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There were good parts and bad parts of our stay in NJ.

I lived in the Watchung Mountains in the northern part of the state. We canoed the Delaware River many times and canoe camped on islands there. We also canoed some streams in the southern or central part of the state in the pine barrens -- I remember doing the Oswego River. I liked that aspect of NJ. The place was beautiful when the trees flowered in the spring. Fall colors were nice. I also enjoyed getting into NYC for cultural things.

My family considered NJ as their foreign assignment, my wife particularly. There was a real cultural difference. Store clerks were downright rude and unfriendly. The schools weren't as good as the ones our kids had been in before. We squeezed into a house two-thirds as big as our previous one, and it cost more than the one we left. Zoning in the little towns maintained high prices in the local stores and kept out competition. We had to go some 12-15 miles to get to the nearest mall, and we had a poor selection of local restaurants. So, overall, NJ offered a lower quality of life, at least in the judgment of my family.

Every spring we couldn't wait for the cold weather to end, so we would head south during the kids' spring break, along with a gazillion others on I-95. By the time we got to North Carolina, store clerks became friendly and helpful again, there were leaves on the trees, and it was warm.