Got back from Portland today

Patterson, Elizabeth, Newark, Camden, all across I-80 & up & down the turnpike.
 
My visit to NYC was uneventful and an offense to my olfactory senses... i.e., smelled like ass. I turned to the friend who had brought me for a visit and asked why the fuck would he bring me to NYC on garbage pickup day. There was big black trash bags piled high up on the side walks, reeking from being left all day in the sun. He said, every day is trash day in NYC. I believe it!

On the other hand, I think that having Central Park as a green belt in the middle of the city is nice for the citizens who don't get a chance to visit real green areas. A nice compensation for the underpriviledged who don't get to experience the wilds of untouched lands.
 
i dun bin to cherry hill, east hanover, newark, edison, matawan, east brunswick, skillman, princeton... so i guess mostly the northern parts...

"fucking savages."
 
Altron said:
Well let's put it out there. I want some names of cities. Which places have you found to be dirty and nasty?

The Northwest Jersey mountains?
The North Jersey suburbs?
The South Jersey suburbs?
The north jersey cities?
The central jersey suburbs?
The central jersey shore?
LBI?
AC?
The south jersey shore?
The south jersey pine barrens?

These areas are all very different from one another.
Click to expand...

Is the state big enough to call those different areas, or are they really just across the street from each other?

:p
 
Mirlyn and Prof: My credit cards work in the states, just not AT the pump (I believe it may have been because of the need to enter a Zip code like Prof said). I had to go inside to prepay for the gas, but I used my CC inside the store.

Mirlyn: You're right, our debit cards are not backed by visa/MC they're just from the bank directly. I've never tried using debit in the USA.
 
valkyrie said:
A nice compensation for the underpriviledged who don't get to experience the wilds of untouched lands.
Click to expand...

You do know that about 12 miles north of Harlem, you're in the hinterlands?

East. west & south, not so much...but north - lots of woods & mountains.
 
Mirlyn said:
Is the state big enough to call those different areas, or are they really just across the street from each other?

:p
Click to expand...

There isn't a ton of geographical separation (i.e. it's generally not more than a 3 hour drive to go from one to another), but a very big socioeconomic difference.

There is South Jersey, which extends east of the Delaware River, and associates itself with being a suburb of Philadelphia. This is where I was born and raised. The first couple cities on the river (Camden, mostly) are kinda ghetto, but within a couple miles you hit the rich suburbs (like Cherry Hill). Further past the suburbs, it becomes more farmland, throughout an area known as the pine barrens (sandy pine forests). Past the pine barrens is the South Jersey Shore, which is a popular family travel destination, and has Atlantic City.

There is Central Jersey. Trenton is further up the river (against Allentown, PA) and is the state capital. Further east, you get some more suburbs, such as New Brunswick, Princeton, and Freehold. Past them is Long Beach Island, a segment of the shore.

North Jersey extends west of the Hudson River. In much the same manner, the riverside cities of Newark and Jersey City are ghetto, but within a couple miles it transitions to very expensive suburbs, mostly populated by NYC businessmen and their families. Beyond that, there are mountains and more rural areas, leading into Pennsylvania and upstate New York. North Jersey also includes the shore towns north of LBI, where the stupid MTV series of that name is filmed.

It's small, but it still has a full contingent of different regions. I can be in the rowhouses in the ghetto neighborhoods of Camden, drive for 15 minutes into a rich suburban wasteland of L.L. Bean, Starbucks, and Lexus SUVs. Another 15 minutes, and I'm in rural Jersey, on a blueberry or cranberry farm.
 
2minkey said:
i dun bin to cherry hill, east hanover, newark, edison, matawan, east brunswick, skillman, princeton... so i guess mostly the northern parts...

"fucking savages."
Click to expand...

Cherry Hill is south jersey suburbs. It's where I grew up.

newark and edison are kinda ghetto

matawan is north jersey shore

princeton and east brunswick are central jersey suburbs. lots of indians.

east hanover is north jersey suburbs.

skillman is north jersey mountains.
 
Nixy said:
Mirlyn and Prof: My credit cards work in the states, just not AT the pump (I believe it may have been because of the need to enter a Zip code like Prof said). I had to go inside to prepay for the gas, but I used my CC inside the store.

Mirlyn: You're right, our debit cards are not backed by visa/MC they're just from the bank directly. I've never tried using debit in the USA.
Click to expand...

I could see that. The stations around here don't ask for a zip at the pump, but I know that AMEX sometimes requires a zip at some retail stores. My visa never prompts.
 
Aw shucks Alt, I didn't mean offend you. I thought the TRW was the only forum where we could ignore the rules of political correctness. I mean it's not really PC to make statements like that. It could be offensive some people.

just sayin'
 
Nixy, the debit cards still work fine ... but you have to check what network you're on. Some are on the Royal bank is on the Plus Network, and BMO on the Cirrus. Both are on the Interac network.
 
Gonz said:
You do know that about 12 miles north of Harlem, you're in the hinterlands?

East. west & south, not so much...but north - lots of woods & mountains.
Click to expand...
I guess not many head out there for a day's hike or a backpacking trip. :shrug:
Too bad, a little communing with Mother Nature cures the ills that city living fosters.

Altron said:
There isn't a ton of geographical separation (i.e. it's generally not more than a 3 hour drive to go from one to another), but a very big socioeconomic difference.

There is South Jersey, which extends east of the Delaware River, and associates itself with being a suburb of Philadelphia. This is where I was born and raised. The first couple cities on the river (Camden, mostly) are kinda ghetto, but within a couple miles you hit the rich suburbs (like Cherry Hill). Further past the suburbs, it becomes more farmland, throughout an area known as the pine barrens (sandy pine forests). Past the pine barrens is the South Jersey Shore, which is a popular family travel destination, and has Atlantic City.

There is Central Jersey. Trenton is further up the river (against Allentown, PA) and is the state capital. Further east, you get some more suburbs, such as New Brunswick, Princeton, and Freehold. Past them is Long Beach Island, a segment of the shore.

North Jersey extends west of the Hudson River. In much the same manner, the riverside cities of Newark and Jersey City are ghetto, but within a couple miles it transitions to very expensive suburbs, mostly populated by NYC businessmen and their families. Beyond that, there are mountains and more rural areas, leading into Pennsylvania and upstate New York. North Jersey also includes the shore towns north of LBI, where the stupid MTV series of that name is filmed.

It's small, but it still has a full contingent of different regions. I can be in the rowhouses in the ghetto neighborhoods of Camden, drive for 15 minutes into a rich suburban wasteland of L.L. Bean, Starbucks, and Lexus SUVs. Another 15 minutes, and I'm in rural Jersey, on a blueberry or cranberry farm.
Click to expand...
I think one of the parts of NJ that still sticks in my mind was all the little farms. It's no wonder that NJ is called the Garden State.

I met a guy today that grew up in NJ and we had a good talk about NJ and all the places I had visited on my trip there. He knew all the places I mentioned and was pleased that I had come away with a pleasant impression of his home state. He also told me (like Alt here) that many of the blueberry farmers are planting cranberries as well. He lives in a rural town in Texas now and has for several years.
 
valkyrie said:
I guess not many head out there for a day's hike or a backpacking trip. :shrug:
Too bad, a little communing with Mother Nature cures the ills that city living fosters.


I think one of the parts of NJ that still sticks in my mind was all the little farms. It's no wonder that NJ is called the Garden State.

I met a guy today that grew up in NJ and we had a good talk about NJ and all the places I had visited on my trip there. He knew all the places I mentioned and was pleased that I had come away with a pleasant impression of his home state. He also told me (like Alt here) that many of the blueberry farmers are planting cranberries as well. He lives in a rural town in Texas now and has for several years.
Click to expand...

Yup, that's south and central jersey. Something about the soil (it's an acidic, sandy soil) promotes the growth of pine trees, blueberries, and cranberrys.

Have you ever seen how they harvest cranberries? They flood the 'bog' with water, and the berries all float to the top, and they just skim them off.

It's nice because it has everything - beaches, forests, mountains, farmland, suburbs, and urban areas. Quiet little cranberry farms are less than an hour's drive from the most densely populated counties in the entire world. Where I live when I'm at school, the stretch of land between the Passaic and Hudson Rivers, is somewhere in the neighborhood of 40,000 residents per square mile. I live in an apartment building that is probably half the footprint of your house (assuming you live in an average suburban 4-bedroom), is 5 floors high, and has 32 residents plus a Greek restaurant.
 
Altron said:
Yup, that's south and central jersey. Something about the soil (it's an acidic, sandy soil) promotes the growth of pine trees, blueberries, and cranberrys.

Have you ever seen how they harvest cranberries? They flood the 'bog' with water, and the berries all float to the top, and they just skim them off.

It's nice because it has everything - beaches, forests, mountains, farmland, suburbs, and urban areas. Quiet little cranberry farms are less than an hour's drive from the most densely populated counties in the entire world. Where I live when I'm at school, the stretch of land between the Passaic and Hudson Rivers, is somewhere in the neighborhood of 40,000 residents per square mile. I live in an apartment building that is probably half the footprint of your house (assuming you live in an average suburban 4-bedroom), is 5 floors high, and has 32 residents plus a Greek restaurant.
Click to expand...
I live in a small 1 bedroom 1 bathroom house. Our goal is to keep it simple. G built the house by himself.

I've seen how cranberries are harvested. It is impressive on how simple it is compared to other labor intensive crops.
 
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