New Jersey State Profile 

You forgot to mention that NJ has more diners than any other state! And what about jughandles? As for tomato pie, unlike most pizzas, it's usually allowed to cool down to room temperature before eating. Great video!

As a New Jersey native, you are spot on with the fact that we are a very much underappreciated state. It's just that New Yorkers get to sell their narrative of us to everywhere else, and people don't wanna even veer 5 miles off the Parkway or the Turnpike to try and change their perception of the state.

I grew up in NJ and I learned so many things about my home state watching this video 😳

As a lifelong New Jerseyan, I say 'bravo' to your video, you give a fairly accurate description of our fair state. The fact that you used the term "down the shore" to describe a trip to the beach shows you've done your homework. Yeah, we're known to be rude, our beaches are overcrowded and our big cities can be depressing and dangerous but there's a reason there is so much wealth here- it can be a beautiful and vibrant place. The fact that NJ has a strong "home rule" mentality is one of the reasons we're such a high tax state; 565 municipalities crammed into this little peninsula means people are protective of their towns and want a lot of services. Sitting between New York City and Philadelphia has made us rather possessive of our little slices of heaven, and we might have a little chip on our shoulder because they get all the press. After all, my favorite NJ T-shirt says it perfectly "Welcome to New Jersey. Now leave". Thanks Kyle!

NJ born and raised here. The cities here do not do the state justice, definitely focus more on the suburbs and go ‘down the shore’ (that’s what we say). Culturally, couple of things to note: we typically refer to where we live by the county we’re in if we’re explaining it to a fellow new Jerseyan, and a lot of us live within close proximity to a parkway or turnpike exit (garden state parkway and NJ turnpike are two of the most important highways in our state). Lots more to discuss here, but thanks for this video Kyle!

Good video! I’ve lived in New Jersey for 55 years. Love the 4 seasons. Love the parks, beaches and foods. Taxes are crazy. Sarcasm is our official language. We are the garden (😅) state. Most shocking things to most visitors is you can’t tell where one town ends and the other one starts!

babe wake up a new state geography profile just dropped

I would recommend checking out the Hudson River waterfront in Hoboken. The city itself is really nice - definitely happy to be living there!

Great video! I was born and spent 1/2 my life in NJ. One thing you didn't mention is Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. It occupies 42,000 acres in the Pine Barrens. The base is the only tri-service base in the United States Department of Defense and includes units from all six armed forces branches.

Born/Work/Live in Jersey... Great video as always! NJ has its issues for sure but its nice being an hour or so drive to anything (beaches, cities, mountains, rural areas). The weather isn't terrible and people really aren't as nasty as the rumors say😉. Just like many other places, it has areas that show sharp income gaps but here its all just "closer".

NJ played an important part in the Revolutionary War. Thomas Edison made history here with his inventions even starting the original Hollywood in Fort Lee. The old silent movies were filmed on the Englewood Cliffs creating the term "cliffhangers"

I'm a native New Jerseyan and life-long resident and there were a few facts in Kyle’s New Jersey profile that I didn't know and happy to learn. And for the out of state viewers, it just goes to show you can live someplace for your whole life and not know everything, so you can't watch a 24-minute profile and think you know enough to make a judgement. I enjoyed watching this profile and Kyle did a nice job, but I think the focus on the cities at the beginning overshadows the rest of the profile including the part at the end when Kyle says it’s not just an urban wasteland and if you check it out, you might be surprised. To me, New Jersey is mostly middle- and upper-class suburban neighborhoods and a great place to live. There’s plenty of good paying jobs, very high education standards, a low crime rate and New Jersey is among the top states in wealth. Thank you, Kyle, for including that NJ is a donor state. That doesn’t happen because the state is just urban cities with high poverty rates. What many visitors don’t see are the many small towns and family-friendly neighborhoods that make up much of the state.

I live just a couple blocks away from Jersey City, and Jersey City is a really great and underrated city. Its really diverse and a lot of restaurants from many countries, and there is a lot of developments. In fact, the tallest building in the state is here with 79 stories high and 950 feet tall. It has its own skyline and its growing. Oh, and it has a really great transportation system, from buses to trains.

I live in South Jersey. One thing about NJ is that we often divide it as North and South, with the north pretty much being an NYC suburb and the southwest a Philly suburb. Being from south jersey, most people I know have never even had a Taylor ham/pork roll sandwich and barely know what it is. Most of the foods you mentioned seemed more specific to north jersey. I’d say our regional foods mostly consist of Philly cheesesteaks, pretzels, and hoagies (Italian subs). It can be tough to get away from all the people in NJ, but it definitely has some great spots. Don’t forget about South Jersey it’s a great place!

I was born in NJ in 1960, and lived most of my life there. I moved out 3 years ago due to $21,000/yr property tax on a 2,000 sq ft house. You treated NJ quite fairly, and I'm happy with that. Just a few problems. You didn't mention the existence of Princeton University, one of the best in the world. M&M's are made exclusively in NJ. You mention farming in the south-west, but the north-west has lots of farming, too. The weather varies far more than you stated; it can be 20 and snowing at High Point, and at the same time 50 and raining in Cape May. There is a hidden tax, which is mandatory car insurance, which can cost you over $4,000 a year if you have teenage drivers. Figures are very deceiving; $89,000 income sounds high, but you are just barely surviving in NJ if you are making that as a family of 4 or more. The desperately poor can survive because of heavy subsidies from the government. I'm really glad you showed the really beautiful parts of the state, like the shore, the Pine Barrens, and the Delaware Water Gap. New Jersey isn't all a toxic waste dump and Snooki, like so many people think it is. Thanks for showing New Jersey in a fair light.

Overall great video. One thing about Trenton though, George Washington crossed the Delaware in a small town called Hopewell Township, and the battle of Trenton took place in the northern portion of Trenton.

You overlooked Rutgers Law school. And that New Jersey is the state with the most horses! But thank you for shining a spotlight on our great state.

Great job summing up my home state! I honestly hate that you can't pump your own gas, but some of the things I love about NJ include: - diners, pizza and bagels - great beaches (seriously, don't take them for granted) - easy access to NYC and Philly via public transportation - easy access to great hiking (e.g., Hudson Valley, Delaware Water Gap) - variety of landscapes/enviroments

I grew up in NJ, and recognize many of the places you showed. High Point HS was in our athletic conference at the time, and I've been up in the monument at the actual high point. While caddying soon after finishing my freshman year of college, an old caddy asked if I'd ever seen a US President. No being the answer, he suggested we drive 15 minutes or so to the falls historic district in Paterson, which Gerald Ford was dedicating as a national historic landmark that day. It's a vague memory now, but not nearly as vague as an extra 9 holes of caddying that was the alternative. Google tells me it was June 6, 1976 and that it was pretty much an excuse for a campaign stop. One great thing about growing up in NJ, is that from age 14, my parents generally let me take the 42 minute bus ride from our suburb, into NYC alone or with friends, for any halfway decent excuse.

Born & raised in NJ. There are tons of nice areas in NJ. The whole Pinelands area is a wilderness all its own. South Jersey is a best kept secret. Everyone stereotypes the state as this concrete jungle. Little do they know. You can be in areas that you'd swear you were in Alabama or some mountain town in Tennesee. Plus NJ has the highest per capita population of horses!

Ironically enough, the nicest people I've ever met in my life are from New Jersey.

Any presentation of New Jersey must include some of it’s fabulous towns.

Thank you ! Taylor Ham with egg on a roll is fantastic !!! BTW the Meadowlands Race Track is home to many, many harness horse racing records !!! Also back in the day you could be hanging out at the “Stone Pony” and Bruce could enter , especially in his early days, thanks for giving NJ some love ❤️ !

I drove north all through New Jersey on a small state highway that parallels the freeway, and it felt like a constant "Walgreens neighborhood", there wasnt more than a miles stretch of remoteness. As someone born and raised in the mountains of Washington state the constant density over there blew my mind

As a lifelong resident of New Jersey, you nailed this video. I used to work at a gas station on the border of NJ/PA and would get so many confused looks from people who were from out of state. Porkroll egg and cheese and tomato pies are the best Jersey staple foods that any tourist should try! Great vid as always 👑

Jersey Girl here (though currently living in South Carolina)! Be coming home soon! Miss it so much, especially Diners, bread/bagels & of course, my Jersey Tomatoes, baby! 🥰☝️❤

Some things worth noting The Red Bulls both play in NJ and until very recent history were a NJ team until a recent rebrand Taylor Ham isn't really how you cook it it's a specific product the food your talking about is usually called a Taylor Ham Egg and Cheese. NJ property tax situation is interesting because counties and municipalities can't levy local taxes without state permition so that often comes out in the property. Cities and towns in NJ often have problems with boroughization where larger communities would break off into smaller collections of towns which can make NJ cities seem smaller than the built environment would indicate.

been waiting for the NJ video ! we also are known for our diners

@14:50 That is the Wildwood boardwalk, with the old giant wooden roller coaster in the background. You'll never walk a more massive beach in your life

Nj native here - loved the Bob Dylan hurricane reference when you mentioned Patterson

I've lived many years in Rockaway new jersey and now I am living in new Egypt nj. I can tell you the weather varies a lot.

Princeton and New Brunswick are awesome college places. Definitely worth visiting!

Also for tidbits Camden is home to the most decorated battleship in history, USS NJ.

I didn't realize how much I didn't know about New Jersey. Thanks for informing me Kyle!

NJ Native here: Yes, The Garden State is underappreciated. And I think you gave the short shrift to the Pinelands...at 1,700 square miles, it's the largest track of open land from Maine to Richmond, Va. and is larger than Yosemite! Check it out, and considering pulling together a video on the Pinelands...it has a unique beauty...and is much more than the NJ Devil.

Love the shout out for the great swamp!

Born in NJ, raised in NJ, now live on Long Island. I’ve often said Long Island is just like Jersey, just flatter. I love your comment at the the end about the NJ Devil….”it’s never been DISPROVEN!”

i love these videos, thank you for making them! i never would've known that the largest concentration of cherry trees is in NEWARK, or what a pine barren is

Rural NJ reminds me of rural Missouri. Beautiful.

Left out all of Hunterdon County, Princeton, New Brunswick, and Rutgers main campus.

Nice work with the Bob Dylan lyric you snuck in there, Kyle!

Great video on NJ. Grew up there and now live right across the river from NW NJ. Glad you mentioned the Jersey Devil. A few more things about NJ. Home of the Jersey Barrier, the concrete divider that splits a lot of highways. Jersey is also eliminating most of its traffic circles where many states are implementing them. some states call them Rotaries or Round-a-bouts, When I took my drivers test back n the 70's, part of the test was navigating two circles. NJ also use to have the most Drive-In Theatres in the country. where I grew up there were four of them with 30 minutes of our home. Speaking of Drive-Ins, NJ was Hollywood before there was Hollywood.

Many thanks - I'm starting to plan a trip around all 13 original states, so videos like this help greatly.

Really interesting! Glad to see another side to it, a more elaborative insight.

Nothing like the Jersey Shore in the summertime. I live in Ocean City NJ. Not to be confused with OC Maryland. Great Video!

Love the state profiles, glad to see a new one! I'm from Michigan and live in Nevada and you did great with both states.

Kyle, Thank you for another great, informative video! Keep up the great work!

Great video, brother!!

Very useful information, great video. Subscribed.

Atlantic City, NJ is home to the world’s largest Pipe Organ. It’s currently under renovation and/or restoration, but it has over 30,000 pipes.

I'm actually glad that most of the country's perception of the Jersey Shore comes from that vapid MTV show. The south Jersey Shore is mostly really nice (AC being the big exception), and the lack of national attention means that it keeps most of its local character. And, I'm not saying I believe in the Jersey devil, but once when I was camping in the Pine Barrens, we noticed a strange point of red light that was moving around off in the distance. In retrospect, it was probably someone using a red lense flashlight to maintain their night vision. Still, I've never seen something like that elsewhere. No wonder so many strange legends come from the Pine Barrens.

Thanks for the video.

Love to see this video as a Jersey native. I cover dining and food history in NJ and have done an article on the history of the Trenton tomato pie, so I was happy to see it mentioned here!

I find your videos super informative and entertaining, thanks for posting!

This video was awesome! I’m proud of my home state and even prouder of the fun people poke. We laugh and say, “Yeah it is!”, when New Yorkers call New Jersey a landfill because we know, in reality, that our state has more relevance than our most famous city, so take that, NY (I currently live in New York, by the way). I have one thing to mention and it’s that Washington didn’t cross the Delaware at Trenton. He actually crossed nearly 10 miles north, landing at the village of Titusville. They re-enact the crossing every Christmas and my neighborhood used to bundle up and walk down to the river to watch. There’s even a small museum up the hill in Washington Crossing State Park with all sorts of Revolutionary War artifacts. It’s truly a beautiful area where even New Yorkers vacation, and it’s by no means the only pretty, densely forested region on our peninsula. Thanks so much for making this, Kyle!

I lived in North West NJ for about 7 years as a kid. Sussex county. My dad would commute to Morris Town. I lived in a small town of Sparta, as all the townships are very quaint in this corner of NJ..the best part was the nature and hiking the Appalachian trail in Stokes. So many lakes too, I swam in lakes in the summer months and ice skated them in the winter. When we would visit family in Ohio we would pass through the Delaware water Gap on I80 to get to Pennsylvania. The mountains are so pretty to drive through on that stretch of highway. We moved back to California when I was 9. I miss the greenery of the state and the beautiful autumn leaves.

Love it, thank you!

WOW! incredible good review of New Jersey!

Thank you for your fair profile of this beautiful state.

Always excited when you have a new video!🎉

I love your state profiles

I can't describe my level of confusion and bewilderment the first time I got gas in Jersey.

Jersey born and raised, I enjoyed your description of the Garden State but left out a few things: 1. New Jersey is the only state in the country that is between four major cities: New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington. 2. The only president to serve two non consecutive terms (Grover Cleveland) was born here. 3. Not only two of the oldest colleges in the country reside here (Princeton and Rutgers), both took part in the first college football game. 4. The one meal that you can find in every diner: disco fries.

Thanks for another state geography video!🇺🇸⭐️🎉

Another great profile video. Another interesting thing about NJ is that you always pay a toll leaving NJ and never when you come into NJ. Definitely looking forward to more profile videos. Ohio is one I’ve been wanting to see

Two thumbs up! Thank you very much!

Great video

I've always been curious about New Jersey, so it was good to learn something about it; thanks!!

Great video sir. Good look at "The Garden State"

Always look forward to your videos. Love your unique style

Thanks for another informative video, Kyle! I do a fair amount of travel, and wanted to offer the use of my photos of anywhere I might have been in recent years for use in your future videos. The best way to browse through them all are on my facebook albums, which is essentially my portfolio. I live in Chicago, and have taken many roadtrips into Wisconsin and Michigan, but really all over the U.S. Keep up the good work, thanks!

As a proud new jersian, I thank you for making this video :)

Lived there 18 years, and I think you nailed it. Well done.

GREAT VIDEO YOU ARE SPOT ON with ASHBERRY PARK.

great stuff!

I’ve been to Philly and NYC, but on my next trip to either city I need to take time to go to Jersey. I’d love to go to the Stone Pony as a big Springsteen fan, and I’d love to see the Delaware Water Gap since it might become a National Park in the future. Plus as a novice birdwatcher the Jersey shore is a legendary place to watch birds during the spring and fall migrations

Good job with this video….but when talking about swamplands ya gotta mention the Meadowlands.

Love these state profiles! Can’t wait to eventually get all 50 😊

I love your channel man, thanks for all the great work and simple explanations. Not sure if you already did Missouri but its a suggestion

I went through New Jersey for the first time on October 2nd, 2021. I took I-95 from Connecticut to I-80. It was my plan to stop at Paterson Great Falls NHP. You need your GPS to get there because there were no signs to point you there. I didn't need to get gas in New Jersey, so I didn't have to think about someone else pumping my gas. The falls are lovely, and it said to be the second largest falls east of the Mississippi. New Jersey also has Morristown and Thomas Edison National historic parks. There is great egg harbor in the south part of the state. They also share gateway national recreational area with New York City. I enjoyed learning about the different aspects of New Jersey, and I look forward to seeing more of the state this summer. Thanks for another great video.

You missed the best parts; another five or six videos are necessary; like Red Bank, Spring Lake, Bay Head, Montclair, Caldwell, Long Branch, Brielle, HIghlands, the highest point on the east coast below Maine, the racetracks, Ocean Grove, the fishing industry, Princeton, New Brunswick, Rutgers, yachting, railroads, trolley cars, Edison; the first movie studio, light bulb, phonograph etc; Copper, zinc, oil, shipyards, Island Heights, the Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway, the refineries, the ammunition storage and depot for US Navy Atlantic Fleet, Perth Amboy, Keyport, etc etc etc (whew).

Love the video, as always. Also my old apartment @ 4:05

Thank you Geography King! You're one of my favorite RU-vidrs! All your content is great!

I live a few short miles from Trenton (on the PA side). I find it a tragically beautiful place, so un-romantic that it's almost romantic. The rest of Mercer County is actually very nice, and Central Jersey as a whole is actually quite beautiful. (Yes, Central Jersey exists, I will die on that hill). Fun fact, at Arm & Hammer park where the Trenton Thunder play it is technically possible to hit a home run into another state.

Awesome vid and great Papa’s shoutout! DeLorenzos right up the street from there is legendary trenton tomato pie too, no exaggeration saying they’re some of the best pizzas in the country

Great video as always. Thanks for the text acknowledgement of arguably Jersey's best musical act, Yo La Tengo.

Thank you for doing jersey. Lived in south jersey my whole life and ya I really enjoy southern jersey. It really has a lot to do

Regarding Newark, it is also home to one of the grandest cathedrals in the United States, the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. It's on my bucket list to visit. When you were talking about Cape May, the town shown in the aerial shots with the lighthouse is a small town called Cape May Point, which is completely separate. Regarding the shore, the lighthouse shown at the beginning of that segment is on the Delaware Bayshore (East Point Light) in Cumberland County. Also there is one coastal island that is still in its wild state. That is Island Beach State Park. Speaking of Hurricane Sandy, earlier in 2012 (in June) The Great Derecho hit the southern counties, knocking down thousands of street trees and utility poles. It did much more damage inland than Sandy did. Great overview. Oh, I almost forgot. One more tidbit- the largest unit of our State Park Service is in the Pine Barrens. It's called Wharton State Forest, and it currently covers 126,000 acres. That figures goes up from time to time because of State acquisitions of inholdings. I remember a time when it only contained 99,000 acres. Also several of the county seats in the southern counties are small towns, and some of those are unincorporated places.

NJ has a fair number of electric passenger railroad lines, something quite rare outside the north east. Also very heavy with toll roads with the ability to draw much revenue from traffic criss crossing the north east corridor.

Nice touch with the Springsteen album over your right shoulder in that final shot.

Kyle, thank you so much for your videos! Love them! Please do Iowa next! ;)

Great episode. One thing failed to be mentioned is Camden is birthplace to C Hamp- Geography King enthusiast and author of this post.

Kyle, you are my favorite RU-vid Channel.

Great video. I will be going to Asbury Park next month to take the bus to Philly. This may not be a normal thing for anyone to do but it will be a great way to see part of the State away from big population or tourist areas.

Need an Oklahoma episode! Thanks you Kyle. Annotations are super useful for your vidoes too. Great content as always. My wife always calls me a nerd when i watch geography videos 😂 but i just loooove it. 😅She still gotta watch them with me 😂.

The best aspect of Jersey is the people. Hands down. I realize it's impossible to quantify this, and it comes off like a heck of a hot take considering the stereotypes Jersey wears like merit badges, but I lived there for five years during the most difficult part of my life, and people just went out of their way to make my life better. I think being such a dense state, Jersey breeds a sort of collectivism that you don't see very often in the wildly individualistic US. I think many of the worst Jerseyans only live there for the suburban convenience to NY, while the lifelong residents you'll encounter anywhere west of Teaneck are some of the most outgoing, genuine, understanding people in the nation.

Thank you Kyle. We love your videos. Americans need more heavy doses of geography!

👋Hi, I'm Shawn, im from South Jersey. Great video. Yes, I started out angry, but now I have a smile. Piney by nature, and a shoobie from the city. You said what I wanted to hear.... and some I didn't. Hell yea brother!

This was SO interesting! I would really enjoy more of these about states. Specifically Georgia!!

Fair assessment, solid video. Would’ve been good to mention the universities (Rutgers, Princeton) like are mentioned for the other state vids.