Yeah NJ mostly became a meme because New Yorkers and Philadelphians love to make fun of it despite coming to our beaches in the summers in droves. The Jersey Shore show didn’t help with our image, but again, 3/4 of the people on that show are out of staters. NJ had no more of a mob problem than NY or Philly, and most of the mob has been neutered across the board. Government corruption still very much a problem in the state though.

There’s lots of nice places to live that are relatively easy to get into Manhattan from along the Hudson. Hoboken is my favorite.