My month in New Jersey

My take on New Jersey

Where I went this month:

South Jersey

North Jersey

The main thing I learned about the state is that it’s almost literally 2 states: north and south Jersey.  They are completely different.

North Jersey is still as industrial as it was 200 years ago.  It’s still the bridge between 2 main population centers: New York City and Philadelphia.  Because it’s also smack in between Boston and Washington, DC, New Jersey – and especially North Jersey – is almost a hub around which about half the population of the US east coast revolves.  It’s no wonder it’s so heavily populated when all folks have to do is hop on the light rail and presto! they’re in New York City.  An easier commute than from Connecticut, where other bedroom communities are.  I found that the closer I got to NYC, the faster the traffic drove and the more impatient the drivers got.

In complete contrast, South Jersey has huge empty spaces that are used for farming.  Almost everyone lives in a small town or village here, and the main population centers tend to have about 20,000 residents, instead of 270,000 like Jersey City.  The pace of life in South Jersey is much slower and people have more time to be pleasant and friendly.

Despite these striking differences, I found New Jerseyans statewide were still recognizably from Jersey and not from somewhere else.  The people I met seemed to be glad to be living here.  I always wondered a little about the pride Bruce Springsteen seems to take in being from New Jersey.  I don’t wonder any more.  Most people here seem to feel the same way.

I think the main characteristic I noticed, north or south, was hustle.  I don’t mean they’re hustlers in the criminal sense, but that they move around a lot and do it quickly – that kind of hustle.  Like they’re always ready to go on to the next thing and enjoy it when they do it.

I liked New Jersey and am disappointed at not having been able to see lots of things I’d been looking forward to.  This loss was partly due to winter storm weather, partly due to there being effectively only 1 campground open in the whole state, and partly due to the end-of-year government shutdown that kept me from visiting several places I wanted to see.

In fact, I missed so many places that I may need to come back at the end of my trip.  I wanted to visit the Grover Cleveland House in Caldwell and the Walt Whitman House in Camden.  There’s the Edison National Historic Site in West Orange.  I never got to Hackensack (originally named Quacksack) where I wanted to go just because of the name.

The row houses in Hoboken (another Tom Terrific exclamation: Ho-o-o-boken New Jersey!) are where Frank Sinatra grew up.  The amusement park at Palisades State Park has been closed for almost 50 years, but I’d still like to visit the park.

There’s a training school for Seeing Eye dogs in Morristown.  I’d like to come back to the South Jersey coast for part of either spring or fall bird migration.  I understand there’s a seashell museum in Ocean City.  I missed lighthouses at Sandy Hook and Long Beach Island.  And I’d love to see South Jersey when there’re crops growing and grapes on the vines and fruit in the orchards.

I missed a lot and I like New Jersey well enough to want to come back to see what I missed.