What is Central Jersey culture?

If you were to google "North Jersey" or "South Jersey" you can find many quizzes or other lists that start like . . . . "You know you're from North/South Jersey when . ."

There are others that say, "You know you're from New Jersey when . . . ." also.

But I have yet to find one that says "You know you're from Central Jersey when . . ."

Now if some of you think it is hard to convince me there is a Central Jersey, let me tell you that with one of our consultants; it is even harder. This person asked me today, "What is Central Jersey culture? If it is just a mish-mash of the two (North and South). . then I don't call that culture."
OK, and this has no bearing on our line and could be attributed to my native Mercer county pride, but I countered this person and told them that there is no bigger cultural difference in New Jersey than going from Mercer to Burlington. The cable changes, the sports loyalties go from mixed to solid Philly and the newspapers change (somewhat . . still Trenton papers, but the Star Ledger and Philadelphia Inquirer seem to flip flop) and even some voting patterns change.

But my consultant brought up a good point. What IS Central Jersey culture? I have written here before that Monmouth and Mercer county have little in common. I mentioned Kevin Smith (a Monmouth native) in my last posting. And when Clerks came out in 1994 - that movie might have well been set in a foreign country. I didn't know people who tawlked like that and really couldn't call it my Jersey (though I did love the street hockey on the roof). Chasing Amy (a movie I LOVED) also was different. Smith made it seem like every New Jerseyan just hops into "The City" easily; but during my college summers, I was much more likely to go to Philly than New York.
Hence my confusion and feeling like the South Jersey people were never fairly represented when people spoke of New Jersey.

Then, I moved to Margate City after graduating and had people tell me I was from North Jersey. When I argued, they cited the the fact I was an NJ Devils' fan and noted "those long-winded politicians in Trenton." Alas, I had to agree there was a faster pace of life in Mercer compared to Atlantic and even Burlington (that I mentioned earlier) . . .

So, after all of this rambling - the question still remains. What is Central Jersey culture? I challenge readers to come up with a quiz or posting . . . to answer this.

PS - It is acceptable to also say that there is no Central Jersey.

On NBC 40 this weekend . . . Zip Code Map

I will be taping an interview with author Jen A. Miller today in the Atlantic City Area on NBC 40.

Don't know when it will air, but they will show some of the first clips from our film on the broadcast . . . if you are in the area, check us out!

Also below is a requested "Zip Code map" . . . splitting NJ with zip codes that start with "08" and "07." It is a weird map and I don't know if it proves anything . . . especially since in Middlesex County, it cuts of the "07s" and makes most of Monmouth County "a 07 island" swimming in "08s".

If there is a "Central Jersey" . . .

While traveling around ALL corners of the state - the most consistent counties labled "Central" by residents were:  Mercer and Monmouth.  But . . . 

There are many things different in these two counties.  For example, in Monmouth - "The City" is New York.  In Mercer it is debatable.

I got thinking about all this as the beach season approaches.   It reminded me of my high school days in Mercer.  The funniest thing to me, growing up in that county, is how we never went to the Monmouth county beaches.  The shortest commute was right across I-195 to Belmar and its surrounding communities.  But did we go there?  Rarely.  

Even in the early 1990s, it was always assumed that these towns were "ceded" to people from the farther north counties.  Instead, we would drive a longer distance to Seaside Heights or LBI. 

We'd possibly trek to Point Pleasant, but that was mostly considered a "Northern Beach" even though geographically, that didn't make much sense.

Even in these "centrally located towns" away from the beach, we always made it complicated on ourselves.  

Do you have any correlating or conflicting stories related to these theories about "Central" or why Mercer's beach choices seem odd . . . especially when gas is so expensive?  Please email or post a comment.