This is sort of a humorous observation but it is serious in a way. I'm only 23 so I wasn't around when people proposed splitting New Jersey into two seperate states (it was in the late 70s right?), but having grown up in what is arguably south Jersey and now living in north Jersey it's incredibly apparent that it really is two very different states in one. I grew up in Hamilton which is just south of Trenton in Mercer County. Central to some, but I consider it south since I'm really way on the outskirts of Hamilton-my parent's house is literally 5 minutes from Route 539. Plus most of one side of my family is from Columbus, Browns Mills, and Wrightstown. I learned to shoot at the range at Colliers Mills and I got my very first pheasant there as well. I fished at Island Beach and hunted ducks in a bona fide Barnegat Bay sneakbox. These are things that not only I did, but my Father, Grandfather, and Great Grandfather did. My Great Grandfather was an avid hunter, trapper, and fisherman, in fact he dug clams at the shore to sell at the Columbus Farmer's Market well into his 70s. Not all of my friends that I grew up with were hunters and fisherman, but most at least knew the culture and ways of life common in south Jersey. We all talked the same way (it's pork roll-not taylor ham, its pronounced wooder not water, etc...), and we all knew that the Pines wasn't some barren wasteland filled with crazy inbred people and such.
Once I got to college I experienced a whole new way of life just an hour up the Turnpike. Right now I live in the city of West Orange which is in Essex County, not far from Newark. Up here there are towns crammed together that are incredibly tiny yet numerous. In 15 minutes driving down a main thorofare, Bloomfield Avenue, you can pass through Fairfield, Caldwell, West Caldwell, Verona, Montclair, Essex Fells, Glen Ridge, Bloomfield, and Newark. There really is no wilderness here save for a park here and there and one piece of County land, South Mountain Reservation, which is about 2,000 acres. People up here seem almost allergic to anything involving the outdoors unless you're talking about the shore, and even then all they know is that they have to drive through all the those scary pine trees to get either there or to Atlantic City. Of course there are a few exceptions, my girlfriend is from Sussex County, which is quite rural and has some beautiful areas, but they along with Warren are sort of ignored by Hudson, Bergen, Essex, and Union Counties. Basically to these people the pines is some backward land where the mob goes to dump bodies which should just be bulldozed and made into a giant mall.
Am I exaggerating here a bit? Certainly, but there is some truth to all fiction. I've never felt more like an uncouth redneck (which I take a certain amount of pleasure in) since I moved to north Jersey. Now of course I've assimilated a bit-I know my way around "the city" (God forbid you refer to New York City as anything but that up here) pretty well, and I could tell you where every exit on the Turnpike north of 11 will take you. But I'm still one of those "609ers" to my friends who for some reason likes to *gasp* get up early and sit in a tree with a shotgun waiting for a deer to pass by-why would I want to do that they wonder when you can buy perfectly good meat at the store!? And good lord-who in their right mind would venture into that scary place the Pinelands? There's no cell phone reception there!!! So is anyone for secession? Because I certainly am...I would draw the line between Mercer and Hunterdon so that Somerset and Middlesex would be on the north side and Monmouth would be on the south side. Not exactly a totally even divide considering the characteristics of those counties, but there wouldn't really be a better way I don't think. I guess Trenton could remain "our" capital-Newark could be made capital of the state of North Jersey. Interesting to think about especially since it was seriously proposed at one time-anyone have any other thoughts?
Once I got to college I experienced a whole new way of life just an hour up the Turnpike. Right now I live in the city of West Orange which is in Essex County, not far from Newark. Up here there are towns crammed together that are incredibly tiny yet numerous. In 15 minutes driving down a main thorofare, Bloomfield Avenue, you can pass through Fairfield, Caldwell, West Caldwell, Verona, Montclair, Essex Fells, Glen Ridge, Bloomfield, and Newark. There really is no wilderness here save for a park here and there and one piece of County land, South Mountain Reservation, which is about 2,000 acres. People up here seem almost allergic to anything involving the outdoors unless you're talking about the shore, and even then all they know is that they have to drive through all the those scary pine trees to get either there or to Atlantic City. Of course there are a few exceptions, my girlfriend is from Sussex County, which is quite rural and has some beautiful areas, but they along with Warren are sort of ignored by Hudson, Bergen, Essex, and Union Counties. Basically to these people the pines is some backward land where the mob goes to dump bodies which should just be bulldozed and made into a giant mall.
Am I exaggerating here a bit? Certainly, but there is some truth to all fiction. I've never felt more like an uncouth redneck (which I take a certain amount of pleasure in) since I moved to north Jersey. Now of course I've assimilated a bit-I know my way around "the city" (God forbid you refer to New York City as anything but that up here) pretty well, and I could tell you where every exit on the Turnpike north of 11 will take you. But I'm still one of those "609ers" to my friends who for some reason likes to *gasp* get up early and sit in a tree with a shotgun waiting for a deer to pass by-why would I want to do that they wonder when you can buy perfectly good meat at the store!? And good lord-who in their right mind would venture into that scary place the Pinelands? There's no cell phone reception there!!! So is anyone for secession? Because I certainly am...I would draw the line between Mercer and Hunterdon so that Somerset and Middlesex would be on the north side and Monmouth would be on the south side. Not exactly a totally even divide considering the characteristics of those counties, but there wouldn't really be a better way I don't think. I guess Trenton could remain "our" capital-Newark could be made capital of the state of North Jersey. Interesting to think about especially since it was seriously proposed at one time-anyone have any other thoughts?
