Posted on 03/09/2006 6:48:25 AM PST by Huck
Who's laughing now?
New Jersey, the state that spawned a thousand wise-guy bumper stickers and became the butt of a million late-night jokes, is actually a nice place to live.
The research group Morgan Quitno crunched the numbers this year and yesterday ranked New Jersey the fifth-most-livable state.
As for its neighbors?
Pennsylvania finished 30th, New York 32d.
"The people we talk to say they wouldn't live anywhere else, and I have to go along with that," said Mark Moran, a Bloomfield resident and one of the editors of Weird New Jersey magazine. "Whether it grows on you or people just don't know any better, I don't know."
New Jersey has long had a tragically poor reputation, earned by corrupt politicians, homicidal mobsters (real and fictional), surreal traffic patterns (who invented the jughandle, anyway?), toxic waste, and big hair.
The state's image has been so bad that even then-acting Gov. Richard Codey took the time last year to rollick in some of the more humorous entries in his public slogan contest.
Among the favorites: "New Jersey: You got a problem with that?" and "New Jersey: Most of our elected officials have not been indicted."
Morgan Quitno, a Kansas-based publisher of statistical data, based its rankings on 44 factors, and New Jersey shined in many.
The state moved up from eighth place a year ago. New Hampshire was judged the most livable state for the third year in a row.
The study determined that New Jersey has excellent schools; an educated, wealthy population; and relatively low rates of crime and poverty.
"We don't claim to be finding the most exciting place or the best place to take a vacation," said Scott Morgan, president of Morgan Quitno. "It's just looking at very basic things. Other people can choose to look at other factors."
In other words, the things that make Jersey so Jersey didn't count against it. (Except for the toxic waste: Morgan found New Jersey had the most "hazardous waste sites on the National Priority List per 10,000 square miles.")
Moran also noted that if auto insurance and property tax rates had been considered, New Jersey's ranking would have sunk like a stone.
But in Morgan Quitno's world, livability is measured by factors such as student-teacher ratios and per-capita spending on the arts, and New Jersey excelled in both.
For Moran, there is no conflict in a state's combining livability with a tradition for the weird and absurd.
"You've got to take the good with the bad," he said. "The fact that it's such an odd and unique place... certainly makes it more livable for me."
Morgan visited the state last year and made a swing through Camden, the city his publishing company has famously labeled the most dangerous the last two years.
"We didn't advertise who we were," he said.
I am familiar with Rutt's Hutt. I'm just not into fried hot dogs. Maybe one day I'll make the trip just to say I've done it, but I don't like deep fried meat.
It's sad, but it seems like the entire country is becoming one big strip mall, where TGI Fridays passes for fine dining.
Most places that are called cities in the US don't meet my definition of a city. I really only count places with a viable downtown that doesn't shut down after business hours as real cities.
I can't imagine commuting from PA. Seems like a dumb idea to me. I mean, for me, gimme those 4 hours of my life back, and I'll pay a couple of extra dollars.
Unless your taste is buying and owning firearms or not paying a fortune in real estate taxes or not having corrupt liberal Democrats "representing" you in Kongress, etc.
I take it you've never really been there, have you?
New Jersey is the most densley populated state (1134.4 people per square mile) in the country but like many statistics, that is very misleading. The 1134 number is an "average" and the actual population density varies greatly through the state. Urban areas such as Newark have populations with an average density of 11400 people per square mile. Some rural New Jersey townships have population densities as low as 70 persons per square mile.
Certain portions of the northwest Highlands and Pine Barrens areas have population densities of 0-10 persons per square mile.
I get the best of both worlds. Where I live is not densely populated, but I can get to a decently populated suburb in 30 minutes. And why would I do that? Because they PAY me. Who wants to do business in a state with no customers?
This is making me very nostalgic. I'll need to go home now and lay out my AR-15s, my WASR-10, all my 30 round mags, and my .45 hollowpoints so that I can remind myself of how many felonies I would be guilty of if I ever went back to NJ.
I'd rather die in Alabama than live in New Joisey.
He's just showing his Christian manners.
Then they find that the house they bought is of sh-t construction, traffic remains hellish, they spend half their day commuting, and half their disposable income on gasoline. Not too smart IMHO.
Go ahead. Have you lived in Bama or NJ? I've lived in both states.
I agree completely. But don't worry! They're gonna put in a commuter train to PA any decade now! Or so the real estate agents will say. LOL.
When I was growing up, the names with vowels I knew were about taking care of each other. Family was sacred. The family with vowels were about helping those that came over on the boat. It was a network that watched your back.
Even if there was a business matter that needed taken care of, it was done with respect.
I've no idea when all this drug stuff and gambling crept into the vowel stereotypes. I've no idea when the original vowel people went bad.
And, I'm sure he assumes that there aren't any churches or synagogues in NJ.
Thanks, I hadn't!
Actually it's not too far off the mark, if you discount politics and horrendously corrupt NJ politicians. Because otherwise, it IS a not-so-bad place to live.
And they're correct, the jughandle was invented here!
You gotta have at least just one. It is an indoctrination ;)
See the falls anyway.
"Morgan also noted that if auto insurance and property tax rates had been considered, New Jersey's ranking would have sunk like a stone. But in Morgan Quitno's world, livability is measured by factors such as student-teacher ratios and per-capita spending on the arts, and New Jersey excelled in both."
These statements tell you everything you need to know.
New Jersey? No thanks.
Italian Americans have per capita incomes considerably above the U.S. median. There are more Italian American bankers and lawyers than their are garbage men, to say nothing of mobsters.
There was always a trashy element among the Eye-ties, like every other ethnic group. Thanks to Hollywood, they came to be the stereotype.
I grew up in Bama and went to College in Ohio with several roomates from NJ. (If you are at FR I know that you are a decent person -not counting the trolls and I don't mean to paint all from NJwith a broadbrush) However, these guys were the most condescending twerps I'd ever layed eyes on. (My Irish Roomate from NYC was cool)
They thought Ohio was hicksville and that Bama was on the Far Side of The Moon. I always wondered why in the hell they left NJ? Anyway, at least they were seriously afraid of me and we did learn to at least co-exist.
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