This Is My New Jersey

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know I am a rabid fan and defender of my state. I love it all and can’t imagine living anywhere else. However, over the last few years, I have noticed a strange phenomenon – transplants. Mainly from New York City.

The “T” Word

Since COVID, things everywhere have gone quite haywire. The City took a massive nosedive. People lost their jobs. Rents went sky high. Crime was rampant. People were afraid. So, what did they do? They discovered New Jersey. Yes, that little state no one from New York pays attention to; unless they need money via congestion pricing to bail out the MTA, that is. So they embraced what I refer to as the “T” word – transplant.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, between 2021 and 2022, 75,103 people moved from New York to New Jersey. News reports from 2023 reported an additional 56,000 people moved from New York to New Jersey. Unfortunately, all those outbound New Yorkers drastically pushed up rents and home prices in North Jersey. An article on businessinsider.com shares the story of a young couple with a $1 million budget could only find a 600-square-foot apartment in Brooklyn. When they decided to look in Jersey City, they found a three-bedroom, two-bathroom rowhouse with a small backyard within their budget.

“It was very vibrant, lots of people walking around, out and about, so it still feels very similar to living in Brooklyn or in New York, but just a little bit more space for everyone,” ~quote from Business Insider

As a result of constant influx of transplants, people who have lived in a neighborhood or town for decades are getting priced out and being forced to move.

Another issue with transplants is the lack of willingness to adapt to their new area. Instead, they expect the area to adapt to them.

Tate Dutton: What’s a transplant?
Kayce Dutton: It’s, um, a person who moves to a place, and then they try to make that place just like the place they left.
Tate Dutton: That don’t make sense. ~ Daybreak episode; Yellowstone: 2018

While many think New Jersey is just an extension of New York, it isn’t. We have a culture all our own. Our state motto should be “Welcome to New Jersey – now go home.” We especially don’t like people treating our state like we should be lucky to be graced with their presence. We are not located “just outside New York.”

So, why am I telling you all this? Stick with me.

Podcasts and blood boiling

I really enjoy listening to podcasts. What I originally thought of as a new version of the old-style radio show, you can find a podcast on just about any subject. Awhile back I shared my love for the Film Photography Podcast, which is recorded in, you guessed it, New Jersey.

So anytime I come across a podcast about Jersey, I jump on it.

I came across one that sounded interesting. Based on the title, I thought it was going to discuss little-known facts and histories about different areas around the state. Oh, how wrong I was.

When I come across what I think will be an interesting podcast, I will go back to the beginning so I can understand how their style has evolved. I want to hear their stories from the start. And that’s what I did with this specific podcast. Yes, I know. I’m nuts.

Now, I am not sharing the title of this podcast because, as I am sure you have guessed by now, I have not developed a high opinion of it. It is hosted by two women who are transplants from New York City to North Jersey. Their first episode starts gives off the air of “I can’t believe I moved here.” I will say they were fairly complementary to their new town, highlighting cultural opportunities nearby. Like New Jersey is nothing but a bunch of idiots that live in the shadow of the City. Yes we do actually have top-notch museums, high-tech libraries, and quality entertainment venues.

Their first guest also moved to New Jersey, yet her creative muse seems to still live in New York City. She does mention a few towns she heads to for more city-like backdrops, but I question whether she will ever truly be worthy of the “Jersey Girl” moniker.

After making it through only half-way through the first episode, I had to walk away from it for a bit. As I listened the conversation, I was already writing this post in my head because it really rubbed me the wrong way. It’s a good thing I didn’t have a doctor’s appointment after listening, because I guarantee my blood pressure would’ve rung the bell! The only way I can describe it (again, in my humble opinion), is a conversation between three uppity women from New York who laugh at the quaintness of New Jersey.

Upon finishing the first episode, I decided to bounce around and listen to episodes randomly with the hope my first impression was wrong. The episodes I picked seem to all have friends from New York who moved to New Jersey.

I will say they try to end each episode about what they like about New Jersey. On the episodes I listened to, it sounded like a left-handed compliment.

Oh, and guys, for the record, Weird New Jersey didn’t start with a website. It’s been around since the late 1980s and has a huge following. The “old Italian restaurant,” is The Belmont. People are wild about Lee’s Hawaiian and have been for decades, and you don’t have enough street cred here to laugh as much as you do about what makes Jersey, well… Jersey.

“It’s hard to know if the bigger adjustment is the suburbs, or New Jersey, or both.” ~Quote from a guest.

An “identity change”

Like many of us, I am quite protective of our New Jersey moniker. You don’t get to leave New York City, move to Jersey and poof get to call yourself a Jersey Girl. We Jersey Girls are hard to offend, but congrats ladies, you have. I tried to like your podcast, but you are definitely not for me. Hopefully, you will realize how you sound to the average New Jerseyan. Maybe you don’t care. Whatever.

Here is some advice for those of you who move to Jersey and think you can just start a podcast about us. Get used to your community first. Realize who we are. Get to know us on a real level. And realize you don’t get to poke fun right off the bat. We are not the caricature the media has created.