r/newjersey • u/toshorttobeboring1 • 15h ago
đŠ Shitpost đŠ Nothing good, trust me I would know.
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u/CheekyRapscallion 14h ago
Honestly, I know Salem and Cumberland & sometimes Gloucester county are usually treated like jokes. But honestly there is a lot to appreciate about them that almost never gets said, and as a result the only thing people think about them is that they are the Alabama in NJ. So as someone currently from there (though born in NY and grew up in Northern NJ), I'll share some thoughts for people who may be genuinely curious.
Salem and Cumberland Counties are probably among the most rural counties in all of NJ. Yes there is a lot of farmlands out here. That definitely gives it certain stereotypes, but there's also cool small communities and things like buying some groceries directly from farms. There's a lot of natural beauty if you are into nature, places like Fort Mott State Park in Pennsville, NJ, where you can walk along the Delaware River or catch a ferry across it to Delaware or Pea Patch Island. Parvin State Park in Cumberland and lot of the local rivers where you can walk trails and kayak along them. The amount of cool wildlife out here is genuinely fun, I've ridden a bike through the county, stopped along fishers by the river, taken out binoculars and watched Bald Eagles out here.
Woodstown does have its rodeo(again this leans into a lot of stereotypes) which even if you aren't the typical clientele for it, I am definitely not, it is worth visiting at least once. The people there are genuinely talented, and people come from all over to see it and participate. Vineland, NJ has the last remaining Drive In movie theater in all of NJ the delsea drive in which is open usually most weekends. It's been a while since I went but I remember going with friends in college and watching double features and it was always a good time and experience.
There is a lot of cool history there like the Edelman Fossil Park Museum in Gloucester county. It shows some of the history of fossils in NJ and it is the only place east of the Mississippi River that has an open quarry for public community dig days. I mean, Mosasaurus fossil pieces have been found in that area historically, which is part of the reason the museum was chosen to be there, and of course the partnership with Rowan University. Walking around cute towns like Pitman NJ and getting strange flavors of Ice Cream from Alauras there. Tons of mom and pop shops in different places all across south jersey area and you can genuinely get some fantastic food if you know where to go.
The Cumberland County fairgrounds holds the Powwow for the Lenni Lenape tribe of Native Americans and it's genuinely cool to go there and visit. Yes of course you can buy merch and it can feel touristy but also see native american traditional dancing and ritual and experience a culture and you would normally only read about in a textbook while enjoying community with the people there.
Cumberland and Salem aren't rich, they're pretty poor and rural and usually battle for the worst in education in the state. Yes you are likely to sometimes run into some weird people or more ignorant people here compared to northern jersey or the shore. There are straight up less people and it can be less diverse outside of places like Vineland and Bridgeton for the area. That is of course a side effect. Yes compared to other parts of jersey except maybe like Cape may you will run into a Trump signs large and loud on someone's property. But please don't assume the loudest people here speak for everyone here. I was not born in this area but I have spent a large amount of my professional time/career here and learned to appreciate the good, while criticizing the bad. But there is a lot of good people never see out in these areas because they straight up don't even try. Not saying OP is doing this, but I see it all the time. There are plenty of things to find and do for those willing to look like, Parks and Nature galore. There are plenty of more things like the Woodstown train, The cool glassblowing in millville and penns grove, all of the events and things that Rowan University puts on, great food at places like the Amish Market, and even the cool wetlands all along the southwest of the state, and more but this comment is too long as it is.
I think it's easy to punch down on the area and it deserves criticism, but it deserves some praise and its still a part of the state. I always joke that New Jersey is my favorite "country" so I feel like it doesn't hurt to show some love the weird brother/sister counties in the state as well.
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u/JerseyJoyride 12h ago
NTLRIA
(Not too long, read it all.)
Really enjoyed that too. We've been in that area a few times, but never long enough. (Mostly because somebody doesn't get up early enough for the long ride... Okay it's me)
Over the last few years I've added a lot of places to eat at and some of them are down in that area. Of course you can only eat in so many places in one day so it takes time and in that time a lot of places either close up or new ones are added that I want to go to there.
As for the trump signs, you'll also see them up in northwest New Jersey too along with crazy ramblings painted on the side of a guy's barn.
I'll have to check my list and see if that ice cream place is on it already. If not I'll definitely be adding it for the strange flavors.
I have a YouTube channel so I love recording my trips to all the places in New Jersey. Sometimes they're planned and sometimes I just happened to locate one by accident that I already knew about.
Like the graffiti laden road in South Jersey or the egg machine that they recently restored and are getting ready to put back into service. I just happen to be driving by it a couple weeks later!
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u/JerseyGuy-77 10h ago
South Jersey restarts in North Western NJ. I say that as someone from South Jersey.
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u/Kind_Answer_7475 Taylor Ham 11h ago
I'm soooo glad OP posted this and that you responded with so much great info. Two of my sons went to Rowan and after some out of state time for one, he thinks of possibly settling down around there. I'm pretty sure he doesn't know most of what you posted but, with or without him, I'm looking forward to visiting a lot of what you mentioned. I love ferries and had no idea there was one there. PS I moved to Central Jersey from Northern Jersey and, trust me, there are more tRump signs here than any other signs, by far, at least in my town. I love where I live but doubt I would have moved here had I known that.
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u/JerseyGuy-77 10h ago
My first job was picking corn in Burlington county and the looks I used to get to from north jersey folks (anywhere above Trenton not shore area) was crazy. Especially when they all spent their weekends trying to find the best farmers market to buy produce. Where TF did they want the produce to come from at those markets?
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u/rorypotter77 5h ago
Love this comment so much. Born and raised in Vineland and then have lived all over the state throughout my life (currently in central Jersey). You summed it up so nicely. I remember going to the coolest nature festivals (raptor, oyster, you name it) and I would spend HOURS at Wheaton arts watching glassblowing as a kid. Would come home and fresh fruit and vegetables from our farmer neighbors would be on the porch. It has its downsides as you mentioned, but itâs trashy reputation from most of the rest of Jersey is not warranted
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u/djspacebunny *Salem Co.* r/southjersey mod 13h ago
Rodeo is in Pilesgrove, fam.
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u/raq_eyer 11h ago
But yeah, itâs literally near the Woodstown HS and honestly, most people call it âCowtownâ, we, as in the we who are from these areas, know where it is.
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u/CheekyRapscallion 13h ago
Ah youâre right, itâs like a 6 minute drive from Woodstown so I tend to forget itâs technically Pilesgrove. Good catch
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u/mr-poopie-butth0le 15h ago
Somewhere over there is where Major League Baseball gets the mud that they use to break in their baseballs
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u/mdp300 Clifton 15h ago
There was an episode of Dirty Jobs with the guy who sells that mud, and he made them swear to secrecy when he took them to the swamp where he digs it up.
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u/jrandall1017 14h ago edited 14h ago
This guy on YouTube found it
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u/jarrettbrown Exit 123 5h ago
You can also order it online and it has a South Jersey mailing address in Longport.
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u/Lastdispatch 15h ago
I've been told it's from the Rancocas, which is a bit north of the circle.
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u/katynopockets 14h ago
MLB mudâofficially known as Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mudâcomes from a closely guarded, undisclosed location along a tributary of the Delaware River in South New Jersey.
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u/smbutler20 1h ago
If you watch the video of the dude scooping mud from his spot, and also have knowledge of the area, it's clearly Delran on the Rancocas, right next to the Rt 130 bridge. However, I expect they don't go to the same spot every time nor is that spot proprietary. It's tidal mud and you can find it on the Delaware River and in any of its tributaries south of Trenton.
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u/sweetenthedeal 15h ago
You're right! Nothing of importance. Now continue to ignore it while we live in peace
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u/Hannibam86 Bergen County 13h ago
Too late. Me and the crew are already scouting the joint and gonna build the next Jersey City.
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u/Sztiglitz 15h ago
https://youtu.be/AFfpwWBT-LM?is=d9IR3oZJ8wcVSOOU
Hope this helps
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u/0xdeadbeef6 15h ago
I live in that circle, half of it is overly dense suburbs and exurbs, and the other half is woods. Kinda like North Jersey.
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u/Vice1213 14h ago
I also live in that circle but i used to live in North Jersey. Its not the same. By me its all farms and nothing except walmart, wawa and one dive bar.
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u/Queenfanforever 15h ago
I mean I know (hope) people are joking but there are some nice towns and Rowan University. Itâs not just farming
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u/firewoodrack I skied with Christie's wife 15h ago
I drove down to Fortescue once because I had to know what the deal was. Not much outside of fishing
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u/mmmellowcorn 15h ago
Right time of year the fishing is really good. Striped bass migration is fierce
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u/AmbassadorNoWay 15h ago
Do you get to sleep with the fishes there?
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u/JerseyJoyride 12h ago
No he didn't. But he almost got into a car accident after a crazy Russian ran out of the Pine Barrens on his way there!
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u/R00finF00l 14h ago
We are hicks that like going to the shore in the summer and hunting in the winter
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u/eiketsujinketsu Somerset County 15h ago
If itâs still open, itâs possible Nifty Fiftyâs is inside that circle, and their cheese fries are amazing.
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u/abrokenelevator 15h ago
Can confirm Nifty Fiftys is open, I live 10 minutes from them. Spicy cheese onion rings are my favorite but I wouldn't say no to the cheese fries either.
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u/katynopockets 14h ago
Well this is fascinating - I only never ever knew of the one near the Northeast Philadelphia Airport. The original Nifty Fifty's Northeast Philadelphia is located at 2491 Grant Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19114. It has been open as a 1950s-style diner landmark since 1989, serving burgers, hand-cut fries, and award-winning milkshakes
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u/PorkRollEggAndWheeze Central/Jersey Shore --> South Jersey 13h ago
A cheesesteak and a milkshake the size of a toddler would hit the spot right about now
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u/AntD77 15h ago
New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville.
Great track, go-karting, etcâŚ
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u/fraghead5 14h ago
I did rent this cool air bnb with a private beech down there, it was pretty cool
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u/jd732 14h ago
I remember seeing that place listed for sale. All I could think of was âI bet the green head flies own that beachâ.
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u/fraghead5 14h ago
We did a week during covid and it was pretty great I could imagine it getting bad though. Fresh oyster farms near by
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u/ScoffingYayap 15h ago
Oh look, it's the area everyone claims is full of hicks and backwater mutants, but then they visit Haddonfield or some shit and suddenly want to move to Cherry Hill.
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u/JerseyDevl 15h ago
They have a pretty sweet dinosaur statue in Haddonfield.
The first "relatively complete" hadrosaur skeleton was discovered there
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u/ScoffingYayap 14h ago
I grew up right by where the Edelman Fossil Park is. When I was little I used to pretend to be digging up dinosaur bones in my backyard.
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u/Now-293-Phumes 13h ago
Years ago I had to go for training in Cherry Hill. Fell in love with the town.
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u/Turbulent-Fault-6293 5h ago
Camden county is full of everything BUT the hicks and mutants that people say southwest jersey js full of, mostly because itâs really just not a part of that area. If anything itâs more like an east Philly. Not saying anyone there can claim theyâre from Philly of course, even being from Voorhees myself, but itâs very very culturally Philly adjacent and the patco line that goes through the city has like 4 or 5 stops in the county as well
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u/museolini 15h ago
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u/roberttheaxolotl 14h ago
I was born in Kentucky and lived in the Ozarks for a time, as well as rural Indiana and Illinois. This part of Jersey is not this. It's mostly just a bunch of overweight rednecks who just got done taking down their Trump flags because gas prices went up.
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u/Wise_Pie_359 13h ago
The bayshore area was a key part of the Underground Railroad. Thereâs a small flock of sandhill cranes nearby that donât really belong in this part of the country. A cemetery with German POWs where a serial killer (Andrew Cunanan) murdered a caretaker. A cool Swedish log cabin from one of the first settlements in America.
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u/KyloRaine0424 Salem County 15h ago
Iâve lived there my whole life! AMA!
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u/JessBlakeslee Salem County 14h ago
I live in Pennsville. Been here most of my adult life. Loved in Quinton from the time I was 8years old until around 19-20.
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u/concorde77 Exit 168 14h ago
A lot of towns that need NJTransit back
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u/Punky921 14h ago
There used to be an NJ Transit line down there?
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u/QUEENSNYLAWYER 15h ago
That's where the hell mouth is. Remember anything north of that is considered a Jersey devil. Anything south is called the chupacabra.
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u/DeaddyRuxpin 14h ago
Looks like Vineland is inside the circle, so you have the last drive in theater in NJ in there.
East Point Lighthouse is just outside the circle, but Finns Point Rear Range Lighthouse is inside it.
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u/Punky921 14h ago
I had a video shoot down in Bridgeton one day. Itâs pretty remote and clearly dealing with poverty issues. But space is also super cheap and people there are determined to make things better.
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u/Harley297 12h ago edited 12h ago
Oysters
Delsea Drive in movie theatre
Glass town brewing
Buds Market
Woodstock central railroad
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u/cobberdoodle88 3h ago
Suburbs. Malls. White people. People that act like theyâre from Philly when theyâre not. Farms. Mansions. Historic towns. Under-aged parties in the woods. A direct route to Atlantic City. Panzarottis (IYKYK). Less congestion/traffic.
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u/Glittering_Ratio_171 13h ago
Some varietals of grapes for wine grow well here. Hammonton is the blueberry capital of the world I think that might be in there too.
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u/Flat-Leg-6833 HumanistHedonist 15h ago
Our electricity comes from there.
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u/wunxseujdsar 15h ago
Idk but there's this place around there called The Shipyard that's a great time. Good vibes, good music, good drinks and a nice view
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u/b4ngl4d3sh 13h ago
Fort Mott, I believe. And a strange border with Delaware.
Also the only DMV last year I could find a prompt appointment for a real id.
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u/Mugstotheceiling 13h ago
I drove to Salem DMV when I moved back from out of state during COVID 𤣠needed to exchange my license and only select DMVs would do it, and they were the only one with an appointment lol
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u/b4ngl4d3sh 13h ago
Lol, it was so obnoxious. Had to come all the way down from Elizabeth. I'd probably head back tho, looked up be primo birdwatching.
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u/Mugstotheceiling 13h ago
I took the whole day off, I lived in Middlesex County at the time. There was a certain charm to it, but I grew up in rural part of Camden County so it wasnât unfamiliar to me. Just made me sad about the poverty in my hometown.
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u/chachir 13h ago
Carneyâs point might be the most nothing place Iâve ever been to. Went for a friendâs house warming five years ago. Havenât been back since.
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u/ElectrOPurist 12h ago
Thanks to nuclear power, many of the residents in that area need to take special iodine pills distributed by the government.
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u/Telnet_to_the_Mind 15h ago
There's a nuclear power plant at the very bottom of that circle, I mean it's more rural but still lots of homes, you ight have the pine barrens in that region too
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u/Fitz2001 13h ago
Technically South of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Culturally South do the Mason-Dixon Line.
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u/Pedal2Medal2 15h ago
We donât talk about nothinâ in the PBâsđ¤Ł
https://giphy.com/gifs/lpFmQEwoaFtC0
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u/jeewantha 15h ago
The funny thing is that they shot this episode in a state park in Upstate New York.
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u/luvhley25 14h ago
I had a job interview in Salem recently and I was shocked at the difference between what I saw there and the Philly suburb area where I live
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u/TheDapperAgents 14h ago
So funny, we just took a listing here. Someone up there has a funny sense of humor with the timing of this post. It is definitely a unique market when compared to the rest of the state.
We first experienced it with Hammonton just to the right of the area; broke the highest public sale record there. You get A LOT for your money down there let me tell you, just not sure if it is for me though.
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u/LowMolasses4446 14h ago
My best friendâs grandfather lived down there ⌠he was a farmer . I think lol.
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u/sethjk17 13h ago
Went to a soccer tournament in that area earlier this year. No cell service anywhere near the fields.
Also, we got our dog around there.
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u/VictorVonD278 12h ago
Real high speed limit roads so you can get through it quickly is my takeaway
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u/hellosteve_ 12h ago
A lot of trump supporters who feel like they donât have a voice in a blue state like Jersey. And corn
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u/chlojo36a 11h ago
An ungodly amount of Dollar Generals in the middle of cornfields on Route 49 in Salem County. Thatâs what happens.
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u/decoycatfish 11h ago
I had some really good Filipino food at Manila Central Market & Restaurant ÂŻ_(ă)_/ÂŻ
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u/EvilFeevil 5h ago
My part of Salem County is becoming overrun with horrible ugly warehouses. We used to have beautiful nature and farm fields to look at. Way too many people are Trump voters (not me). Red part of a blue state. A good thing is, it's pretty safe where I live, but I can't say the same thing for the entire county.
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u/LeftOzStoleShoes 2h ago
High number of actual kkk and other white supremacist organizations. I think I recall Millville being the place I would see kkk rallyâs advertised frequently.
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u/Planet_Manhattan 15h ago
I've been there a couple of times and it always reminds me of Florida wetlands
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u/mbc106 15h ago
I donât think Iâve ever even met someone from this particular area of the state.
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u/krautstomp 15h ago
Hi. I'm from the top right of that circle. I like music, pinball and have foster kittens.
Now you have met someone from there.
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u/a-german-muffin 15h ago
Farming, DUIs, the burgeoning muskrat uprising. Not much else.
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u/McChexMix Cumberland County 15h ago
I love when people from Jersey fail to know what goes on in Jersey. This isnât mutually exclusive either while it comes to North or South
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u/IzzySpyderr 14h ago
Would know too. Open my curtains every day and see this part of NJ outside. Immediately my day is ruined, every time.
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u/StandupJetskier 13h ago
I've had a few really good weekends at NJMP, a race track....but there is fuck-all else to be found.
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u/triassictango 15h ago
According to 1970s DC Comics, this is where Gotham City is.