Ben

lol, that is soooo true. Best thing we ever did was leave the place

neil

Where did you people live? I love it where I am. Small town feel, close enough to real countryside (farms etc.) but also really close to big city conveniences and really not far from Manhattan - best of all worlds as far as I can tell.

BrandonBrit

Middle of nowhere!!! McGuire AFB locality, 40 mins to get to anywhere worth going, hated the winters, don't like the cold!

elfman

I totally agree. I'm starting to feel quite attached to NJ.

Toontje

You would need 5ft license plates for that.

elfman

Oh do me a favour - an hour and a bit from New York City, an hour from Philadelphia, 2-3 hours from ski areas, less than an hour from the beach? Please tell me how Arizona beats that (and don't just say the weather is better).

elfman

I did wonder why they didn't choose my suggestion....

mandpete

I like NJ.

neil

Not liking the cold is not a good enough reason to not like NJ. You might as well say you don't like the whole North/NorthEast and Canada, and a reasonable portion of the whole world. Why would you choose to live 40 minutes from anywhere worth going if that's such a big deal to you. I don't get it. I'm sure you could find somewhere to live that's just like that in any state.

Ben

The place where we lived was/is beautiful, there is not doubt about it. Idylic almost. Lake community, multi-million dollar homes, perfect weather, skiing 20 minutes away, supposedly excellent school district if you go by results and activities available, etc. Sometimes there are somethings that are just too difficult to explain. We were warned about NJ by many people. It wasn't just one particular thing. There is more to life than living somewhere that looks idylic. It wasn't until we moved over to Long Island that we realised that NJ isn't a good example of America. If we had stayed there we would have gone home hating America.

NJ reminds me of the east coast of Lincolnshire. The people that live there think they have the perfect place to live and can't see anything wrong with it. I worked with a woman who had lived in Grimsby her whole life and when her husband got a transfer to Sheffield she didn't want to move. when I told her that she will think differently about Grimsby and the people once she leaves and will wonder why she didn't do it sooner, she was doubtful. Couldn't see anything wrong with the place. Met up with her 6 months after she left and she couldn't thank me enough for being honest about the place. She was in the process of moving her mother away.

There are sometimes that you can't always put your finger on one particular thing but there is just something about NJ that isn't normal. Some people call it resentment but I think it is more than that. there are many happy people there just as there are many happy people in Mississippi, but I wouldn't move there either

neil

I'm definitely not saying it's perfect and I could see why if you lived in certain parts of the state (particularly the south) then it wouldn't be such a great place. All the people I know are from all over the country (and from other countries) so it might not be representative of America but there's nothing here I can think would make me hate America. I prefer being out here to being close to Manhattan or in and around NYC in general (I have friends who have lived and worked in all areas of NYC who now live in NJ and either don't notice any difference, or prefer it out here). I guess part of it is the people you are surrounded by as much as anything else.

BrandonBrit

I agree with the length of time you could get anywhere like Philly and New York. My husband is from Philly, born and raised there, and family is still there so we went there a lot. Did all the historical and touristy type stuff of Philly many times and enjoyed NY City for a visit as well.

Didn't actually choose to live in McGuire area, it was the AF choice for work. I didn't hate every minute of it, I just prefer AZ to NJ. In NJ, I lived in a shit hole of a house (military), her in AZ I live in what I call my dream house. The actual area around McGuire is very rural, quite like where I come from, but due to base closures and things, what used to be a thriving community area, has died, thus having to drive 40 or more minutes, to get to shops, cinema's and places. The towns closest to us, had an abundance of food places to eat, all of which opened with new owners, and closed within six months, which was a shame for them, multiple bars, which I don't really frequent, and hairdressers.

The area I live in out here, is easy driving anywhere, I personally like a grid system, used to get lost in NJ all the time, found it very frustrating I like the space between houses, although with new developments now, they do seem to be cramming them in more and more, the pace of life out here is a tad slower than NJ although with growth, that again is starting to catch up with other places.

But mainly for me, it was the cold weather I didn't enjoy, and although I used to love snow, after a few winters of shovelling out my car every time I parked somewhere, and having cold wet snow slide down my boots as I tried to walk through the stuff, I've decided I really only like it in pictures.

I met many wonderful people out in NJ as well, people that will be part of my life forever, I guess we're all different in our choices and lives, and that would be a good thing as said many times before, if we were all the same, the world would be a boring place.

As for skiing places within 2-3 hours, sorry, doesn't interest me, I don't ski. AS for the beaches, yes, I've enjoyed many a day at the beach, but I must admit, I much prefer my own pool right outside in the garden...

Partystar

Your house is lovely Chris, I would say it was my dream house too!!!