Stepping outside onto the terrace of an apartment building in northern New Jersey brings the realization that the state is one large forest with towns and roads carved amidst it. That’s, of course, excluding the swamps across the Hudson River from New York City and the farmland to the west and south. One thing is for sure: It is no mystery why New Jersey is called the Garden State. New Jersey is verdant to a fault with mega-pollen outbreaks to confound allergy sufferers and mosquitoes to buzz the ears all night long ruining sleep patterns the entire summer.
That’s right; this New Yorker now lives in Jersey! Up until this last year, I had only lived in four other states in my life, New York, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. Now, I’m adding New Jersey to my list.
With a family and a job in New York City and apartment rentals in Manhattan of $3600/month for a two-bedroom in a less than splendid locations, New Jersey provides a lifestyle that’s affordable, manageable and vital.
But as the honorable Gov. William J. Le Petomaine said in the movie Blazing Saddles, “But what about the costs, man, what about the costs?”
Number 1: Commuting from the suburbs by either passenger train or coach bus with New Jersey Transit. Community pretty much steals from a person at least two hours every day of one’s life riding back and forth from work. It’s mentally and physically draining, but it’s better than sitting in traffic.
Number 2: Private school for the kids rather than sending them to the disaster that is public education.
Number 3: Property taxes that defy imagination which drain half of one’s mortgage payment for the privilege of sending other people’s children to school.
Number 4: Blue State Blues. As for education, bringing School Choice to New Jersey’s beleaguered citizenry has not yet taken hold in the Democrat-controlled State Assembly. Nevertheless, living in New Jersey, which has many fine private schools, is an investment in the future as sooner or later School Choice will likely take hold here as teacher union obstructionism continues to be defeated.
Number 5: Car culture: Unless you are going to New York, public transportation can be sketchy, meaning that to get from one New Jersey town to the other depends on driving a car to get there.
What New Jersey does have going for it politically is Republican superstar Gov. Chris Christie, who is reportedly on Mitt Romney’s short list for vice president, although Christie says he is not interested in the post. Christie won kudos here and nationally when in a public meeting in response to a whiny woman’s question as to why he sends his children to Catholic schools, he responded in typical direct New Jersey fashion: “None of your damn business, that’s why.” New Jersey, solidly Democrat for the last 25-plus years has shown some willingness to elect conservatives, which is a positive compared to hopeless neighbor New York State.
One of the nice things about residing in a reasonably-pleasant suburb of New Jersey is that on the weekend, one does not feel the obsession to flee New York City because the fleeing has already taken place. There’s a feeling in New Jersey of being in the country with trees, parks, and cool breezes and the Jersey Shore is not too far away for someone interested in relaxation and ocean air.
Public transportation to New York City makes life possible in New Jersey. Without the ability to move massive numbers of people over bridges, through tunnels and even on ferry boats to New York, New Jersey could not aggregate enough energy and oxygen on its own. Seeing New York’s tall buildings from New Jersey across the river is a welcome and reassuring sight.
To real New Yorkers, New Jersey is what happens to you when you get married and have kids and you go to die or whichever comes first. At the end of the day, New York City, or really, Manhattan, is no place to raise children or be a kid with sin glaring at people in the face on nearly every street corner. In that regard, New Jersey feels right to the family man, who does battle on the job in the Big Apple, with his wife and children going to school, libraries, and play groups all the live long day.
The problem of bringing this New Yorker and all New Yorkers from New York and Brooklyn to New Jersey is that, well, people from New Jersey don’t want to be reminded of any of this and the whole attitude of condescension which opposes the wholesome, anti-New York values of the place. People in New Jersey like the New York Yankees, and the New York Football Giants, and the hockey team New Jersey Devils does better on average than the snooty New York Rangers, thank you very much. Life in New Jersey is just fine with softball leagues for adults, youth soccer, family and friends, and barbeques, and neighborhoods and communities and even private waste management companies hauling away your garbage instead of public employees as in other parts of the United States. I like that.
That’s right. New Jersey’s got attitude, as in, “I got your New Jersey attitude right here, buddy.” New Jersey has that sensibility of we’ve got something good going on and that’s good enough.
I’m sure I’ll have more to learn here in the next few years. For example, recently, I met people from India who participate in a friendly game of cricket on summer weekends. That’s a sport I had heard of, but had never seen previously in person, which was neat. So, mind your Ps and Qs, work hard, keep your New York/Brooklyn views to yourself, have a little fun, be positive, and enjoy a slice of the good life in New Jersey!
Daniel Wiseman ——
Bio and Archives
Daniel Wiseman is an independent political commentator, who focuses on national and international affairs. He spent nine years as a professional journalist in Wyoming before working in fund-raising, non-profit management, and is now working in New York City. Wiseman focuses his writing on how to bring the United States back to its Constitutional moorings. He writes exclusively for Canada Free Press.
