I’m proud to be from New Jersey, Jersey, Jerzey and Joisey. Recently, I was out of state on vacation and stopped and helped a driver and his family that were broken down on the highway. He told me no one else would stop and help. In conversation I explained I’m from New Jersey. He was shocked. Why? He thought we were all like the ones in “The Sopranos” or “Jersey Shore.” His family was very grateful and asked are all “Joisey” people really this nice. I smiled and said yes, except the ones from New York who pretend to be from New Jersey—a dis to the “Jersey Shore” cast.
Robert Phillips
Kinnelon
I have lived in New Jersey all my 71 years. My parents and one grandparent lived here their whole lives also. New Jersey has everything. My classmates were of diverse ethnicities and I see my grandsons’ classes even more diverse. It’s a very healthy environment. We have four very distinct seasons—summers at the lake or beach or backyard, magnificent fall colors, snowy winters and flowering springs. We have weather in every variety (and no really bad earthquakes). We have a very diverse topography—beaches, mountains, forests, pinelands, marshes (both salt and fresh water), lakes, rivers, streams, parks, bays and an ocean. We have cities, farms and suburbs—upscale to not very upscale. A train or bus ride can bring you to one of the world’s great cities. We have a National Park.
I am fortunate to be able to travel a lot and meet people from all over the country and they have a very distorted view of our state. They frequently say that I don’t sound like I’m from New Jersey. I don’t know what that is supposed to mean. Or they have to make the crack about Joisey, which really annoys me. They think of us as completely covered with buildings and roads. Meeting them makes me realize how much more full life has been living in NJ. I LOVE NEW JERSEY!
June Kreutzer
Toms River
My cousin from Orlando, Florida, has always made fun of Jersey and repeats all the stereotypes about it. While talking on the phone one day I offered him and his girlfriend to stay with us for a week in the summer. He visited…[now] he loves New Jersey and what it has to offer. He did not stop raving about it and now he is in the process of moving here. There’s nothing better than having a family member eat his words. While some want to leave New Jersey…others like my cousin find this the best place to live. I agree.
Mark Canevaro
Fair Lawn
If you are a true New Jerseyan, it’s a feeling that is in your heart and soul. New Jersey to me truly means strong and proud. Everyone knows or should know folks from Jersey are a force to be reckoned with. We will defend Jersey like a mother over her own children. Trust me, I am a mother of two teenage daughters. Don’t mess with my daughters and don’t mess with my New Jersey. This past summer we were vacationing in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and my 15-year-old daughter was wearing a T-shirt she had made in Seaside that said JERSEY GIRL in big bold letters on the back. We were walking around in Cabo and someone yelled really loud “Hey Jersey Girl.” We turned around, a little startled, and looked to see whom it was. Actually, I knew who it was. Yep, a nice group from New Jersey saying, “Where in Jersey are you from?” One thing I know for sure, there is no place like home. And home is New Jersey.
Susan Kren
Princeton
I was born and raised in Bergen County, currently living in Passaic County. I returned to Northern NJ in February 2010 after spending two years in Northern California. I work for a large global company, so transferring and relocating is one of the perks for me. I had the opportunity to work with a client in San Jose, California, and I took it.
I arrived in the Bay Area in March of 2008, having never even visited the West Coast. I was in awe! It was beautiful! The weather, the natural beauty of Napa, Monterey, Half Moon Bay, San Francisco and the Central Coast were just spectacular! I loved the climate and the sun streaming from my balcony into my living room every morning—10 months of the year. I couldn’t believe my luck to be able to live where most spend their vacations.
But I missed New Jersey. I wasn’t sure why. I always hated the long winters, locked up at home because I was too cold to venture out. Oh, I ventured out in the Bay Area—every chance I had. And then I figured it out—it was the people and the lifestyle of the East Coast that I missed. Not to be critical of California or the West Coast, but I missed the honest, outspoken, forthright, fast-paced tongue of home—yes, we can be a bit challenging, demanding and driven, but what you see is what you get. Not so much on the West Coast—they enjoy a relaxed attitude toward everything. And although I admired it, it wasn’t who I was, or who I wanted to be. I’ve come to know that it’s the spirit of the people here that drives the pace and way of life in New Jersey. We work hard and play hard—always striving for the best, always reaching out to others in a tough love sort of way. I see it in my family, and now I understand, it’s who I am, for better or worse.
I think my friends and colleagues in California always thought I was a bit “intense” and “forward.” Well, damn right I am—it’s the one thing about me that will never change. I may still grumble from time to time about New Jersey, but I am proud to be from Jersey, proud of our culture, our people, our diversity, and our attitude! As my beloved Aunt Ann always said, “There’s no place like home.”
Linda R. Vick
Wayne
While my husband and I were living in Bayonne at my parents’ house, saving to purchase our own home, our first child was conceived. That was 26 years ago. My parents were so proud, it was their idea to have a t-shirt made for their first grandson that read: Made in Bayonne, New Jersey.
Janine Koch
Garwood
I have never understood the squeamishness—or even shame— that some people convey, upon revealing they’re from New Jersey. Me, I’m beaming with pride about my Jersey roots and cherish any opportunity to squash the stereotypical view of our state.
When I take stock of all the beauty and pleasure New Jersey has afforded me over my lifetime, I can’t help but feel nothing but gratitude! How fortunate I am to have been born and raised in a place that Mother Nature has so generously bequeathed such glorious gifts on! Let’s start with the 127 miles of coastline that hugs our tiny state. For many of us, "going down the Shore" is an annual ritual that never gets old or boring. Whether your choice of beach is more to the north or further south, each town possesses an undeniable charm.
Closer to home, when driving along Route 206, particularly in the summer, I can’t help but wish people all over the country (especially those who love to malign the state), could see the beauty of our fertile farmlands, dotted with copious cornfields, blueberry bushes and countless cranberry bogs. There is a reason why we earned the nickname Garden State.
The uniqueness of New Jersey is never more pronounced than riding through the pristine Pinelands in which a million and a half dwarf pine trees exist. There’s a certain alluring mystique to the Pines…aside from the Jersey Devil folklore, of course. And if down the Shore isn’t your preference, there are the lakes and mountains up in the northwestern part of the state.
I haven’t even touched on all of the historical sites to visit, from the location of the first-ever complete dinosaur skeleton discovery in Haddonfield, to the crucial Battles of Trenton, Princeton and Monmouth, to the original factory and residence in West Orange of one of the world’s greatest inventors, Thomas Edison.
We definitely pack a lot into such a small package of a state, don’t we? That’s precisely what makes New Jersey so unique. We’re brimming with beauty, history and great minds. No wonder Einstein chose to live here!
Barbara Langan
Florence
I have lived in New Jersey all of my life and I cannot imagine living anywhere else. I grew up here and will die here. There is no other state that can offer what we have here. Beautiful beaches. Two major cities, each close enough for day trips. We have forests, pine barrens, cranberry bogs and historic towns. We have a governor who says it like it is and doesn’t back down no matter who is on his back. Yep, true-blooded New Jerseyans are proud, tough and know what we like; and we’ll let you know exactly what that is. And what we like is New Jersey just the way it is (except for maybe the high taxes).
Karen Koval
Mount Laurel
Why I’m JRZ.PROUD: Who would have imagined that a one-time escapee from Hitler’s Nazi Germany could be elected mayor of a New Jersey town? Who would have thought that a wanderer through four European countries and New York State could find a welcoming, permanent home in New Jersey? After being an immigrant outsider for so many years, I found a home in New Jersey, where diversity is a proud watchword.
Our Closter schools proudly advertise the 30 different languages their students speak at home, Our small town has fourteen different churches, temples and synagogues—Korean, Indian, African American, Evangelical, Jewish, Catholic and all manners of other Christian faiths. There is diversity in New Jersey’s landscape—from the Atlantic coastal beaches to Sussex’s High Point State Park. We have a greater variety of trees than fabled New England, more bird variety than almost anywhere else and certainly more deer than we would wish for. We’re called the Garden State because we do grow almost every kind of temperate zone fruits and vegetables.
We also have every kind of local government. Our statutes allow us to govern our municipalities five different ways. And there is nowhere else on earth where 566 municipalities exist in a state no larger than many a county. New Jersey has mayors who were once Indian, Chinese, Korean, Polish, German, Egyptian as well as descendants of Revolutionary War heroes. How could I not be proud to be one of them?
Sophie Heymann
Closter
I love New Jersey and have always been proud of my state. My mother first took my sister and I to Asbury Park when we were young girls. Asbury had a beautiful carousel and other funs rides on the boardwalk. I loved it then and for many years after. New Jersey has some of the best beaches in the country and of course in Jersey we always say we are going “down the Shore.” The state also has so many beautiful lakes and mountains. I remember going to Palisades Amusement Park with my family. It was such fun. The fun house, the salt water pool, the food! How about those Jersey hot dogs? I have relatives in California that have to get one of those dogs when they come here for a visit. Let’s not forget that New Jersey is one of the original 13 colonies. Go New Jersey!
Gloria Mondell
Prospect Park
I am an extremely proud New Jerseyan. I grew up in New Jersey, but went out of state for college in the early 90s. I went to the University of Wisconsin. Occasionally I would wear my New Jersey Devils hockey jersey when hanging out and sometimes my New Jersey Nets baseball cap. Needless to say, I would get a lot of midwesterners making fun of New Jersey. But that did not faze me. I have a ton of Jersey pride. Also a lot of people in Wisconsin back then had never heard of Rutgers University. I would be like: “you’ve got to be kidding me.” After graduating college, I moved back home and found a job in good ol’ Jersey. I am a die-hard New Jersey fan. I like to travel and visit new places. But there is no better place then the awesome Garden State!
Doshi Vishal
Fairfield
Moved here from New York back in 1971 after returning from the Army. Now I have spent more of my life here and consider myself a Jersey boy and not a New Yorker. Both of our kids have graduated from Rutgers. We’re proud to call New Jersey our home.
Rob Botwin
West Windsor
Even though I moved to California in 1993, I was born, raised and educated in New Jersey and I lived in the state for 34 years. Because surfing seems to be such a big part of the culture here, I attended an exhibit at the Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach back in 2002; it was titled “Surf Culture.” There was a group of students from the local community college at the museum. I followed the group around the museum with their professor. We came up to a painting that was based on the famous painting of Emanuel Leutze. George Washington was in the painting with his group of soldiers; but they were dressed in wet suits and had surfboards. The professor asked the students, “What famous painting is this work based on?” After a deafening silence I blurted out “Washington Crossing the Delaware.” The professor stated: “Very good. How did you know that?” I replied, “I’m from New Jersey.” “Oh, that explains it,” retorted the professor.
Nancy Breznay
Laguna Niguel, CA
I was born and raised in Rockaway—raising my family here practically in the same neighborhood I grew up in! My daughters have attended the same schools and have had a lot of the same teachers as I did. I was married in the same church as my parents and I wouldn’t have it any other way!! Proud to be from NJ!!
Kim Higgins
Rockaway
New Jersey isn’t a place, it’s a state of mind, a human smorgasbord made up of people who embrace diversity. If you were born in New Jersey like me, you walked to school with kids of every race, nationality and religion. You got to eat the best lasagna at your friend Tony’s house with a bunch of his cousins named Tony. You were served boiled ham and potatoes when you visited Pat, but you had to beat her seven brothers to the table in order to get your share. If you’re a New Jerseyan, you’ve had the best German chocolate cake, to-die-for pizza, and a pork roll, egg and cheese sandwich that you can’t get in any other state.
I’m Russian, Polish, Greek and Armenian, raised Christian, yet I could sing the “Dreidle” song like it’s nobody’s business, and my parents never got their feathers ruffled when my school teacher dubbed our Christmas tree a Chanukah bush. I learned the words to “Dear Old Donegal,” and I’ve swapped jokes at Irish wakes with a few men who’d never refuse a drink unless they misunderstood the question. I’ve danced the Tarantella hundreds of times, and the Polka even more. I know all of the patriotic songs because every man was a WWII veteran when I was a kid, and when the work week was done, they gathered to talk, laugh, and sing—patriotic songs, and other oldies designed to edit out bad memories and hard times.
On Veterans Day no one had to tell me to stand and salute our soldiers, some of whom could no longer stand themselves because they lost a leg or two, or an arm, and for sure, a friend. I just mimicked my parents, grandparents and every other adult, many of whom migrated here from around the world, all of whom weathered the Great Depression and other storms I cannot fathom. With emotion visible only in the gleams of their eyes and the lumps in their throats, they’d stand at attention, raise their right arms, holding their hands at their foreheads, still and somber—offering sincere reverence to every soldier, of every race, nationality and religion.
Due respect goes a long way. Good thing. Over the years we have grown to almost 9 million people and we are crammed into one of the smallest states in America—yet New Jerseyans, consisting of every ethnicity, religion and culture from around the world, have lived side by side, peacefully. For the most part, we understand that being different does not mean being less. We have enhanced our lives by embracing our differences and sharing our music, food and cultures. And we have come closer to truly understanding those five simple words in the United States Constitution that far too often, in many places around the world, even here in America, are nothing more than words on a page: “All men are created equal.”
I’m proud to say that living in New Jersey has made those words dance in my heart.
Cathy Curran
Brick
I am proud to be a true blue Jersey girl!! I am originally from Newton and now reside at the Shore. I am proud to be born and raised in this beautiful state of New Jersey! Where else can you be in a city one minute and the country the next? There’s so much to do and just an exit away. Our history is so great and I say to hell with them if they can’t see what we our great state has to offer! My grandfather was picked to be at Charles Lindbergh’s trial. My dad saw the Hindenberg tragedy as well as the Andrea Doria in Asbury Park.
This state breeds homegrown, true-blue, one-of-a-kind celebrities. I met Bruce Springsteen when I was just 10 at Asbury Park and he was so sweet and nice. I say if you meet one of New Jersey’s celebrities they will be the kindest people and are true to their people here. Anywhere else you will not find that at all.
God has truly broken the mold on us. We are one of a kind and you can love us or leave us, but we are true to our own, and always will be.
Karen McCroy
Little Egg Harbor