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* '''The [[Jersey Shore]]:''' New Jersey's coastline, and a major summer destination for New Yorkers, Pennsylvanians, and New Jerseyans alike. It used to have [[Never Live It Down|a reputation for being dirty]] due to the infamous [[wikipedia:Syringe Tide|"syringe tide"]] in the late '80s, when used syringes and other medical waste started washing up on the shore from the Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island (in short, [[Mis Blamed|it wasn't even New Jersey's fault!]]). Now, thanks to [[MTV]], it's has a reputation for being covered in [[Take That|another kind of trash, once again imported from out of state]]. Towns and destinations along the Shore include Asbury Park (the Shore's [[Gayborhood|gay mecca]] and a hub of rock music), Point Pleasant, Toms River, Seaside Heights (yes, ''[[Jersey Shore|that]]'' Seaside Heights), Long Beach Island (or LBI in local parlance), Atlantic City (which has legal gambling, and often shares tropes with [[Viva Las Vegas|Las Vegas]]), Wildwood, and Cape May. |
* '''The [[Jersey Shore]]:''' New Jersey's coastline, and a major summer destination for New Yorkers, Pennsylvanians, and New Jerseyans alike. It used to have [[Never Live It Down|a reputation for being dirty]] due to the infamous [[wikipedia:Syringe Tide|"syringe tide"]] in the late '80s, when used syringes and other medical waste started washing up on the shore from the Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island (in short, [[Mis Blamed|it wasn't even New Jersey's fault!]]). Now, thanks to [[MTV]], it's has a reputation for being covered in [[Take That|another kind of trash, once again imported from out of state]]. Towns and destinations along the Shore include Asbury Park (the Shore's [[Gayborhood|gay mecca]] and a hub of rock music), Point Pleasant, Toms River, Seaside Heights (yes, ''[[Jersey Shore|that]]'' Seaside Heights), Long Beach Island (or LBI in local parlance), Atlantic City (which has legal gambling, and often shares tropes with [[Viva Las Vegas|Las Vegas]]), Wildwood, and Cape May. |
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* '''South Jersey:''' With the exception of the Shore, this area, like the Highlands, is rarely seen in the media, due to the fact that it's more closely associated with [[Philadelphia (useful notes)|Philadelphia]] than [[New York City]]. Often shown as being poorer than the rest of the state, with the suburbs being more working-class. This is partially [[Truth in Television]], but not exactly -- a visit to Cherry Hill, Moorestown, or Medford would quickly discredit this assumption. Home to two towns named [[Halloween (film)|Haddonfield]] <ref>Fun fact -- the Haddonfield in ''[[Halloween (film)|Halloween]]'' is actually named after the one in New Jersey, which is where Debra Hill, the co-writer of the film, was born and went to high school.</ref> and [[Friday the 13th (film)|Voorhees]], which are served ([[My Friends and Zoidberg|along with Gibbsboro]]) [http://www.aaroads.com/northeast/new_jersey200/i-295_nb_exit_032_01.jpg by the same freeway exit]. If producers need a [[Gangsterland]], then Camden (in terms of crime rate, imagine a [[Fun Size]] Detroit) is often used in place of Newark.<br /><br />Residents are known to react even worse to the standard New Jersey jokes. The Turnpike has very few exits to the southern half of the state (and the Parkway has none outside of the Shore), and the near-absence of chemical and industrial plants results in little pollution. Plus, there are still many, many thriving farms in the area, as it is relatively undeveloped outside of the Shore and the Delaware Valley, lending some credence to the state nickname that so many seem to think is ironic -- "The Garden State."<br /><br />Definitions of South Jersey will vary depending on who you ask. Some will define the region as everything south of Interstate 195. Others will draw a line starting just south of Trenton and ending just north of Atlantic City, and classify South Jersey as everything south of that line. Many in Monmouth County will make the cutoff for South Jersey anything south of Toms River in Ocean County<ref>A definition that conveniently leaves out Point Pleasant and Six Flags Great Adventure, likely so that Central Jersey can count that little sliver of Ocean County as its own.</ref>, while many people in South Jersey will make the cutoff at Howell Township in Monmouth County instead, a definition that follows county lines more neatly. A few people go so far as to count everything south of Newark as South Jersey, a definition that includes New Brunswick and even Elizabeth. Needless to say, the distinction causes a lot of arguments within the state. |
* '''South Jersey:''' With the exception of the Shore, this area, like the Highlands, is rarely seen in the media, due to the fact that it's more closely associated with [[Philadelphia (useful notes)|Philadelphia]] than [[New York City]]. Often shown as being poorer than the rest of the state, with the suburbs being more working-class. This is partially [[Truth in Television]], but not exactly -- a visit to Cherry Hill, Moorestown, or Medford would quickly discredit this assumption. Home to two towns named [[Halloween (film)|Haddonfield]] <ref>Fun fact -- the Haddonfield in ''[[Halloween (film)|Halloween]]'' is actually named after the one in New Jersey, which is where Debra Hill, the co-writer of the film, was born and went to high school.</ref> and [[Friday the 13th (film)|Voorhees]], which are served ([[My Friends and Zoidberg|along with Gibbsboro]]) [http://www.aaroads.com/northeast/new_jersey200/i-295_nb_exit_032_01.jpg by the same freeway exit]. If producers need a [[Gangsterland]], then Camden (in terms of crime rate, imagine a [[Fun Size]] Detroit) is often used in place of Newark.<br /><br />Residents are known to react even worse to the standard New Jersey jokes. The Turnpike has very few exits to the southern half of the state (and the Parkway has none outside of the Shore), and the near-absence of chemical and industrial plants results in little pollution. Plus, there are still many, many thriving farms in the area, as it is relatively undeveloped outside of the Shore and the Delaware Valley, lending some credence to the state nickname that so many seem to think is ironic -- "The Garden State."<br /><br />Definitions of South Jersey will vary depending on who you ask. Some will define the region as everything south of Interstate 195. Others will draw a line starting just south of Trenton and ending just north of Atlantic City, and classify South Jersey as everything south of that line. Many in Monmouth County will make the cutoff for South Jersey anything south of Toms River in Ocean County<ref>A definition that conveniently leaves out Point Pleasant and Six Flags Great Adventure, likely so that Central Jersey can count that little sliver of Ocean County as its own.</ref>, while many people in South Jersey will make the cutoff at Howell Township in Monmouth County instead, a definition that follows county lines more neatly. A few people go so far as to count everything south of Newark as South Jersey, a definition that includes New Brunswick and even Elizabeth. Needless to say, the distinction causes a lot of arguments within the state. |
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* '''The Pine Barrens''': Firmly straddling the blurry dividing line between Central and South Jersey is a region composed of hundreds of square miles of primeval pine forest, growing from a white sandy soil. Home to ghost towns, cranberry bogs, blueberry farms, and uncounted miles of dirt roads, the Barrens are a zone of complete wilderness that is unusual in any Eastern state, let alone the most densely populated state in America. A great majority of the state's stories of ghosts and pirates are set in or have ties to the Pine Barrens, and the Jersey Devil calls them its home, making it an out-of-[[Hollywood New England|New England]] branch of [[Lovecraft Country]]. (Mysterious [[Real Life]] phenomena such the [http://mysterybooms.blogspot.com/2010/03/mystery-booms-reported-in-2006.html unidentified booming noises] which have rattled the area on a regular basis for decades just add to the mystique.) For someone whose only exposure to New Jersey is Chemical Alley and Newark, discovering that there is a part of the state where you can drive for an hour and see virtually nothing but pine trees can be somewhat disconcerting. |
* '''The Pine Barrens''': Firmly straddling the blurry dividing line between Central and South Jersey is a region composed of hundreds of square miles of primeval pine forest, growing from a white sandy soil. Home to ghost towns, cranberry bogs, blueberry farms, and uncounted miles of dirt roads, the Barrens are a zone of complete wilderness that is unusual in any Eastern state, let alone the most densely populated state in America. In fact, at night from orbit, the Barrens are a black hole in the center of the golden light of the Washington-Philadelphia-New York conurbation -- in [https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasamarshall/6790951550/ this photo from the ISS], the Barrens are the black spot below the middle "glow" of the three that stand out in the center of the right side of the image.)<br /><br />A great majority of the state's stories of ghosts and pirates are set in or have ties to the Pine Barrens, and the Jersey Devil calls them its home, making it an out-of-[[Hollywood New England|New England]] branch of [[Lovecraft Country]]. (Mysterious [[Real Life]] phenomena such the [http://mysterybooms.blogspot.com/2010/03/mystery-booms-reported-in-2006.html unidentified booming noises] which have rattled the area on a regular basis for decades just add to the mystique.) For someone whose only exposure to New Jersey is Chemical Alley and Newark, discovering that there is a part of the state where you can drive for an hour and see virtually nothing but pine trees can be somewhat disconcerting. |
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