New Jersey, a brief overview
It is one of the smallest but most densely populated states in the USA, with a population of 8 million people, distributed over the state in ranges from 50 to 6000 per square km. Taxes and cost-of-living in New Jersey are the highest in the USA: 5-10% above the average. Only a few tunnels and bridges separate New Jersey from Manhattan, New York. The official capital is Trenton, in the Southwest. There are three main areas: The Northwest mountain area, rich of iron mines, hills and valleys ending at the pretty but innavigatible Delaware river; The central strip bordering Manhattan: a suburban area with many people commuting to the City and main petrochemical industries (New Jersey’s ‘armpit’) near Newark; The southern part, with its shoreline, farming land, and gambling place Atlantic City. It is this southern part that gave New Jersey its name: ‘The Garden State’.
New Jersey was colonized in the early 1600s by the Dutch. Their main foothold was New Amsterdam (Manhattan), and from there they started expanding to the West, buying (or occupying) land from the indians. The initial peaceful coexistence was disrupted by the brutal murdering of indians by New Amsterdam soldiers in 1643, resulting in a state of war for many years. In those years, indians attacked the villages of the colonists multiple times, eventually urging the town of New Amsterdam to build a wooden fence around the town. The fence is today known as ‘Wall Street’. The turbulent period ended in 1664 when the English took over New Amsterdam and New Jersey. Contrary to general belief, no shots were fired with this take over. Forgotten by their home country and fed up with the skirmishes with the indians, the Dutch simply gave way to the English to take over the small town, with a brewery and some brothels as key landmarks. Unknown to many, the Dutch reclaimed the area several years later when they won another war against the English. They named the area "New Orange" after the founder of the Netherlands: The Prince of Orange. Several months later yet another war was lost and the Dutch ended up trading New Orange for Surinam, a small country in South America. About one hundred years later, the American patriot army under General Washington took possession of the area, forcing the English to leave.Don’t expect the USA to be a homogeneous country. State and Federal laws in the USA are different. Accepted behaviour in one state may be an offense in another! For example: The speed limit in New Jersey is 65 miles/hour on most highways. The less densely populated Pennsylvania allows 75 miles as maximum speed. Exceeding the speed limit may result in hefty fines, by the way.
With state highways number 80 and 78 offering good commuting facilities, many New Jerseyans have decided to move to the much less expensive Pennsylvania countryside. Most people living in New Jersey enjoy its green suburban areas, with a relatively easy access into ‘The City’, but without the crime and crowd problems that the City has. On the other hand, the average City inhabitant will not even consider crossing the Hudson river, regarding ‘Jersey’ as taboo.
While checking out some sunglasses in Florida several years ago, my eye struck a poster for a well-known sunglasses brand, stating: "With our sunglasses, everything looks brighter", and showing a road sign stating "Welcome to New Jersey". I also remember seeing an episode of "Sex and the City" ( not allowed on regular US television) where one of the lead actresses says to one of her boyfriends: "Get the hell out of here. No, Get the Jersey out of here!".