Oh, You're From Jersey?
Posted: Sunday, March 08, 2009
by Nancy Daniels
Voice Dynamic
Whenever someone hears that I am from
Part of this distinction is that we sound like Rocky and not Cinderella Man, we eat more soft pretzels than hot dogs, and our delis are Italian, not Jewish. We root for all the
While our property taxes average $8,600 per household (twice the national average) and our car insurance is the most expensive in the country, those are the only similarities we share with our northern half aside from a governor who keeps increasing our taxes so that we can support the state's welfare system, a necessity if we are going to keep all our ‘illustrious' cities afloat: Trenton, Newark, Jersey City and of course, the all time record holder, Camden, New Jersey, considered America's worst city to live in.
So, how you can tell those of us who come from the
16. While everyone else drinks water, we drink wooder.
15. We know that Atlantic City
14. We also knew 13. We know that salt water taffy was invented in
12. We drive circles (rotarys) like Nascar racers. The secret, incidentally, is to never worry about the cars behind you, only those in the front.
11. We think that the soft pretzel encompasses the 4 food groups because we often eat them for lunch.
10. We eat hoagies instead of subs or heros and prefer water ice over snow cones.
9. We believe that the Cherry Hill Mall is the oldest mall in the nation. It isn't. When built in 1961, however, it was the largest mall in the country.
8. We also believe that Billy Joe Royal's 1969 hit song,
7. We have seen the Jersey Devils play as a minor league hockey team when they were based in
6. We think we have seen the Jersey Devil, a mythical creature supposedly inhabiting the Pines Barrens of South Jersey.
5. We know every diner in every town and believe the only good ones are those run by the Greeks who have a penchant for mouth-watering desserts and are open 24 hours a day.
4. We know that the Philadelphia Flyers live in
3. We know the best place in Philly to get a cheese steak.
2. We grow the best tomatoes and corn in the world and we know it! We also know that the finest corn is sweet, white, and crisp that doesn't go into your mouth mushy or leave it that way. (Pays to be known as The Garden State!)
1. Instead of going to the beach, we, in
So the next time you accuse someone of being from
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More commentsHello Nancy,I Enjoyed your article, brightened my day. I visited my sis once when she lived in New Jersey but obviously I missed the best part.Linda DLinda,Yes, you did; however, the prettiest part of the state is the northwestern area with its beautiful mountains, gorgeous real estate and ridiculously high taxes.Thank you for reading,Nancy
Nancy, this a a very delightful and informative read. Thanks for the giggle, I needed it this morning :-)Lord bless you! TeresaTeresa,Glad you had a giggle and that it brightened your morning.Nancy
I don't know if I could live with the tax if I were you.Great Article. Well done.Connor,Many, many people are leaving the state because of the taxes and here I thought gambling in Altantic City was supposed to fix that! There is an awful lot of corruption in this state -- and, oddly enough, the people keep electing those who just make it harder and harder to bear.Thanks for your comment,Nancy
hi nancy,i also am from new jersey-morristown-"mini new york", but moved closer to Pa. to have more space, and nicer scenery, and less traffic.it's beautiful where we are, but the taxes may force us to move on, when we never planned on doing so.i am going to texas to see my son graduate the airforce academy, and sometime after i get back, i am going to investigate why our taxes are so high.thanks for a good article,my best regards,sueOh, Sue, I can tell you why they are so high. it is called corruption.Would you not think that Atlantic City and our shore traffic in the summer --- for heaven's sake, they come all the way from Montreal to visit our beaches -- would keep our taxes down?Thanks for your comment, enjoy Texas, congratulations to your son!Nancy
Wonderful, I loved it! Wooder; must be kinda like Ass (Ice) in Arkansas. I visited Ohio once and got quite a few raised eyebrows when I talked about the ice storms in Arkansas. It's great to know your culture so well. Thanks for a delightful work.SandraSandra,Oh you made me laugh! Yes, indeed, I think our water is similar to your ice. Thank you for your comments!Nancy
Outstanding article Nancy, but I'm still not sold. Anything north of the Carolinas, is too cold for me. In fact, middle Alabama gets too cold for me.But today was in the upper 80's. No kidding.Joel,I understand what you're saying. A lot of our retirees move south but, you know, after having lived in Canada where the first snowfall was always on Halloween and you wore snow boots on Easter, Jersey isn't that bad. I actually like change in seasons.By the way, do you know what the 4 seasons of Ontario (and this would include Buffalo and Detroit) are?1. Almost winter2. Winter3. Still winter4. ConstructionThank you for your comment,Nancy
Nancy, being a Jersey boy myself, I have to disagree. South Jersey, well lets think now. Oh yes, the shore and then again, lets see, the shore and then again, oh yes, the shore and of course Jersey Tomatoes. Ok pretty gals as well but really the same north or south. The state loaded with them. Now being from "Jersey" I actually never thought it as being divided, I just loved the whole darn thing and I enjoyed every part of it. I'm sorry I ever left. Hope you understand this was not personal. Many a great day and night all over that state from Cape May to the northern most parts. Yes and like you had Philly we had NY. Yes and being Italian I can tell you both towns alright with me.Robert,Not to disagree but I don't think you see the picture here. We, from the southern portion, have often talked about seceding from you guys up north.While the northern part of the state considers that there is a central part to Jersey, we 'southerners' look at anything above Burlington and Ocean counties as North Jersey. You have 3 times the population that we do and you are New York people. We really don't think like you. We are Philly people and proud of it. (Although Philly can't compare to NYC. I haved always loved New York even before Giuliani cleaned up that city.)Thanks for your comments. By the way, I lived in Weehawken and Union City for a spell back in the 70's.Nancy
Nancy, I love south Jersey. What a beautiful part of the country, unlike the northern part of the state that consist of primaraily "the projects". I have been there, and I do not like to go through the Northern part of Jersey. To me, it was dirty, and I saw some of the stranges signs I have ever seen, Here's a couple of examples: "Guard dog on Roof", and they had barbed wire around the roof, and another classic sign was "Cars you can fix", and they all had brand new paint jobs on them???? Go figure. Anyway, I found this article to be very entertaining, and a great read, and most of all VERY TRUE!!! Your pal, and fan, and friend in pen.......GaryGary,Thank you for your comment. Yes, the northern (the part that leads to NYC) is dirty but once you move into the northwestern part of the state where there are mountains, it is actually quite lovely. I question, however, where you were to consider the southern part of the state attractive...must have been Salem or Cape May counties or did you mean the shore areas? Where I live, the area is flat and peopled!(Incidentally, Jersey is not my first choice. If I had my druthers, I'd live in Lancaster or Adams counties in PA and watch the deer instead of my neighbors -- remember, I'm the one on the corner dealing with ear-splitting, heart-stopping, house-shaking 'music'!)NancyNancy, I was in the Salem Area, I loved Salem. Also I spent some time in the shore areas......I was there for two weeks on a business trip for IBM. I was nice. I just didn't like that part of Jersey that took me towards New York, there was a freeway that I was traveling on that past by several "Projects", and it was a very unpleasant area. I can't remember the Freeway name. This must have been at least 11 years ago.Gary,You were in a great area without a doubt. Salem County has even strictly limited the amount of building that can occur for which I am more than grateful. It is a shame the rest of the counties don't do the same thing. Our population is so dense.The 'freeway' was either the Parkway or the NJ Turnpike, neither of which are free.Nancy
Dear Nancy,Thoigh I am from a very different part of the globe but I do understand what you meant. Here in my place there is also this leveomg of people according to regions. Sometimes it can be harmless yet sometimes it could be disturbing too.I enjoyed reading your article.SwapnaSwapna,You are so correct. Every place has its variations.Thank you for reading my article.Nancy
Wow, Nancy, now I've GOT to go there!! Great article, read like a high dollar tourism pitch. Seriously, New Jersey is on my list of "must sees" but for the history, not gambling.Ken,My apologies for not responding to your comment. Somehow I missed it. Yes, visit NJ for the history and the shore and don't miss Philadelphia. Quite a lot more to see there.Nancy
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