"Welcome to New Jersey. Admission is free, but just try to get out without paying a toll. Nobody would pay to enter, but you'll pay whatever they ask to get out."
Ditto. After 45 years living in that horrible place, I finally moved an hour or so into Pennsylvania, and breathe a sigh of relief every time I return here from visiting family members.
You must have lived in a crappy part of the state. I live in Wantage Twp. near High Point and it's awesome. I love it.