You Know You’re From Central Jersey If…

Yes, there are three sections of NJ: North, Central and South. And if you’ve ever doubted Central Jersey does indeed exist, we’d like to remind you that in August 2023, Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation that finally put parts of Mercer, Middlesex, Hunterdon and Somerset counties on the Central Jersey map. Here are a few obvious signs you know you’re from Central Jersey…

• You’re constantly having to explain your very existence. Like, hellooo! Central Jersey has always been a real place and you don’t get there by traveling through a secret door at the back of a wardrobe or falling through the looking glass. Just take Exit 9 from Route 280 OR the NJ Turnpike. Pretty cool, right? Better than magic.

  

• You’re conflicted about your sports fandom. Half your family roots for the Eagles and the Phillies, the other half roots for the Giants and the Mets, and you all root for Rutgers even if no one in your family has ever gone there. How about those New Jersey Devils?

  

• Half your graduating class went to Rutgers and the other half currently works there. And you know there is no West Brunswick.
• You’re literally in the middle of the Taylor Ham vs. pork roll debate but can agree the grease trucks on College Avenue in New Brunswick served some of the best burgers and gyros you’ve ever eaten at 2 am, and you always look forward to Hoagiefest at Wawa.

  

• You feel like the Jan Brady of the Garden State: the quintessential middle child, always coming in second to the urban cool of Hoboken or the adorable quaintness of Cape May. “But we’ve got Princeton and Highland Park!” you want to say. “And what about the Jon Bon Jovi rest area, huh?” It makes you want to pull Cindy’s pigtails and scream “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!”

  

• You fall asleep to the sound of traffic swooshing by on Route 18, Route 1, Route 9, Route 280, or the New Jersey Turnpike and pretend it sounds just like the ocean.

  

• To see the real ocean, you go “Down the Shore” in the summer and don’t sit in traffic on the Garden State Parkway. Pff. Take that North Jersey! And you’ve gone to Jersey Freeze hoping to see Bruce.

  

• You listened to Magic 98.3 FM for snow day school closings. You’re never more than 100 yards away from the nearest strip mall, lament the closing of the Route 18 flea market, still go to the Englishtown flea market, and spend time at the Menlo Park, Freehold, Brunswick Square, Quakerbridge and Bridgewater malls.

  

• You’ve been to Topgolf on Route 1 in Edison and are still waiting for the go-kart lines to go down at the nearby Supercharged. That’s right, Central Jersey is home to the world’s largest indoor multi-level go-kart track.

  

• You’ve hiked in Hacklebarney State Park and have taken the train to New York from the Hub City.

—Jennifer Salvato Doktorski received a 2024 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. A proud mom and Jersey Girl, she is the author of five young adult novels who, along with her family, lives in Central NJ and spends summers down the Shore. Learn more at jendoktorski.com.

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Read More:

How North Jersey Are You?

How South Jersey Are You?