Helpful tips for surviving in New Jersey

by Jeff Johnson

This seems to be an old joke by now, but it still somehow hits home (especially if your home is in the Garden State): "New Jersey: Only the Strong Survive."

I've seen that on t-shirts, on bumper stickers, and, while doing some background research for this post, on the shock-jock blogs of a few Garden State radio stations.

I once heard that the saying was actually attributable to a New Jersey governor, with some versions saying it was Brendan Byrne, others attributing it to Thomas Kean, and a few chalking it up to James Florio. (Both Democrats and Republicans are represented in the aforementioned list.)

Since I couldn't verify the authenticity of any of those claims, we'll just agree that it's a saying that's taken on a life of its own. And with good reason: It's always something in New Jersey.

That's not to say that this isn't a good place to live. I've adopted it as my home and have no regrets. But when you live in the state with the highest population density, there have to be rules, regulations, and sometimes just plain principles to keep things moving.

That doesn't mean the rules are designed to keep you moving. Just New Jersey. If you also happen to move, well, that's just fine with New Jersey.

This is not a political blog. The authors do not attempt to assign blame for any of the issues here to any particular person or political party (because, if you want to talk about how Jersey got the way it is, there's plenty of blame to go around), but rather offer helpful tips to fellow New Jerseyans to help survive life in the Garden State.