We grew our own tomatoes, peaches and apples. Love the old cemeteries, High Point State park for swimming, and the shore. I use to drive my little green Fiat to the shore with my friends.

Great times walking the boardwalk, eating vinegar fries in newsprint cones. Proud being a Jersey girl and love it when I meet someone that sounds like me. You can't take the Jersey out no matter where you live. Thank God for Jersey.

Whenever I come up, I have to load up on Devil Dogs, Ring Dings, and Yankee Doodles, as these cannot be found in Florida. How I miss a good slice of pizza, diners, and the ample supply of Dunkin Donuts.

Sarcasm, yelling, feeling superior, not pumping gas, diners, taylor ham, exits and highways, too much to explain!! You always feel out of place when you leave Jersey = no one understands you.

If everyone talks about how jersy is dirty and gross, then why do you bennys come here to my beach with obnoxious yelling, socks'n'sandals duo, and then expect us to respect you?! While we sometimes fight about who has the better pork roll,egg, and cheese or which exit dominates, we would still stick up for any jersey man or women in a sec.

We went on field trips to New York city to see Broadway productions, we ate at an authentic Spanish restaurant and ordered everything in Spanish from the menu in Harrison, I went to the United Nations numerous times, we went to Sandy Hook to learn about Marine Biology, we went to the WTC and learned about various subjects, AND BEST OF ALL WE HAD ART, MUSIC, WOOD SHOP, HOME EC. AND IT WAS NOT AN ELECTIVE.

It was not only the field trips, it was the teachers too. We really learned about everything including how to get along with and work with other kids. I thank the NJ public school system. They have instilled intelligence in many students over the years including me.

I have lived in WA, SC, and FL, and no beach w/o a boardwalk, restaurant, fresh vegetable, or Italian food can compare to Jersey. A pastrami sandwich on rye sounds so great right now : ) Oh but I live in Florida now -so it will remain a dream until I visit Sweet Jersey again .....

New Jersey has everything to offer. If you don't live at the beach it is just a short drive to the nicest beaches and sand in the country. The Meadowlands host the Nets, Devils (now in Newark), Giants, and Jets (should be the NJ Giants and Jets clearly).

I try not to vacation anymore because living here is a vacation and being away makes me realize that. I will never leave New Jersey and if people talk badly about it, just remember that it is the most densely populated state in the country.

Most "haters" have never even been there. Jersey has the best beaches (I live in CA, the sand sucks) tomatoes, corn, and Italian food. Though I probably will never move back, NJ is always close to my heart. :)

And the whole "Joisey" thing? Never have I EVER heard anyone say that. And Newark? Of course it's pronounced "Nork," I never even heard anyone say it different until... I went out-of -state.  Well, what I'm trying to say is New Jersey is the best place, and once you get past the stereotypes, you realize that too.

What do I miss? Good bagels, pork roll, egg and cheese on a hard roll, Saucy Susan on my pork chops, Ronzoni pasta, a Jersey Shore hot dog from the Windmill and the Italian Ices from The Lighthouse. In fact, as far as the last one goes, nobody here even knows what Italian Ice is.

I know these are all related to eating, but what can I say? Here we have taquerias and kolache joints. Now y'all back in Jersey probably don't even know what I'm talkin' about, right? Mangia!!!!!!!!!!

The best part is I am from NJ, where we are truly a unique bunch but we all have one thing in common: a sense of pride, hard work, and a deep loyalty to the state of NJ. No matter what part of jersey you are from, it is a kinship that will last a lifetime. I miss my days in Jersey but I will always have the great memories of being from the Garden State. 

I wonder if some have never been out of the state when they think its so bad here. I have traveled all over the country - drove across it 3 times. Visited Europe twice and Australia and all the islands, and they are all wonderful places to see and visit but I chose to live in Middletown NJ.

I can take a train to NYC in less than an hour (or drive), be in Atlantic city in 1 1/2 hours. Be at a beach in 30 minutes. See pro football, basketball, baseball ( yanks, mets, philly), and hockey all within an hour drive. Visit the best college in the country (Princeton) and walk its campus and see its art gallery. If I am ill I can go to any one of the top hospitals in the country, Robert woods, NYU, Columbia etc. 

I can see any new play before it hits the national tour. I will put up the beach of Island State Park with any beach in Florida or California. I can be in ski country in an hour. Jersey hosted the world cup at Giants stadium and will this year host the Breeders Cup at Monmouth Race track. I laugh when people leave for Florida... I love the place in the winter but I couldn't live there. Apparently they have no helmet law ,so now over 500 people a year die.  In New Jersey we don't have earthquakes, and it's rare to have hurricanes, tornadoes or wild fires.

Yes we have problems, but we have the largest pool of educated people in the country. We also have the largest seaport handling the most cargo. If you visit my town Middletown, you will see that we have the largest non-paid fire department in the USA!! And the second lowest FBI crime rate for a town our size. And for kids: over 50 baseball fields, 22 soccer fields, and 20 tennis courts. Yes, there are wonderful places to live in New Jersey!!

1. All of these places have good local food, but in New Jersey you can get good authentic food of any kind.
2. People think that all you can do at the beach is get in the water, or lay out. Out-of-staters are clueless to the board walk.
3. The only place where I live in San Antonio, Texas to get good pizza is a restaurant owned by folks from New Jersey.
4. If you like history, just drive around New Jersey and pay attention. Get away from the airport, there is more to New Jersey then a stopover to another city.
5. The City and Philly are not far away.
6. If you have ever eaten a New Jersey grown tomato, you would know tomatoes everywhere else are only tolerable.

The more other states show their jealousy by using New Jersey jokes, the more New Jerseyans become proud of their great state.

I miss the good things, like: taylor ham and egg on a roll on a Saturday morning, B&W CRUMB CAKE , ruts hut dogs, white castle, and the boards at seaside.  I could go on for hours. 

I served my country in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War and lived in Thailand, Vietnam, Mississippi and Texas. I returned to New Jersey to start my career and raise my family, because I found that there is no better place on earth than the northwest hills of good old NJ.

Anything you want, from Manhattan to Washington DC is just a short drive. The Jersey Shore is among the best vacation spots in the world. I love my state....let them laugh at us... until they visit and find out what they are missing.

Both NJ & NY drivers are tailgaters, BUT NJ drivers do not know what S.T.O.P. means. The roads here are better. The real estate taxes on my 3-bedroom house were about $9700.00 per year. Here I live in a wonderful 1 bedroom condo & pay about $1600.00. This is great.

You've got to stop this!!! Too many moving here already, even with the bad reputation. Save it for us.

What makes NJ so special to me? I can't pinpoint it. But I am proud to be from here and would gladly stand in front of the cameras and say so. Everything I like and need is right here in NJ. From A.C. to the beaches to proximity to N.Y.C, its all here.

If you like suburban living (which I hate), it is the most attractive spot in the country, hands down.

We have kosher style all beef dogs, German style beef/pork dogs, deep fried dogs, dirty water dogs, etc. I am a hot dog fanatic who has sampled hot dogs all over, and no place comes close to Jersey. I was a member of the Star Ledger's S.W.A.T. Team this summer. We went to 87 different hot dog establishments and sampled over 100 different hot dogs. New Jersey is the hot dog capital of the World!

Nowhere else can you get the variety and quality of franks that we have here in the Garden State. No where else can you get an Italian Hot Dog. People from other states think it is a sausage sandwich!

Out-of-state people hear only the negativity. They shouldn't judge until they visit our beaches, our lakes, and experience the close proximity to Manhattan with the broadway shows, the museums, etc.

New Brunswick Theological Seminary in the city of that name is the oldest Protestant theological seminary in the country. Also, central Jersey boasts three superb theological schools - NBTS already mentioned, Princeton Theological Seminary (Presbyterian) and Drew (Methodist). For resources in the reformed church or Protestantism generally, it is like heaven here!