New Jersey: A blessing and a curse

[Apex]

Always a joy vising NJ in the dead of winter. Going from 84 degrees F to 16 degrees.

Was driving around (and walking around in the mall), and thought... would you want to be like the people here, taking BOTH the blessings and the curses? For instance...

New Jersey drivers seem to be smart enough to know what the passing lane is for, and the vast majority seem to move over to the right lane after passing. However, on the flip side, they can't for the life of them park straight.

Would you:

Dress well, if it meant you only walked 1/3 the speed of normal human beings?

No sales tax on clothing, but malls that are packed 4-deep with people?

Super unleaded for under $2, but your car approximates a giant salt lick for 5 months of the year?

Then, there are some things I just don't get. What's with the abundance of pot holes big enough to swallow shopping carts? Are all turns made to delay your trips, or something far more diabolical? Is winter the only time you cannot smell the turnpike?

[ray]

snip

Dude, Apex. Don't be bashing on my home state of Joisey.

People can't drive there. People can't park there. If there are potholes in the road, that means it will take at least 6 months to fill. Highways were designed to get people lost. Haven't you seen Judgment Night before? We are home to the Devils. Enough said.

[attgig]

no...actually, jersey drivers don't pass on the passing lane. we pass on any lane that we can weave through!

dress well? walk 1/3? eh? dunno who you're people watching, but most people up there dress...errr, ok? and walk... errr...wha? they don't walk, they only drive!

and if you try to go to the malls during chrstmas, isn't it a given that it's gonna be packed 4 deep?

oh, and, people in the northeast can drive in bad weather....yes, it is possible. you socal people go crazy wehn there's a little bit of rain, but ice/snow...is nuttin for us.

oh, and pot holes....go anywhere where there's ice/snow... there will be potholes....again, I know you socal people enjoy the good weather 365, but ... yeah. just comes with the territory man.

[Apex]

I was actually very surprised at how many people passed left, then moved right. Very impressive. In SoCal, the left lane would have been clogged by some grandma who planned to turn left 7 miles down the road.

Yeah, and in terms of the malls. Unbelievable how slow people walked, just kinda strolling along, even those not looking at anything in particular. Step, pause, step, pause, step pause, step pause.

[InfiniteNothing]

I was actually very surprised at how many people passed left, then moved right. Very impressive. In SoCal, the left lane would have been clogged by some grandma who planned to turn left 7 miles down the road.

Yeah, and in terms of the malls. Unbelievable how slow people walked, just kinda strolling along, even those not looking at anything in particular. Step, pause, step, pause, step pause, step pause.

Is that a glaxian badge in your rank?

[cheapie]

sounds like michigan. people generally fast here compared to other states but almost always move to the right immediately. potholes? and as ATT said, that comes with the crappy weather. but there's tons of fat people in IN and MI. amazing to see the difference when i go out of the midwest.

i just went to OR. wow. them's some SLOW drivers!!! i was trying to go 75 or so on a 65 road and felt like i was mario andretti.

[oblongmelon]

Jersey (most parts of it) is a great place to visit. Lots of cute little towns, with history. And shore towns..don't get me started. Wildwood used to be the place to be every summer with your friends if Daytona was too far to get to...The Crest-for old foggies...Cape May-Victoriana in all it's glory..and some cute lighthouses too! All in all-Jersey-a great place to be. Where were you in the Garden State anyway?

[Yossarian]

PA is better

[attgig]

I was actually very surprised at how many people passed left, then moved right. Very impressive.

yeah, that was probably me... turnpike & parkway on the 23rd? in a Jeep GC? no?

[johnnymk]

Listen, I worked in New Jersey for 26 years and there are many great things about that State..

Just give me a couple of weeks to try and figure out what they are

[AlpineJay]

yeah, that was probably me... turnpike & parkway on the 23rd? in a Jeep GC? no?

How about I-80 on the 26th in a silver Honda Odyssey?

Anyway NJ rocks, don't matter how many people knock it. People here DO know how to drive, so the standards are high

Apex where in NJ were you? The North and the South are like two different states...

[YanksFanRy]

I liked the movie Garden State...

[Kudos]

He had to have been down south, nobody knows how to drive in north/central jersey.

And in the snow, or rain people will sit in the left lane going 30MPH in a 55MPH road...and still get into accidents.

And don't ever go near a town called Bound Brook, the people there do 15-25 on the 35MPH roads, for no apparent reason

However, I agree with the way people walk in malls. But then again, most people go to the mall just to go there, not to actually get anything in paticular

[ray]

And in the snow, or rain people will sit in the left lane going 30MPH in a 55MPH road...and still get into accidents.

And don't ever go near a town called Bound Brook, the people there do 15-25 on the 35MPH roads, for no apparent reason

Going 30mph in a blizzard is probably not the safest thing to do on a 55mph road. I would suggest going 20mph or slower and give yourself at least 5-10 car lengths with the guy in front of you.

Boundbrook isn't all that bad. I went to high school near that area. The reason why people probably drive slower is because of Deer. Take one of those on your car and say bye bye to car (just ask Slaus)

[Kudos]

in a blizzard, you shouldn't be out on the road.

nah, middle of the day, no traffic on rt 28....25MPH, tops.

[BrewMaster]

I was actually very surprised at how many people passed left, then moved right. Very impressive.

bring some of that back to SoCal. that sounds like heaven. people here have no idea that the left lane is for passing, not cruising side-by-side. i long for the day when people drive as they should...

[Yossarian]

Going 30mph in a blizzard is probably not the safest thing to do on a 55mph road. I would suggest going 20mph or slower and give yourself at least 5-10 car lengths with the guy in front of you.

you must not drive in snow very often...

[Nija]

you must not drive in snow very often...

It never snows in Boston, where Ray is from. . .

[Yossarian]

didn't know that. driving in snow isn't bad, you just gotta pay attention and know the veichle you're driving. you can drive in anything, you just gotta know how to handle it

[BrewMaster]

didn't know that. driving in snow isn't bad, you just gotta pay attention and know the veichle you're driving. you can drive in anything, you just gotta know how to handle it

same goes for driving in the sun. it can be blinding and warm, but if you know how to use the AC and your visor shade, you'll be good to go. i'm glad I live in CA so that I can develop this skill in case such unforeseen weather should strike.

[Ladogaboy]

didn't know that. driving in snow isn't bad, you just gotta pay attention and know the veichle you're driving. you can drive in anything, you just gotta know how to handle it

I am quite capable of driving 65-70 on loose gravel roads. It doesn't mean it's a good idea, and I've come close to dying on several occasions because of it.

[ufcrusher]

Jersey and you, Pourfect together. Frankly, I never found anything in Jersey to be that good or that bad. Then again, as a native of Philly, we always held those from Jersey in a certain disdain.

The only redeeming aspects were the shore (Ocean city and Ac) and the fact that our cousin kept his Sailboat in Somers Point and it was always nice to go sailing out of there.

As for the drivers.....never had a problem with them and ANYTHING would be better than the left coasters out here.

[whitak24]

jersey is mostly a curse, i think

seriously, when i was there a few years ago (in the edison/bound brook area) for work, people seemed to drive ok, but not great. other times i've been out there (with other people driving), i've been unimpressed with the driving abilities of jersey drivers.

as for the other attributes of the state, it seems to largely live up to its stereotypes

[Jeffbx]

It just gets a bad rap, like Detroit does. I lived there for a few years (in Bridgewater), and it's actually not bad. Overcrowded & expensive in many places, but there's still a lot of open space & farmland in the outlying areas.

However, I moved back to Michigan the first chance I got, so take that for what it's worth!!