I have only been to New Jersey for work. I have had clients there twice. Once, the client was just outside of Newark very close to New York City, and the other time, my client was in upper New Jersey, almost in New York. New Jersey, from a visitors perspective, is a very industrial city, which seems very crowded, but I would like to come back some day to visit the Jersey Shore, Atlantic City, or Ellis Island.

The first time I had a client in New Jersey, I visited for 3 weeks straight. We stayed in NYC, but I rented a rental car and drove the team to New Jersey every day. The drive only took us about 25 minutes because we were driving the opposite direction of everyone trying to get into NYC. Every day we crossed over the George Washington bridge, which is a two story bridge in both directions. The tolls on the bridge were 14 dollars a day, which seemed crazy expensive to me, but I guess people are used to it. When we had to get gas in New Jersey, a man came out to pump the gas for me. He said that it is illegal to pump your own gas in NJ, which I found shocking. My client was a makeup company, and we were able to take a tour of the plant. It was really cool to see how the makeup products come into the plant on huge shipping containers, and how they are sorted and distributed to the customers.

The second time I came to New Jersey, I was visiting an automotive client for two weeks. The client site was off of this crazy road that had so many loops and turns. The roads in New Jersey are extremely confusing; you can not make a simple left or right turn like you can in most other states. I guess if you live in the state for a while, I am sure it becomes normal to you, but as a visitor, it made me extremely happy that I do not live in the city. Newark airport in Newark, New Jersey is also a very large and confusing airport.

Overall, although I would not say that New Jersey is my favorite state that I have ever visited, however, I hope to give it another shot some day. 🙂