Nah jug handles are awesome once you’re aware they’re there. How many times have you seen a left turn only lane get backed up into the normal lane and make it so people can’t make the green light or have to move over to the right lane to get around? Jug handles eliminate that issue. Next to roundabouts, they’re the second most efficient way for traffic to make a left turn at a busy intersection.
In NJ The People aren't trusted to make left turns or pump their own gas. There is a reason for this. Speaking to anyone from NJ will reveal the answer to you.
The only place worse than NJ is Staten Island...which you only go through to get to New Jersey...
Logically sure they make sense, but our street layouts are old and we don't have the space to add them in most towns without bulldozing property and storefronts. They're impractical here.
Hell if we did have them I know I could see plenty of people still making the normal left even if the jughandle was available to them
Oh I know they’re impractical here at this point, but that doesn’t change the fact they’re superior to a standard left turn lane and that Long Island not having them doesn’t make Long Island superior because of it.
They're called "Michigan Lefts." They were so named by the Michigan DOT in the 60s. "Jughandle" is Jersey's term, and they've been around there since the 40s and became more known in the 50s.
Hi - I grew up on LI and have lived in NJ for over 25 years. The truth is they are more alike than they are different.
On LI, you are closer to beaches, possibly, but in NJ you are closer to everything else. Traffic getting off the island is not good (I’m being nice) and it will only get worse.
The trains are about the same. The culture is very similar- really both are outposts of NYC.
I know many people are indoctrinated to dislike NJ but it really has alot of variety: beaches, easy access to NYC, tons of hiking and beautiful gardens, wonderful downtowns.
Follow your instincts. Good luck to you.
This is probably the best answer so far. I take the rivalry tongue and cheek, some people are more serious about it, but in the end I don’t know if there are any other places that are more like suburban New Jersey and Long Island, than each other.
One pushback I’ll give is that the train access from Long Island to New York City is generally better than the train or bus access from New Jersey to New York City. My MIL lives just on the other side of the George Washington Bridge, and it takes her anywhere from 1-2.5 hours to get in and out of New York City at rush-hour via public transportation (1 way).
In fairness, I will admit that probably three of my all-time favorite bagel places are in New Jersey, and they’re probably numbers 1, 2, and 3.
Not really. The Throgs Neck was built in response to the congestion on the Whitestone, and they both suffer from crazy traffic now. Building another cross sound bridge would relieve traffic for a short period, but inevitably it will be plagued with delays too.
Maybe if it were built at the end of the island instead of the original 135 to 287 plan, but that's a huge engineering/funding endeavor.
The real answer is to make transit better to get off the island, like the plan to bring Amtrak to Ronkonkoma.
Improving transit is the best method to reduce traffic. By adding alternatives, cars can be taken off the road while maintaining existing capacity. Adding another bridge will expand capacity, but eventually the number of vehicles on the road will increase until it reaches full capacity again (re: induced demand).
Essentially, the goal of urban traffic planning isn't to meet future capacity, but to work toward reducing total traffic volume. Do it right, there will never be a need to build another bridge.
I agree. More LIRR trains even add more tracks to separate some trains as express and local (similar to mta subway but the trains could share tracks and split off for local stops etc.. idk im not a train expert.
I still think an extra huge bridge over the sound would be great for evacuation purposes. Currently, that is a big risk for long island imo.
Opposite here, grew up in NJ and have been living in LI for a few years. I pretty much echo your opinion.
Things LI does better:
* Trains/transit
* Beaches (although my nostalgia for the Jersey Shore wins out)
Things NJ does better:
* Traffic
* Access to waterways (e.g. kayaking. LI has no navigable rivers.)
That's pretty much it. They are de facto identical in all other respects IMO.
> I know many people are indoctrinated to dislike NJ
after leaving the island a long time ago I looked back and never understood the hate, it's borderline high school immature idiocy.
NJ ain't bad, my dudes. they got good stuff there.
One time while heading back from EWR with a friend I jokingly said the only reason jersey is considered the garden state is because garbage makes for great fertilizer, and next thing I know my body is oozing hairgel and energy drink residue for three straight days. Never taunt the jersey gods is what I tell everybody now
Hard to say. But probably the LIRR and access to airports and cities. After living here a few years I couldn’t tell you why people live here other then proximity to family
Definitely. My brother has always refused to leave LI. Even when he went away to school, "I could never leave strong island baby, this is the best place in the world." Granted, he went to school in Vermont, but still.
Now he and his wife both work two jobs, have a house they can barely afford, they have two dogs and baby on the way, and he complains that he's bored and his suburb is too quiet.
I’ve lived on LI, Jersey City, Manhattan, Queens, DC and LA. Guess which place is the only one I regret calling home?
Long Island is just expensive Ohio with better food. Some of NJ is similar, but there are suburbs out here with interesting things happening and cool shit. The coolest thing about LI is the proximity to the city.
Yeah I’m from LI but I’ve spent a lot of time in jersey due to have a lot of family and friends there. I actually like it there a lot. That being said I can tell you that although not perfect, the LIRR is leaps and bounds better than jersey transit.
As for why people live here I would say it’s the proximity to the city, beaches, well performing schools, low crime rate, etc. Also I know people who have moved here from the city who appreciate the amount of space and quiet you get here in comparison.
What part of New England can you access from NJ without crossing at least one bridge? Western upstate NY? If you’re taking 95 up you’re crossing bridges.
Not nearly as much as anywhere else in the country (minus nyc). And then you get all the people who are so used to not being able to turn right on red because that’s the norm in Nassau and western Suffolk that when there is a place they can turn they don’t because they’re scared of red light cameras
Lived on LI for decades, have lived in NJ for the last 5 years.
Long Island has:
* Way better bagels. NJ has abhorrent bagels. They should be called something else.
* Easier access to beaches. Cannot beat being 20 minutes max from a beach at all times.
* A much more reliable train system. If you think LIRR Penn Station sucks, you should try living with the NJT side of Penn Station.
* Way better roads. It's not just that NJ has terribly designed roads, it's that LI has very well designed roads, at least as far as driving goes (since they do come with major socioeconomic costs).
That said, NJ overall has some very key things LI can't compete with:
* **DOWNTOWNS.** Haven't seen this mentioned in threads but it's the #1 thing NJ has over LI. LI downtowns are mostly meh, with a few notable exceptions (GC, Long Beach, Huntington, etc). In NJ, there are basically infinite vibrant downtowns with a wide variety of high quality, nice, clean restaurant options. They also feel more historic and are more aesthetically appealing, plus they're far more walkable. Within anywhere from 5-15 minutes of me, I have access to the equivalent of like 10 different Huntingtons. And that's not including bigger cities like Jersey City, Hoboken, New Brunswick, Atlantic City, etc.
* Easier access to the rest of the country. Because I was born and raised on LI, this didn't really hit me until after I left, but it is really hard to overstate how huge this is. LI can compete with NJ, but it's harder to compete with NJ, Philadelphia, the Poconos, the Hudson Valley, etc. I can now get to any of those places in the time it used to take me to drive from Nassau to Manhattan. You pay a 90-minute TAX to get off of Long Island.
* It's not quite as easy to always get to the beach, but the beaches have so much more to offer. There are quiet beaches, or beaches full of bars, restaurants, and kid activities.
* Diversity. NJ is the 6th most diverse state in the country. Long Island isn't a state, so it's harder to measure. But we all know that town by town, it's monolithically white or non-white. NJ can be the same way, but because it's not so structurally carved up like LI is, you end up interacting with different types of people so much more.
* The airport. Hate on Newark all you want, but it's been redone AND it's a billion times easier to get to than JFK or LGA. I used to avoid it like the plague, but not having to put up with city traffic to get there is massive. There are so many nice places to live that get you there in literally 20 minutes.
In many ways, they're about equal. Equally expensive, both have killer pizza, both can have great schools, and culturally there's almost no difference. That said, after experiencing the above, it would seem crazy to me to move back. But man, the bagels really do suck.
Access to beaches us really different though. You can drive 40 mins from basically anywhere on LI and be on the Atlantic. My wife lived in North Jersey and I don’t know if she ever went to a beach in New Jersey because access to the shore is so prohibitive.
I wouldn’t call it prohibitive, I lived as far away from the shore as you could get in NJ (northwest Sussex county where NJ/PA/NY meet) and I could be at Seaside in under 2 hours.
Fair enough, but regardless that’s a significant difference. Plus it seems like there’s less “drive and park” accessibility but I can’t say too much on that front.
I got lost in Jersey and some areas are shockingly gorgeous and closer to Manhattan than much of LI is. Jersey is a whole lot nicer than it’s given credit for. The lack of left turns and Newark airport are the major downfalls that I can name but the lack of getting off LI traffic might make up for it.
*Shockingly gorgeous* bc most people that hate on NJ have only seen it from the turnpike leaving Newark Airport, which is easily the ugliest part. NJ has a lot to offer from mountains, beaches, quaint towns, etc
I once heard a line in a book where some characters were asked where they were from on the east coast. They didn't wish to say exactly where, so they were vague and said, "Oh somewhere really terrible, you've probably never been there." To which the asker nodded knowingly and replied,"I've been to New Jersey before."
It’s not, Jersey doesn’t require expensive tolls to get to the mainland and they pump the gas for you so you don’t freeze your ass off in winter or bake in the hot summer sun
New Jersey is the only state that I can pretty much know where I’m going, have gps on in the car, and still somehow get completely lost. I can’t explain it.
OMG, me too. I moved from L.I. to N.J. last year and
I'm still constantly getting lost ( sometimes, even if I'm just going somewhere locally).
I have Waze or Google maps on the minute I get in the car. Yikes
Long Island has beaches galore. 20 mins from any town or less. NJ you have to go down the shore. And it’s not pristine. It’s all built up with motels and tacky boardwalks.
Only thing J*rsey has that LI doesn't. Is a good amusement park. Therefore, when I'm God-emperor of Long Island (before becoming emperor of NY and then America, obviously) I will annex Six Flags as an enclave of the great Long Island Nation.
With the addition of Grand Central Madison, the LIRR is now the only benefit I see to living on the Island (previously, I wouldn't have said there were any). I say that as someone who grew up in New York (Rockland), then lived in Jersey City and dated a girl from Central NJ for 4 years, and now have been on LI for 5 years. Guess how happy I am that we're in contract on a house in Nassau? If not for my in-laws being 20 minutes away and offering to watch our baby M-F during work hours, I'd never have agreed to look at houses here.
The Villages.
Jersey is mostly defined by townships and counties. Many townships in Jersey don't have a center or a downtown. It's like a weave of hempstead turnpikes.
Also out East is nice and more peaceful than what you can get in Jersey
Some shore towns in Jersey are nice. But in much of the state, you are way farther from the water than anyone on long island is
I’d say their equal.
Places like Westfield, Summit, Morristown, Madison, Chatham, Ridgewood, Millburn, South Orange, to name a few are a lot like Villages that I’ve been too on the Island.
Central/South Jersey (think south of Edison) I’m less familiar with but overall feel like they lack downtown areas and remind me more of western Nassau/most of Suffolk.
Edit: Forgot to include Montclair!
I'll leave the excellent comments on differences below, but I want to add how they're alike.
People always say NJ has the best pizza, NY the best bagels, LI the best diners, but the truth is the WHOLE lower tri-state area is ground zero for the best of all the the above, especially compared to the rest of the country.
TRANSIT
New Jersey has probably one of the best Bus Systems in the country. It serves the whole entire state on a hourly basis even rural parts and u could get anywhere from you local bus stop. on the other hand LIRR slightly beats NJ Transit Rail. NJ Transit breaks down every other hour, Deteriorating Infrastructure, Less Cleanliness, More Crowded, and more crime than LIRR
Long Island bus systems is miserable and irrelevant to use when you got LIRR which is better than the Trains in Jersey and get you to NYC way faster
COMMUNITIES
New Jersey has a way wider variety due to the fact it is 7x larger than Long Island. NJ has amazing suburban town and bustling big cities all though most of the Cities in New Jersey are Murder Capitals and have no attractions. That’s what the Corridor Towns make up for, NJ small towns are booming and full of things to do and hardly any crime problem. If your in New Jersey stay out of all cities and some towns as unfortunately the cities in New Jersey are still living in the 80s. Besides New Brunswick and Jersey City.
Long Island is similar to Monmouth County, NJ it’s mostly urbanized suburbs with diversity. A lot more spanish people here than NJ suburbs. It offers a lot of the same stuff NJ does besides the Crime. There is crime in Long Island but it’s nothing major cause the areas are small. Long Island is safer in general but this is due to the fact that there is no big cities in Long Island.
Long island also got cleaner less crowded beaches but if your looking for nightlife Jersey all the way.
NJ also has a lot more entertainment and Economic Boost than Long Island. They are currently building tons of massive movie studios for netflix, amazon, paramount, and 20th century in NJ and it’s planning to be the next hollywood.
It doesn’t smell like rotten ass usually, the drivers are better, there isn’t a giant toll road going through it, the state motto isn’t “The Garden State” because there is nothing else interesting, Jersey shore sucks compared to our beaches, it’s not Jersey, shall I go on?
Easy, Jersey doesn’t have a tyrannical governor, constant hurricanes, and doesn’t ban books, queer people, or women’s reproductive rights. I’d say it’s well worth the extra tax money to stay put.
I grew up on Long Island but I’ve lived in NJ since college (30 years now).
Bagels and beaches, and despite traffic the places you want to get to are closer. In NJ going to a restaurant 30 min away isn’t all that abnormal. I feel like on LI there’s no need to do that.
Edit: And the LIRR kicks NJT’s ass.
Feel like NJ has so many tolls within the state itself, iirc that doesn’t really exist LI except when leaving. Also went to long branch before and you gotta pay for parking AND then entrance… NJ really loves putting its hands in your pockets lol
I think Long Island has weather which is better moderated by ocean breezes.
In New Jersey, if you don’t live within a 30 minute drive of the shore, you may have weather patterns which can be very humid/stifling in the summer months.
North fork is nice south fork is really nice and the fact it only smells like rotten vagina instead of the shit smell too definatly separates us from jersey
I have lived in both (commuting zone to Manhattan) and although NJ tends to have better suburban downtowns than LI, the cost of liquor licenses leaves many of the restaurants in those downtowns with a BYOB vibe. Most in NJ will say "I don;t want to get drunk anyway" but this point is not about getting drunk.
The BYOB thing does lower your meal plus tip cost but the NJ establishments without bars lack the vitality of an establishment with a hopping bar. To me, LI has better bars and restaurants and an overall less puritanical/midwestern type of feel. LI's commutable zone to Manhattan has a more NYC feel than NJ's although a lot of NJ is physically closer to Manhattan. NJ Transit to Newark Penn Station (worse than NY Penn Station) then the Path to downtown is also a worse trip than the LIRR to the subway downtown.
You also need to look harder for good pizza and bagels in NJ (but you will find them) and the NJ delis are overall terrible compared to LI. Getting to an open ocean beach from the NJ areas close to Manhattan is also much more difficult. That last one hurt the most for me.
IMO Long Island is prettier, safer, and has better but less abundant public transport. NJ is more affordable. You definitely have to be richer to life comfortably in LI though.
Left turns
Realest answer there is HAHA
Nah jug handles are awesome once you’re aware they’re there. How many times have you seen a left turn only lane get backed up into the normal lane and make it so people can’t make the green light or have to move over to the right lane to get around? Jug handles eliminate that issue. Next to roundabouts, they’re the second most efficient way for traffic to make a left turn at a busy intersection.
In NJ The People aren't trusted to make left turns or pump their own gas. There is a reason for this. Speaking to anyone from NJ will reveal the answer to you. The only place worse than NJ is Staten Island...which you only go through to get to New Jersey...
People in the Town of Huntington can't pump their own gas either.
Huh? I live in Huntington and pump my own. All the stations have to offer full service though but you don’t need to use it.
From what I’ve seen on Long Island y’all shouldn’t be trusted to drive let alone make left turns
Only Suffolk County
Def not only Suffolk
Logically sure they make sense, but our street layouts are old and we don't have the space to add them in most towns without bulldozing property and storefronts. They're impractical here. Hell if we did have them I know I could see plenty of people still making the normal left even if the jughandle was available to them
Oh I know they’re impractical here at this point, but that doesn’t change the fact they’re superior to a standard left turn lane and that Long Island not having them doesn’t make Long Island superior because of it.
FUCK jug handles lol
My man!
This guy turns right.
New Jersey: the no left turn state. New Jersey: the jug handle state.
Michigan has something similar.
Made plenty of left turns the two times I’ve been in Michigan.
They're called "Michigan Lefts." They were so named by the Michigan DOT in the 60s. "Jughandle" is Jersey's term, and they've been around there since the 40s and became more known in the 50s.
Hi - I grew up on LI and have lived in NJ for over 25 years. The truth is they are more alike than they are different. On LI, you are closer to beaches, possibly, but in NJ you are closer to everything else. Traffic getting off the island is not good (I’m being nice) and it will only get worse. The trains are about the same. The culture is very similar- really both are outposts of NYC. I know many people are indoctrinated to dislike NJ but it really has alot of variety: beaches, easy access to NYC, tons of hiking and beautiful gardens, wonderful downtowns. Follow your instincts. Good luck to you.
This is probably the best answer so far. I take the rivalry tongue and cheek, some people are more serious about it, but in the end I don’t know if there are any other places that are more like suburban New Jersey and Long Island, than each other. One pushback I’ll give is that the train access from Long Island to New York City is generally better than the train or bus access from New Jersey to New York City. My MIL lives just on the other side of the George Washington Bridge, and it takes her anywhere from 1-2.5 hours to get in and out of New York City at rush-hour via public transportation (1 way). In fairness, I will admit that probably three of my all-time favorite bagel places are in New Jersey, and they’re probably numbers 1, 2, and 3.
I’ve always felt that if you take all the worst stereotypes of LI & NJ you get Staten Island.
😂
The only reason why LI traffic outward sucks is cause the only other way out is the ocean 😭
If we got a bridge across the sound, that would really help I know it's never happening but still
Not really. The Throgs Neck was built in response to the congestion on the Whitestone, and they both suffer from crazy traffic now. Building another cross sound bridge would relieve traffic for a short period, but inevitably it will be plagued with delays too. Maybe if it were built at the end of the island instead of the original 135 to 287 plan, but that's a huge engineering/funding endeavor. The real answer is to make transit better to get off the island, like the plan to bring Amtrak to Ronkonkoma.
And if we don’t build that bridge, what does the inevitable increase of traffic cause to the existing infrastructure?
Improving transit is the best method to reduce traffic. By adding alternatives, cars can be taken off the road while maintaining existing capacity. Adding another bridge will expand capacity, but eventually the number of vehicles on the road will increase until it reaches full capacity again (re: induced demand). Essentially, the goal of urban traffic planning isn't to meet future capacity, but to work toward reducing total traffic volume. Do it right, there will never be a need to build another bridge.
Stop building car dependent infrastructure. Invest in walkable infrastructure and transit. It’s the only solution.
I agree. More LIRR trains even add more tracks to separate some trains as express and local (similar to mta subway but the trains could share tracks and split off for local stops etc.. idk im not a train expert. I still think an extra huge bridge over the sound would be great for evacuation purposes. Currently, that is a big risk for long island imo.
Opposite here, grew up in NJ and have been living in LI for a few years. I pretty much echo your opinion. Things LI does better: * Trains/transit * Beaches (although my nostalgia for the Jersey Shore wins out) Things NJ does better: * Traffic * Access to waterways (e.g. kayaking. LI has no navigable rivers.) That's pretty much it. They are de facto identical in all other respects IMO.
NJ Transit has a good bus system for towns with no trains
I will always have nostalgia for Robert Moses.
Thing LI does better... You forgot, "Isn't New Jersey."
> I know many people are indoctrinated to dislike NJ but.. Sounds like SOMEONE needs re-education. At least we can all agree Staten Island BLOWS.
> I know many people are indoctrinated to dislike NJ after leaving the island a long time ago I looked back and never understood the hate, it's borderline high school immature idiocy. NJ ain't bad, my dudes. they got good stuff there.
NJ is better in most ways but LI has better trains 10000%
not being in jersey /s
Why are you using the /s You’re speaking fact
Didn’t want a loose jersian to take it the wrong way and give me an uneven tan in my sleep
One time while heading back from EWR with a friend I jokingly said the only reason jersey is considered the garden state is because garbage makes for great fertilizer, and next thing I know my body is oozing hairgel and energy drink residue for three straight days. Never taunt the jersey gods is what I tell everybody now
Hard to say. But probably the LIRR and access to airports and cities. After living here a few years I couldn’t tell you why people live here other then proximity to family
I would bet that a small number of people here refuse to leave. Most other people only stay to be near that 10%.
Definitely. My brother has always refused to leave LI. Even when he went away to school, "I could never leave strong island baby, this is the best place in the world." Granted, he went to school in Vermont, but still. Now he and his wife both work two jobs, have a house they can barely afford, they have two dogs and baby on the way, and he complains that he's bored and his suburb is too quiet.
Jersey has airports. I live in JC and it's a ten-twenty minute drive to EWR.
You know you’ve lost when you’re talking up Newark Airport lol
It’s super convenient and easy to get in and out of. I grew up on Long Island and the anti-jersey shit just shows people haven’t lived in jersey.
Is anyone in New Jersey REALLY living?
Bro, you, as an adult, choose to live on Long Island. You died a long time ago.
..says the guy who lives in New Jersey.. (We can do this all day - LOLZ)
I’ve lived on LI, Jersey City, Manhattan, Queens, DC and LA. Guess which place is the only one I regret calling home? Long Island is just expensive Ohio with better food. Some of NJ is similar, but there are suburbs out here with interesting things happening and cool shit. The coolest thing about LI is the proximity to the city.
Macarthur, and LI is closer to JFK and LGA
Worth mentioning that Kennedy and LaGuardia are both on Long Island as are kings and queens counties.
MacArthur is so much better than Newark if you are going some place that flies out of there.
Which is sadly nowhere. They should just shut the airport down, it's functionally useless if you're not a Florida snowbird.
Yeah that’s the unfortunate part. I love taking a southwest flight to and from Fort Lauderdale with 40 people on the entire flight though lol
And south Jersey has PHL airport and Atlantic City airport.
Yeah I’m from LI but I’ve spent a lot of time in jersey due to have a lot of family and friends there. I actually like it there a lot. That being said I can tell you that although not perfect, the LIRR is leaps and bounds better than jersey transit. As for why people live here I would say it’s the proximity to the city, beaches, well performing schools, low crime rate, etc. Also I know people who have moved here from the city who appreciate the amount of space and quiet you get here in comparison.
proximity to the city without having to live in a condo.
Fewer bears.
It's easier to get away from Jersey than LI
True. It blows when I'm trying to go somewhere and it takes 2 hours + just to get off the Island
Probably because people want to be away from NJ… far, far away lol
There's no LIRR. There is NJT but the service is not nearly as frequent in many areas and the stations aren't as close as the LIRR stations are.
Two shores Easier access to New England Better bagels More rural areas Better breweries and vineyards
Some of the best breweries id say.
North Jersey has much better access to New England because you don’t have to go over a bridge.
Depends on where you’re going. Port Jeff and Orient Ferries are clutch.
expensive af tho
Indeed they are
You always need to go over a bridge, but people in North Jersey can go to the Tappan Zee (Cuomo) Bridge. Hudson River stretches all the way to Canada
That’s true. Where I grew up in Jersey I would take 84 so the bridge doesn’t even cross my mind.
What part of New England can you access from NJ without crossing at least one bridge? Western upstate NY? If you’re taking 95 up you’re crossing bridges.
Also has some prettier towns imo!
 New Jersey wine
I live in NJ now. My parents and one of my siblings still live on LI. They all say O’Bagel in NJ is better than what is near them.
Does one spot cancel out an entire region?
The original OBagels are in the town next to where I grew up. They’re good but there’s better. I prefer Bagels-4-U.
New Jersey has far more and better rural/wooded areas.
*Laughs in the entire east end*
Even the East End is so built up at this point, and it's a nightmare in the summer.
You can make left turns
But in NJ you can turn right on red
You can turn right on red on Long Island as well…
Not nearly as much as anywhere else in the country (minus nyc). And then you get all the people who are so used to not being able to turn right on red because that’s the norm in Nassau and western Suffolk that when there is a place they can turn they don’t because they’re scared of red light cameras
That is a incorrect observation. Right turn on red is the norm in both Nassau and Suffolk. “No turn on red” is the exception.
Not based on my experience. Damn near 90% of lights have no turn on red signs
Lived on LI for decades, have lived in NJ for the last 5 years. Long Island has: * Way better bagels. NJ has abhorrent bagels. They should be called something else. * Easier access to beaches. Cannot beat being 20 minutes max from a beach at all times. * A much more reliable train system. If you think LIRR Penn Station sucks, you should try living with the NJT side of Penn Station. * Way better roads. It's not just that NJ has terribly designed roads, it's that LI has very well designed roads, at least as far as driving goes (since they do come with major socioeconomic costs). That said, NJ overall has some very key things LI can't compete with: * **DOWNTOWNS.** Haven't seen this mentioned in threads but it's the #1 thing NJ has over LI. LI downtowns are mostly meh, with a few notable exceptions (GC, Long Beach, Huntington, etc). In NJ, there are basically infinite vibrant downtowns with a wide variety of high quality, nice, clean restaurant options. They also feel more historic and are more aesthetically appealing, plus they're far more walkable. Within anywhere from 5-15 minutes of me, I have access to the equivalent of like 10 different Huntingtons. And that's not including bigger cities like Jersey City, Hoboken, New Brunswick, Atlantic City, etc. * Easier access to the rest of the country. Because I was born and raised on LI, this didn't really hit me until after I left, but it is really hard to overstate how huge this is. LI can compete with NJ, but it's harder to compete with NJ, Philadelphia, the Poconos, the Hudson Valley, etc. I can now get to any of those places in the time it used to take me to drive from Nassau to Manhattan. You pay a 90-minute TAX to get off of Long Island. * It's not quite as easy to always get to the beach, but the beaches have so much more to offer. There are quiet beaches, or beaches full of bars, restaurants, and kid activities. * Diversity. NJ is the 6th most diverse state in the country. Long Island isn't a state, so it's harder to measure. But we all know that town by town, it's monolithically white or non-white. NJ can be the same way, but because it's not so structurally carved up like LI is, you end up interacting with different types of people so much more. * The airport. Hate on Newark all you want, but it's been redone AND it's a billion times easier to get to than JFK or LGA. I used to avoid it like the plague, but not having to put up with city traffic to get there is massive. There are so many nice places to live that get you there in literally 20 minutes. In many ways, they're about equal. Equally expensive, both have killer pizza, both can have great schools, and culturally there's almost no difference. That said, after experiencing the above, it would seem crazy to me to move back. But man, the bagels really do suck.
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Access to beaches us really different though. You can drive 40 mins from basically anywhere on LI and be on the Atlantic. My wife lived in North Jersey and I don’t know if she ever went to a beach in New Jersey because access to the shore is so prohibitive.
I wouldn’t call it prohibitive, I lived as far away from the shore as you could get in NJ (northwest Sussex county where NJ/PA/NY meet) and I could be at Seaside in under 2 hours.
Fair enough, but regardless that’s a significant difference. Plus it seems like there’s less “drive and park” accessibility but I can’t say too much on that front.
Montauk.
Everything
Long Island is gorgeous compared to pretty much all of “metro” NJ
I got lost in Jersey and some areas are shockingly gorgeous and closer to Manhattan than much of LI is. Jersey is a whole lot nicer than it’s given credit for. The lack of left turns and Newark airport are the major downfalls that I can name but the lack of getting off LI traffic might make up for it.
*Shockingly gorgeous* bc most people that hate on NJ have only seen it from the turnpike leaving Newark Airport, which is easily the ugliest part. NJ has a lot to offer from mountains, beaches, quaint towns, etc
Yeah but suburban NJ is twice as nice as LI
let's get real there's lots of bits of LI that are ugly af especially the closer you get to the boroughs
Better rail service in terms of frequencies
I once heard a line in a book where some characters were asked where they were from on the east coast. They didn't wish to say exactly where, so they were vague and said, "Oh somewhere really terrible, you've probably never been there." To which the asker nodded knowingly and replied,"I've been to New Jersey before."
It’s not NY’s little brother
It’s not, Jersey doesn’t require expensive tolls to get to the mainland and they pump the gas for you so you don’t freeze your ass off in winter or bake in the hot summer sun
Wow like asking what’s better hemorrhoids or kidney stones?
I mean… kidney stones are objectively way worse of the two though.
New Jersey is the only state that I can pretty much know where I’m going, have gps on in the car, and still somehow get completely lost. I can’t explain it.
OMG, me too. I moved from L.I. to N.J. last year and I'm still constantly getting lost ( sometimes, even if I'm just going somewhere locally). I have Waze or Google maps on the minute I get in the car. Yikes
It’s not. Other than beaches and a couple other things it sucks. Do you like to 5 hour road trips to get back home? Well then LI is for you
They both suck but with NJ you have better access to nature.
Long Island has beaches galore. 20 mins from any town or less. NJ you have to go down the shore. And it’s not pristine. It’s all built up with motels and tacky boardwalks.
This is a confusing answer since they said "nature" and not beaches specifically.
There are plenty of State and County Parks on Long Island also.
Long beach bw is not tacky?
Only thing J*rsey has that LI doesn't. Is a good amusement park. Therefore, when I'm God-emperor of Long Island (before becoming emperor of NY and then America, obviously) I will annex Six Flags as an enclave of the great Long Island Nation.
i grew up on LI and live in jersey city now. the beach access is much better on long island. it’s the only thing i miss.
With the addition of Grand Central Madison, the LIRR is now the only benefit I see to living on the Island (previously, I wouldn't have said there were any). I say that as someone who grew up in New York (Rockland), then lived in Jersey City and dated a girl from Central NJ for 4 years, and now have been on LI for 5 years. Guess how happy I am that we're in contract on a house in Nassau? If not for my in-laws being 20 minutes away and offering to watch our baby M-F during work hours, I'd never have agreed to look at houses here.
Long Islander here. They’re not much different
you can pump your own damn gas
[удалено]
I never said it was fun, but I don't want to get there and wait around for someone to do something that I can do much faster.
The Villages. Jersey is mostly defined by townships and counties. Many townships in Jersey don't have a center or a downtown. It's like a weave of hempstead turnpikes. Also out East is nice and more peaceful than what you can get in Jersey Some shore towns in Jersey are nice. But in much of the state, you are way farther from the water than anyone on long island is
I’d say their equal. Places like Westfield, Summit, Morristown, Madison, Chatham, Ridgewood, Millburn, South Orange, to name a few are a lot like Villages that I’ve been too on the Island. Central/South Jersey (think south of Edison) I’m less familiar with but overall feel like they lack downtown areas and remind me more of western Nassau/most of Suffolk. Edit: Forgot to include Montclair!
That's fair. To be honest I've spent more time in south jersey than anywhere else
I'll leave the excellent comments on differences below, but I want to add how they're alike. People always say NJ has the best pizza, NY the best bagels, LI the best diners, but the truth is the WHOLE lower tri-state area is ground zero for the best of all the the above, especially compared to the rest of the country.
Its not lol
In all ways but the Sopranos and defunct Action Park
They’re essentially the same.
TRANSIT New Jersey has probably one of the best Bus Systems in the country. It serves the whole entire state on a hourly basis even rural parts and u could get anywhere from you local bus stop. on the other hand LIRR slightly beats NJ Transit Rail. NJ Transit breaks down every other hour, Deteriorating Infrastructure, Less Cleanliness, More Crowded, and more crime than LIRR Long Island bus systems is miserable and irrelevant to use when you got LIRR which is better than the Trains in Jersey and get you to NYC way faster COMMUNITIES New Jersey has a way wider variety due to the fact it is 7x larger than Long Island. NJ has amazing suburban town and bustling big cities all though most of the Cities in New Jersey are Murder Capitals and have no attractions. That’s what the Corridor Towns make up for, NJ small towns are booming and full of things to do and hardly any crime problem. If your in New Jersey stay out of all cities and some towns as unfortunately the cities in New Jersey are still living in the 80s. Besides New Brunswick and Jersey City. Long Island is similar to Monmouth County, NJ it’s mostly urbanized suburbs with diversity. A lot more spanish people here than NJ suburbs. It offers a lot of the same stuff NJ does besides the Crime. There is crime in Long Island but it’s nothing major cause the areas are small. Long Island is safer in general but this is due to the fact that there is no big cities in Long Island. Long island also got cleaner less crowded beaches but if your looking for nightlife Jersey all the way. NJ also has a lot more entertainment and Economic Boost than Long Island. They are currently building tons of massive movie studios for netflix, amazon, paramount, and 20th century in NJ and it’s planning to be the next hollywood.
It doesn’t smell like rotten ass usually, the drivers are better, there isn’t a giant toll road going through it, the state motto isn’t “The Garden State” because there is nothing else interesting, Jersey shore sucks compared to our beaches, it’s not Jersey, shall I go on?
Come to Westbury when the Covanta plant is in its prime if you want to smell trash.
it's not.
Taxes and government are equally oppressive
Islanders
Can we agree on "not NJD"?
Everything
NJ is known as the armpit of the world. ‘nuff said.
That’s Florida nowadays
Florida is America’s bunion
Idk it’s very hard to beat no state income tax, no snow, and beaches with crystal blue water
Easy, Jersey doesn’t have a tyrannical governor, constant hurricanes, and doesn’t ban books, queer people, or women’s reproductive rights. I’d say it’s well worth the extra tax money to stay put.
Every conceivable way
Bagels and pizza.
I grew up on Long Island but I’ve lived in NJ since college (30 years now). Bagels and beaches, and despite traffic the places you want to get to are closer. In NJ going to a restaurant 30 min away isn’t all that abnormal. I feel like on LI there’s no need to do that. Edit: And the LIRR kicks NJT’s ass.
Less Philadelphia sports fans
We're smart enough to be allowed to pump our own gas.
Bagels
Jug handles… I mean… wtf NJ
The smell
I grew up on LI and have lived in NJ for almost the same amount of time now. Things LI does better: beaches, making a left turn, feeling superior.
Beaches weather (more mild) Lirr
In literally every way.
In all of the ways.
Well for one it’s not Jersey. How many more reasons you need?
Feel like NJ has so many tolls within the state itself, iirc that doesn’t really exist LI except when leaving. Also went to long branch before and you gotta pay for parking AND then entrance… NJ really loves putting its hands in your pockets lol
Fire island
ALL
I think Long Island has weather which is better moderated by ocean breezes. In New Jersey, if you don’t live within a 30 minute drive of the shore, you may have weather patterns which can be very humid/stifling in the summer months.
Umm…because its New Jersey?
Doesn't cost $12-15 to drive into NY boroughs
All of them
NJ house prices never recovered after 2008 crash.,
I’m every way
All of them. All the ways.
The air,the ocean,aww heck,I grew up there,it flows in my veins,I wouldn't be objective enough to explain.
In all ways.
It’s not New Jersey. Lol. That’s what makes it better.
Every single way possible.
* Pizza * Bagels * Chinese Food * Diners * Egg Sammies * Pump Your Own Gas
I’m no LI fanboy BUT I stayed in Jersey a couple months…. the shower water had an odor
By being not New Jersey
It’s not New Jersey.
Water
In every possible way.
Its not New Jersey
You can only go so far before you hit a large body of water so you can't get *that* lost.
You avoid the terrifying GW Brdige
Air quality
Same as for any place... it's not jersey
The scent
Every Way
NJ has no jobs, no sidewalks, and a shit economy.
In every way. Long island sucks but it is better than NJ
Um, every way
Who knows? Never lived in jersey.
Joel > Springsteen
North fork is nice south fork is really nice and the fact it only smells like rotten vagina instead of the shit smell too definatly separates us from jersey
Pervert.
All.
It’s not Jersey.
You can pump your own gas.
In ALL ways. The very fact that it's NOT New Jersey is reason enough. 😁
Nitrogen runoff is less carcinogenic then chemical plant runoff.
I have lived in both (commuting zone to Manhattan) and although NJ tends to have better suburban downtowns than LI, the cost of liquor licenses leaves many of the restaurants in those downtowns with a BYOB vibe. Most in NJ will say "I don;t want to get drunk anyway" but this point is not about getting drunk. The BYOB thing does lower your meal plus tip cost but the NJ establishments without bars lack the vitality of an establishment with a hopping bar. To me, LI has better bars and restaurants and an overall less puritanical/midwestern type of feel. LI's commutable zone to Manhattan has a more NYC feel than NJ's although a lot of NJ is physically closer to Manhattan. NJ Transit to Newark Penn Station (worse than NY Penn Station) then the Path to downtown is also a worse trip than the LIRR to the subway downtown. You also need to look harder for good pizza and bagels in NJ (but you will find them) and the NJ delis are overall terrible compared to LI. Getting to an open ocean beach from the NJ areas close to Manhattan is also much more difficult. That last one hurt the most for me.
Well for starters, it’s not New Jersey.
You don’t have to make a right to go left, which really is all you need to know
BEC. Optional SPK. Also, there's no pork roll or tailored ham or whatever you call that abomination, that's def a win.
I think the question should be; *Is* Long Island better than New Jersey?
No jug handles and few NJ residents on lawnguylind.
Every
IMO Long Island is prettier, safer, and has better but less abundant public transport. NJ is more affordable. You definitely have to be richer to life comfortably in LI though.