Regions of New Jersey

[pikachu]

So this is actually pretty cool. NJ.com having state residents vote whether their town is part of North Jersey, Central Jersey, or South Jersey and have made a map with results. (The map is being updated every 10 minutes). It's definitely interesting to see the transition zones to Central (and how Montague is definitely in the South).

http://goo.gl/6R2QGx

[BaconBacon96]

What the hell's going on with that town in the far north voting heavily South?

[traininthedistance]

Oh, yeah, I saw this.

There is no such thing as "Central Jersey." 

[muon2]

When I was living out east in the 1980's, I didn't hear much about Central Jersey. My friend from Princeton clearly identified with the Monmouth-Ocean shore and that was "south". By the 2000's confusion had crept in as the NYC metro was drifting south to include that part of the shore. It doesn't surprise me that it is resolved by the locals defining a Central Jersey.

[SNJ1985]

One thing that complicates matters is the fact that Ocean County is in the New York City TV market and generally roots for New York City sports teams. Geographically, it certainly looks like it should be considered part of South Jersey; but it seems to have more in common culturally with North Jersey.

It's all a matter of perspective, really. I'm from South Jersey, and I tend to think of North Jersey as starting at Mercer County and Monmouth County. Some people from the north might argue that those counties are southern, though.

[Flake]

There's a North and a South. It's too small to have a Central.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Has the town of Down been heavily targeted by trolls? It's located in the extreme South yet shows a tie between North and Central...

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

There's barely any difference between North and South Jersey.  The real divide is Near Turnpike vs. Away From Turnpike.  You might as well make the poll Eagles vs. Giants because that's all that's being measured here. 

[Ban my account ffs!]

Oh, yeah, I saw this.

There is no such thing as "Central Jersey." 

It's where the Christie comes from. 

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

There's barely any difference between North and South Jersey.  The real divide is Near Turnpike vs. Away From Turnpike.  You might as well make the poll Eagles vs. Giants because that's all that's being measured here. 

[Simfan34]

There's a Trenton-Princeton-Perth Amboy axis that kind of does its own thing, but otherwise the state is divided into a New York half and a Philly half.

I wonder what would the state would look like if Perth Amboy, Trenton, or somewhere in between was a major city (at least 250k+). Like if what happened in Newark had taken place at the mouth of the Raritan. I doubt Staten Island would have ever been incorporated into NYC. Fascinating.

[traininthedistance]

Oh, yeah, I saw this.

There is no such thing as "Central Jersey." 

It's where the Christie comes from. 

He's from Morris County, which is just plain old North Jersey even for those folks who believe in a Central Jersey.

Actually, muon's point about areas south of the Raritan (the traditional dividing line) which have been swallowed up by the NYC orbit– Princeton, Trenton, the Shore– is a pretty good explanation.  Central Jersey is largely that which used to be South, but can't be considered as such any longer.  There are outliers– Trenton itself is arguably more connected to Philly still, and gets to be called "Central"; and northern Middlesex has been annexed from the North.  But it's a pretty good heuristic.