getting a bad rap, but it doesn’t sound so bad to me!
Your iTunes card IS coming, I promise. I’m so silly that I ran out of envelopes
–picking up more today!
Have a fab. BATW day!
This was one of the best tours yet! I learned so much, stuff I never would guess New Jersey offered.
An attorney I worked for would visit Jersey every summer. I could never understand why and now I know!
Thank you for the tour, I think I can write my report now
I just keep thinking of the old SNL skit: “You from Jeousey? I’m from Jeousey!” Great tour! It’s so nice to meet you. I hope you enjoy your day!
Thank you for the tour thru’ NJ – enjoyed every stop!
Very cool. I enjoyed reading all about where you live. It sounds like you have a great variety of things to do! I’m jealous! Except about the Jersey Devil thing. I watched a special about that sometime last year and it thoroughly creeped me out.
Thanks for the tour!
Hubby is from Jersey, so I have been taught the proper greeting upon meeting someone from the Garden State… Ahem…
What exit?
Lots of great info on NJ! Thanks for the tour and how cool that you included the other NJ bloggers
Great tour of New Jersey! Thank you!
Interesting post. I think New Jersey is nicely positioned between two great cities. We stayed at the Breakers in Spring Lake last year in February (I think) with off-season rates. It was wonderful. What a beautiful community !!
Sounds like a fantastic place to live! Especially the tall trees and kids riding their bikes part…I miss that here!
Great tour! Lots of info. I didn’t know. I’ve only DRIVEN through New Jersey, so that doesn’t really count on visiting. I would love to do a “tour” in real life of the east coast.
Thanks!
We live in the Washington D.C. area, but my husband is a part-time pilot with the New Jersey Air National Guard flying out of Atlantic City. He goes up there a couple of times a month and is there right now. He doesn’t fly here….because he loves New Jersey so much and the people that he works with there!
We go up in the summer to go to the shore…..absolutely love it! South Jersey is really a beautiful area and the people are friendly and warm….I can’t say enough nice things about it. I think we may move up there after our kids are grown:-)
Thanks for the tour of such a great place!!
Hi from your neighbor to the North – NY! ((waving))
I’ve always wanted to visit NJ but still haven’t had a chance – my friends vacation on the Jersey shore and love it.
I absolutely LOVE how you guys give directions in time, not miles!
Gosh, it’s crazy the way travel guides to the US only ever concentrate on the ‘biggies’ like New York, San Francisco, Los Angelos etc., while there are a wealth of wonderful places to visit in your hugely diverse country. Now I definitely want to visit all the places you’ve mentioned in your part of NJ, and can’t wait to read what your fellow bloggers have to say about where they live! That was a truly brilliant tour and you are a marvellous hostess – thank you SO much!
Great tour! Thanks so much for inviting us along
Now I’m going to have to look up all the VA facts.
It sounds like living in NJ, isn’t all that different from Alexandria VA in terms of the pros and cons.
That was a great post. Interesting – and a good way to smash our preconceptions! Enjoy your BATW day!
Thank you for the great tour of New Jersey! That was great to read! (visiting from Los Angeles, CA)
Great photos and a great introduction, thanks!
Thanks for the interesting tour!
Kia Ora from New Zealand! Visiting via BATW and have just spent the best part of half an hour reading through your posts and have to say, ‘I love your style!’. I’ve book marked your blog and will be back. Loved the story on your cruise post about the boy that, thankfully (!), wasn’t flying on the same airline as you! Bless! Great tour too. Best wishes, Sarah
Hello, here from BATW and am glad to be treated to so much more than stats! Great post and good introduction to the city!
hello from BATW… that was so fun to read… I lived in Philly for a bit and my brother lives in Northern Jersey… thanks for the post!
wow – a 4-way post. this is awesome. love the pics about your state.
LOL I’m here in Delaware and had to giggle as I read your post… You totally NAILED South Jersey! I have a friend that lives in Hamilton and she works for the HUD office in Camden… talk about horror stories! Fun post!
I LOVE IT!! And I love that you coordinated with three other Jersey bloggers…so ingenious! Thanks so much!
That’s a lot of information about New Jersey!
Those pictures of the two towns are amazing! That close to each other, and yet so differen? Wow!
Wow, everything I ever wanted to know but was afraid to ask about NJ!
Did I ever tell you I’m from 15W? Yeah, not the nice part of NJ but there was a big Scottish settlement there, so that’s where my dad’s family settled and where we went when we came over from Scotland. Great post… it’s nice to read NICE things about NJ