Congrats, NJ, You Are The Most Hated State in America (Opinion)

Yep, NJ ranks #1 on the hatred list. After all, who can handle our attitude? We are the strong, tough ones and we love a good challenge. Bring it on.

In my humble opinion, being raised in NJ (in all of its good and bad glory) is preparation to handle the rest of the world.

It is not easy dealing with loud, obnoxious attitudes...or road rage...or overcrowding (gridlocked commute, anyone?)...or traffic circles...or tourists....or having to pay to get on the beach every summer...or high property taxes...or crappy weather (too humid in the summer, too icy in the winter...and we are in the top 10 for rainiest states.)

Rent is too high...everything is too expensive...tolls keep going up...locals can't even find parking at the beach in the summer...everyone is overscheduled and stressed out (hence the attitudes)...there is zero tolerance or patience for lines that are too long and don't move quickly enough...heck, even our Jersey accents are a sore spot among the rest of the country.

We are competitive about getting ahead even if it kills us. And I could go on.

Peace and quiet, fresh air, lots of space, low prices, and friendliness are NOT often the first descriptive words that would come to mind about NJ. But heres the bottom line when it comes to all the negatives that made our state number one most-hated:  We can handle it.

Why? Because we grew up here. Or moved here and began acting like true New Jerseyans. We are tough. We have to add another layer of thick skin (or grow our set of you-know-whats) each time someone honks at us because we didn't run the yellow light. We have to ignore the middle finger each time someone doesn't think that doing 85 in a 55 is fast enough. We are in a RUSH, people!!! So take your non-NJ license plates and get the heck out of the fast lane.

Complaining and honing our string of curse words is an art form. We are calloused and jaded. We are proud of our attitude even if you can't handle it.  And so the truth is, if you can exist in NJ, any place else is a piece of cake. A walk in the park.

And maybe even a tad boring :)

This message brought to you with love (a tad tongue-in-cheek) from a Brooklyn-turned-Jersey Girl who has lived at the shore (not 'down the shore') most of her life.

For details on the Most Hated ranking for NJ, CLICK HERE.

For details on how NJ ranks among 10 Rainiest States, CLICK HERE.