It was a great place in the 70's. Easy and cheap train ride into NYC to see the Yankees or Mets (train then subway). Concerts at MSG. The shore before local law enforcement went police state. You could take the train to half the shore, pedal to the beach. Pizza (still the best). Much more.
I left in 1982. I used to go back to "recharge." Now it gives me a headache. But it's weird to see deer in the town I grew up in -- none in the 70's or 80's.
There's no hunters left to harvest those deer throughout most of the state. NJ makes it so burdensome to be a sportsman here that unless you're willing to be told when, where, how and IF you can hunt - it's just not worth it. So the deer thrive.
Most of the folks I hunt with moved out long ago and enjoy the freedom that begins west of the Delaware River. I purchase an out-of-state for PA to join them twice a year. I've been hollered at, hit by a glass bottle and forced to jump into a drainage ditch by anti-types in Bellemead, where I used to belong to a semi-wild organization.
Hunters in the northern part of the state (where I'm from) have been robbed at gunpoint and tied naked to trees, left to freeze during deer season in December. The scum from metro NJ have figured out that hunters are generally law-abiding and easy prey.
That changes everything for me as a sportsman. When grandma passes over and the man-child has graduated, I'm outta here. Then there will be more deer for the Princton Elites to hit with their Maseratis and all the rest can enjoy elevated insurance rates. God, I hate this state. It's not the place it was 30-40 years ago.