Jersey Pride Inside...Or Are You A Jersey Flipper?

My friend is a New Jersey flipper...someone who is from here and now turns her nose up at us a bit.

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I got into an interesting conversation yesterday that I wanted to bring to you guys. It was about hometown pride. I was telling my friend that I wrote about New Jersey being ranked the number one place to live in America and she laughed. She asked me if I really believed that and I defensively said, "of course" and she laughed again. I got mad, changed my shirt, and sent her this text ASAP.

OK, she is from here and migrated elsewhere...maybe she left with a bad taste in her mouth. New Jersey is not without its problems, but I stand by it. Someone once told me that lots of people may move away from home as an adult, but you will almost always crave what you knew as a child because that was your norm. I do believe that.

I've lived in Florida, Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Pennsylvania and they were all great BUT I did want to be in a place where the seasons changed, where people talked and walked fast and thought big as well. I also wanted to live in a place where I could eat a real pizza. Yep, I'm home and happy about it and yes, I'll defend it. They make these shirts for a reason, we feel like we need to defend ourselves but why?

As far as hometown pride, in my experience, people are passionate either way here. I've lived in places where they don't care, they just live there but in Jersey, we identify with where we live. However, if we are fed up with Jersey then we strongly flip on it. It seems there is nothing in the middle. Would you agree?

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Stacker compiled a list of the best places to live in New Jersey using data from Niche. Niche ranks places to live based on a variety of factors including cost of living, schools, health care, recreation, and weather. Cities, suburbs, and towns were included. Listings and images are from realtor.com.

On the list, there's a robust mix of offerings from great schools and nightlife to high walkability and public parks. Some areas have enjoyed rapid growth thanks to new businesses moving to the area, while others offer glimpses into area history with well-preserved architecture and museums. Keep reading to see if your hometown made the list.