The jersey hate is so tiresome.  NJ is 3 separate states.  There is the NYC dumping ground, which cuts off around Princeton.  This central to north east sections of NJ have the bad rep, and its 100% to do with NYC having a superiority complex. There is the west/north west.....some of the richest people on the planet, in some of the most exclusive hoods in the world, actually the same can be said for the dumping ground. Then there is southern new jersey, which is a mix of white trash towns (think mustangs on cinder blocks in their front yards),  super affluent insanity property tax areas, and  a tiny section that is pretty much Alabama (south west where all the nuclear reactors for the state are).   I dont ever want to live there again, as I think its a police state, and real estate taxes just dont make any sense.   But, as a whole, NJ is one the nicest states in the country.