My husband, daughter, and I just moved to New Jersey from Colorado. I was excited to get a taste of "east coast living." To say we are disappointed in this state would be the understatement of the year. We have been here six months and have yet to meet anyone who is not a local - everybody has connections, and that's the only way you can get anything done here. If you are moving from out of state, be prepared for a nightmarish ordeal buying a house, getting a drivers license, and looking for a job. Nine million people crammed into a tiny state create a real feeding frenzy when it comes to competition for resources. Even though I was warned the people in Jersey were rude, I didn't want to believe it. Sadly, the New Jersey stereotype well-earned - honesty, integrity, and compassion are rare qualities in the people here. It's a shame, because the state is (was?) gorgeous - world class beaches and beautiful forests. The people make it ugly.

The armpit of the east coast. Rude people and the state smells esp.northern NJ, yuk!

THE BEST FUN!!!

I believe my opinion here counts. I was born & grew up in NJ. I lived there for 32 years. I had good memories of growing up, the Jersey shore was the best. I do miss the amusement parks...somewhat (more on this in a moment) and a lot of good people. My wife's and my family all still reside there and we go visit for every major holiday from our new home in South Carolina. The fact is that NJ is now just a bedroom for NYC. I sadly read another post where he called NJ'rs materialistic. I cringed because I knew he was right. Little Mini-mansions put on every poker chip size landmass are abounding. All the forest and woods when I was a kid are gone. The population is out of control and the drivers suck. You cannot pump your own gas and now I know what a foolish childlike thing that is. The tools are the worst in the nation and nothing less than highway robbery. They had been promising to removed the GSP tolls for about 20 years now! It is stressful and agitating, and will rip the soul out of you. Only people from NYC would think NJ is the sticks now and move there. After living away from NJ for 5 years now I realize how bad it has really gotten. From the moment I go over the border I get someone tailgating me, massive traffic, traffic jams, unable to pump own gas with rude attendants who take forever, tolls (lots and lots of em), poorly maintained roadways, factories, plastic people and plastic women (especially young girls trying to illustrate how much ass they can show you), stop and go constantly (I have never seen so many lights and stop and go traffic), Quick checks-Dunkin Doghnuts-Wawa-7-11!! How many stores can you have in one place!? And every iota of land is beimng built upon. Usually the Mini-mansions I referred to. A HUGE house with basically no land because the people in NYC and NJ just keep having more babsies and spewing out into the rest of the country. I should know, I am one of em. I at least had the common sense to move away from the toilet NJ has become. I just pray for my family sometimes in that harsh place. Unless you have lived elsewhere you will not KNOW the toilet NJ has become. I am sad to say this, it is after all my home state. If it were not for my family I would NEVER go back. Oh by the way, yes there are some nice places in NJ, I explored it from top to bottom. The Pine Barrens, the Water Gap and Willowood are wonderful, but of course getting there sucks (roads, tolls, stop and go, and stop, stop, stop) and now it is overpopulated and people are putting grafitti and trash in the woods. To all up there, I wish you all the best. If you love it there, cool. But make sure you pay attention to your blood pressure.

Ths is the worst excuse for a state.. Trashy and very rude people.

jersey gets a bad rap cause of tv and movies. but it aint too bad. the southern part and ne corner are very beautiful actually. but, atlantic city and the newark, northern new jersey parts are what drag the state down.

The state has huge urban cores around New York and Philly that are crowded, with lots of traffic and industry that 'smell'. Costs around the NYC area are very high-less so near Trenton and Philly. Cape May and the southern part of the state along with the Atlantic beaches are very nice.Lots of history, urbane and spohisticated.

What could posibly be wrong with this state!!! I love it!!!!

i love it so much here, and the surf is awsome!!! Jersey is the best! it is so much fun , everything from the shore to Great Adventure! is so cool!

Surprisingly nice. With the exception of places like Newark, Paterson, Jersey City and Elizabetn, New Jersey is a sophisticated, fun, clean, and interesting state. I also liked Hoboken, it is essentaily part of manhattan, it is only a few hundred yards away cut off only by the hudsonn river. The Jersey shore has a real simple pleasures' feel to it. It is mostly developed, but still very fun, and it doesn't get battered with hurricanes every year like the beaches in the south do. A lot of people move to NJ when they are transfered to either the NYC or Philadelphia area from abroad. New Jersey is stereotyped to be mostly like Newark, but in reality, most of the state is like Nutley, Parsippany-Troy Hills or Point Pleasant.

Jersey gets a bad rap. It's decent. I prefer South Jersey to North but overall it's a good state.

New Jersey has so much to offer and it is just such a nice state were you can never have nothing to do!

Has its bad spots, but then again every state has a few of those. Some of the smaller towns and areas away from the Turnpike and more urban areas are quite nice, and the beaches are fun. Generally viewed as a high tax spend, but I suppose it pays off, as New Jersey is ranked quite high when it comes to health, education and personal wealth. I personally wouldn't find it very economically satisfying to live there, but it's a nice place to visit.

Dirty, smelly in some places yes. But some remote areas in the Delaware water gap and southern reaches of the state. The region near NYC is overwelming to say the least- traffic is bad, and costs are stratospheric. Much history, and a tolerant populace.

I try to be positive,but this state stinks like the dead skunk that was under my window the other morning! The people are extremely materialistic, and all they can conversate about is money, cars, weddings and homes. Alot of Jersey is very pretty but the people there makes it ugly. Trenton is horrible and so is Newark. I wouldnt live there if someone offered me 100million dollars(no lie). I'll stick with Pennsylvania and south of there. Thanks!. Only good thing about Jersey is I met my wonderful husband there!!

Despite urban sprawl, heavy traffic in and around New York and Philly- the state in the south has miles of empty and peaceful areas-not too mention its ocean resorts. A state that is much maligned- but overall has a better then average quality of life then many states.

NJ has some real armpits-especially near NYC- lots of refineries and chemical plants- yuk. But other parts of the state have empty forests and great beaches- that seem remote and peaceful and are totally opposite of the urban landscape in and around New York. The state despite the mess and sprawl in the north has an excellent record on the envirionment. Lots of Historical places to visit as well. Excellent colleges, and a well informed populace.

I love New Jersey to live in and everything else!! when ever i go away i miss it so much! Jersey has everything! there is a lo of fun things to do here. And it is like the second richest state. And Jersey has a lot of theme parks with roller coasters! yay! like all of the New Jersey people love roller coasters!etc

For me, it's a nice place to visit, but wouldn't want to live there. Too crowded! Coming back at night from an airplane flight, you see how lit up it is, from the rest of the country. I like space :)But, it has a lot of cool places to visit.

I love New Jersey. I would not want to live any where else! It has it all, this ia a really populatd stae which has a lot of fun stuff! like the shore , Great Adventure , malls , etc it is the best living here I love it!!!

Has it's definite flaws in urban areas, but other than that great state, lived here the majority of my life. Great place!

New Jersey is probably the state that gets the most fun made of it, and yet deserves it the least. The proximity to New York City and Philadelphia is a marvelous benefit; the state's beaches rival any other beaches in the northeast; it has several fun towns like Hoboken; and the forests in the north are beautiful. Very underrated.

New Jersey is the best!! It is beter than New York!! Everyone I know loves New Jersey and say it is the best!!! Jersey has everything!! the shore, theme parks, rich towns, it is clean!!, the best beach resorts!! I love New Jersey!!! I love it living here and I always will!!

This state, which i currently reside in, is very overpopulated, traffic almost any given time of the day especially by NYC. The locals are assholes, unenlightened, not very educated, very self involved, lots of multiculturalism, but seems like the bad seeds of all cultures reside here. People love to pretend how they're associated with New York, it's overbuilt, sprawls to infiniti in some areas almost like LA, the winters suck, the Car insurance is the highest, cops suck, cost of living isn't the best,... and lots of assholes on the roads. Lots of cities are also dangerous, and people here tend to be jaded, have alterior motives, and generally are NOT friendly. You don't really get a sense of well-being about yourself or the future in this state. Living here sucks. Many people I know that live here fantasize or want to relocate to a better place.

it's ok. i like it more the further and further i get away from NYC.

I DONT LIVE IN NEW JESREY BUT IT'S BEEN MY DREAM TO SINCE I WAS LITTLE

I LOVE LOVE LOVE NEW JERSEY I WISH I WAS BORN HERE WHERE I LIVE IN SOUTH JERSEY THERE IS NOTHING BUT TREE'S ,FARMER'S, AND FRIENDLY PEOPLE THIS IS LIKE A MOVIE

A state with much to offer- put down by dumb outsiders. Great sea coast, and urban centers with vast creative thinking-ranks far above most states.

Despite the urban sprawl, and smelly petro plants near New York. New Jersey has an excellent record on the envirionment. Also it has a positve record on human rights- for women and children as well as minorities like gays. There is much history, and a high degree of culture and sophistication. Many famous vacation spots on the ocean. The Garden state has a high quality of life.

I lived in New Jersey for the 1st 26 years of my life and each year it got progressively worse in every respect. I do have to say that I still LOVE the Jersey Shore though, especially off-season.

In Jersey the pros outweigh the cons. I've been through Trenton, Ft Lee and Vineland, but i've also been to Cape May, Princeton, and Morristown. Jersey earned a bad rap a few years ago and will never be able to shrug it off. Once you're off the Turnpike, you can find cheap liquor and gas too. (at least cheaper than PA or NY).

A good state- with some nice resorts, and its very close proximity to NYC and Philly give quick close access to much in the way of urban amentities. A highly urban state, which can may cause some to feel overcrowded in their envirionment.

This state sucks!! You can smell it's stink just driving along, plus the people there are total sh!theads.

you need to be quite because any where you go you are going to find bad cities. All of Newark is not bad I live there so I should know only certain parts is so get your facts right.

Only the folks that dont know about Jersey give it a bad rap, I have lived in 10 states, Jersey is fine.. where else can you live and take a ferry to the greatest city on earth, we have the appalachian trail to the central park trails to the streets of hoboken to the country roads of bernardsville... give it a break you pessimists, the grass is always greener

Armpit of the nation, need i say more. Trenton, Camden, Newark, Elizabeth, etc. Need i say more. IT IS A SH!THOLE STATE

Cape May is wonderful, and the far western NYC burbs are ok. The beaches along the Atalantic are nice. Some good historic sites. Being so close to NYC and Philly are real pluses- for entertainment, and recreation.

Atantic city is cool, and some of the suburban areas west of NYC seem like they could be good places to live, but it sort of lacks its own charecter, most of the people in new jersey spend half of there time in new york or philadelphia, the states of New York and Pennsylvania should both just annex half there respective halves of NJ, i dont think any of the residents would really care a whole lot.

It's a trap! You can get in for free but you got to pay to get out, unless you know where the free bridge is. (It is in Phillipsburg and it crosses the Delaware River into Easton, PA near Allentown.)

Once upon a time,the Jersey Shore had it all,at least in summertime.Today it is overpopulated,horribly expensive,crowded,polluted,full of ugly strip malls and the people are rude and obnoxious.This is the WORST place to drive on the planet.

Blech. I can't think of anything else to say. Blech.

New Jersey is filled with great people, places, and surrondings, all you have to do is look in the right places. New Jersey has been rated the 11th healthiest state to live in, the 6th wealthiest state in the U.S, and has an excellent education record for which it is highly praised for. Are there bad parts in Jersey? Yeah, like Elizabeth, Trenton, Newark, Jersey City, etc., but no other state doesn't have the same problem.

I lived in north New Jersey for 2 years and it was akin to torture...I have never met a more impatient, rude group of people in my entire life...is it no coincidence that it only recently adopted a state song ( in other words, there is no state pride ) ...avoid at all costs...

i lived in new jersey all my life, and i am still there, this state sucks, its a hell hole. only thing to do is go to concerts, which most of the good ones are in philly

i grew up in new jersey. yes, it's very crowded and polluted, but not so much as everyone thinks. yes, some of the people are asshats, but there's no truth in saying it's not the same anywhere else. there is a lot of cool stuff in jersey, a lot of interesting history. while i wouldn't really want to spend a night in newark or trenton, the small towns of jersey really are great. nobody realizes what kind of cool things came from there! like drive-in movies, the first us brewery, campbell's soup, allen ginsberg, frank sinatra, and even bon jovi! gotta love it...

New Jersey is a weird, weird state. There's even a web site (weirdnj.com) dedicated to all of Jersey's strange attractions, such as local legends, weird animals spotted, ghost stories, etc. Especially notable is Jungle Habitat, a safari theme park closed down in 1976. Instead of properly removing the animals, the owners simply let them loose. Many animals died, leaving piles of elephant, camel, and zebra corpses across the abandoned park. To this day, there are rumors and reports of ostriches, monkeys, kangaroos and the like still living there and even attacking humans that wandered inside. Weird.

I've lived in New Jersey my whole life and I love it. So what if we have some awful points? The people aren't too bad, we do have some beatiful spots, there's very good education, and it's close to NYC which makes up for Newark. What's not to love?

We just returned form a trip to visit inlaws in NJ. It was the first time we have spent any time there. We were in the Flanders/Mount Olive area which is supposed to be very nice. Very nice that is if you like bumper to bumper traffic and $200 meals for four. We tried to take one of our nephews water skiing on what was said to be the largest lake in NJ. Where we come from our sewage lagoons look and smell better than that lake!

Lived there, but thank god we left. Yes New Jersey has its nice parts, but the worst parts are the absolutely worst. The NJ Turnpike is the worst, and why after all these years does it still stink like rotten eggs on the turnpike in northern New Jersey. Polluted, overpriced, overcrowded, I have absolutely no desire to ever live there again.

I'm from Los Angeles, California. My wife and I were in New Jersey in April of this year to see my son graduate from the Coast Guard in Cape May. We stayed at the Montreal Inn and had a great time. I don't understand the negative criticism. The people of New Jersey treated us really nice. I would go back in a heartbeat. I've heard about the New Jersey turnpike all my life and it was neat driving thru the Garden State, in the middle of a pretty good (bad) storm. We also stayed in Philly and New York, but New Jersey was the highlight of our trip. That was due to the nicest people we met. I try not to listen to negative remarks, because people always say lousy things about California and I love it here.