Yes, it's been Short Hills Mall since we moved up here 14 years ago. Despite having grown up nearby, when we moved back up from Virginia, it was like moving to a new country--completely different. We moved back up here for my wife's career and to be halfway between our ageing parents.

Anybody who thinks things move slower Down South never stood in line at a Home Depot or Staples up here! And, until recently, the DMV was the WORST in the nation--every transaction (License renewal, registration renewal) took 1 hour on a good day. So if you had to renew your license, the registration for 2 cars, and (in my case) 1 motorcycle, that was 4 transactions, 4 hours. No joke, it was THAT bad--and corrupt to boot--it was faster to get a license by bribing someone inside to make you one...a whole bunch of people went to jail for that.

Amazingly, the efforts to fix it and clean it up have worked. I renewed a car the other day at the local MV office and was in and out in 10 minutes, despite the place being full.

Actually, the REAL reason NJ has a bad rep is that it's to the west of NYC, and there's a river between them. So New Yorkers only ventured across with trepidation (Until I was 12 I think I went to NJ maybe 3 times). Between the swamps and the decaying Hudson River towns (all of which are having a HUGE renaissance), NJ became the punchline of a lot of hip, NY comedians' jokes. "You from Jersey? What exit?" These days, Tony Soprano doesn't help! (tho the Tick-Tock Diner is a VERY real place). And, no, Jimmy Hoffa isn't really buried under the West goal post at Giant Stadium--at least we think he isn't....

Plus there is our VERY interesting version of politics here. Still, it is one little dynamo of a state, and having grown up and gone to college in Upstate New York, I find NJ far preferable.

But there are STILL some things here you just couldn't make up! Like they put the sign for an exit on the FAR side of the exit so that when you finally SEE it, you've missed it! And this is the only state without self-serve gas--an attendant (who tops your tank, spill gas down the fender, and keeps your change without permission) is considered "safer" somehow.
We probably have more diners per capita than any other state, too. And here's a little secret: Good NJ pizza is just as good as good NY pizza--sometimes better!