Linkup and You Know You’re from Jersey When…

Obviously, this is an old picture because I don’t have my pink hair.  I honestly completely forgot about this outfit photo.  It’s been sitting in my drafts for a bit.  In today’s post, I wanted to talk about some tell tale signs of knowing you’re from Jersey.  I’ve had so many people point out to me here in Florida that it’s noticeable with certain things that I do that I’m not from around here.  There are still things here in Florida that I don’t think I’ll ever get used to, although we did find ONE good pizza place, that is the closest thing to legitimate pizza.  I’m not lying when I say, that you have not eaten good pizza until you’ve tried a slice from NYC or NJ.  Anyway, I’m rambling, let’s get into some tell tale signs of how to know you’re from Jersey!

1. You say that you’re going down the shore, not to the beach.
2. There is a huge debate between North and South Jersey (because there is no Central Jersey, don’t even try haha!) whether it’s called Taylor Ham or Pork Roll.  It’s Taylor Ham.
3. Jersey is a melting pot.  With so many immigrants in this area, comes lots of culture and lots of good food.  Everywhere you turn there is an Italian place (some are better than others), Polish restaurants, Indian food, Asian food, Puerto Rican food, and I can keep going for days.
4. It’s nice not having to pump your own gas.  First of all this creates lots of jobs for people throughout the state, and it’s nice not to have to stand outside in the freezing cold.
5. There aren’t 4 seasons.  We have summer, then fall, then pretend summer again, and then BOOM winter, more winter, pretend spring, a blizzard, pretend spring, and BOOM summer.
6. What is a State of Emergency?  People will still be seen on the road, and some people will purposely go out to play in the snow by doing donuts, not that I would know or anything…
7. Depending on what part of Jersey you’re from, your distance to NYC, PA, and the shore is relatively similar give or take.  Where I’m from in Jersey, I can go to either place for a day and still come home at night and it’s not a wasted trip of driving.
8. Traffic.  DEAD. STOP. TRAFFIC. especially during rush hour.  There is really no avoiding it.  When people try and tell me about traffic here in Florida, they are honestly spoiled.  They have obviously never been at a dead stop during rush hour.  Although, I will say, Jersey cleans up their accidents much better and faster than Florida.  If there is an accident in Florida (even just a small one) expect to be sitting for hours.  In Jersey, an accident like that would take 30-45 minutes to take care of and get people on their way.
9. 65 mph on 80 is a suggested speed.  Let’s be honest here, most people are not going 65.
10. The “Jersey Slide” is a skill.
11. Jersey isn’t just highways and gross looking (by the airport is what I’m referring to), there are beautiful mountainous areas with farms as well.
12. You have an attitude whether you want to admit it or not.  It can come off kind of harsh to out of staters (unless you’re from NYC), but it’s just how we are.  We mind our business.
13. When someone asks you “how are you?” it’s just saying hello.  All you say is “good, you?”  It’s left at there.  Here in Florida, I’ve had people tell me their entire life story while waiting in line at Walmart.  My inner Jersey girl does NOT know how to handle it.
14. You most likely know what Weird NJ is.  If you don’t and you’re from Jersey, please look it up haha.
15. When someone talks about being a basic bitch (especially during fall time), it’s basically the epitome of a lot of girls in NJ.
16. No, we aren’t besties with Snookie.  Although, I did bump into her at Party City.  Also, just FYI, only 2 people from that entire show are actually from NJ.
17. A plain pie, is exactly that.  This means it has cheese on it.  Here in Florida, people have looked at me and asked if I’m in the right place because they call it pizza, and when I say, yes a plain pizza, they look at me crazy and ask if I really don’t want sauce or cheese on it.  I swear, I’m in the twilight zone!
18. People down south say bless your heart, up north we just say fuck you jerkoff.  Very blunt, and to the point.
19. At one point in your life, you have had road rage and flipped people off.
20. The phrase “you good?” has many different meanings.  If you’re from Jersey, you know EXACTLY what I mean.
21. No one calls it Joizy.  Every person I talk to in Florida says this and I have to tell them it’s just Jersey.
22. You have to be tough, otherwise you won’t survive.  People do not cater to your feelings.  So, if anyone says anything that would hurt your feelings, shrug it off and don’t take it personal.
23. We don’t have an accent, the rest of the world has an accent haha.
24. Last, but definitely not least, as much as I hated NJ, I will always be a proud Jersey Girl.  It’s where I grew up.  There are so many things I would change about it, but when I tell people that are from out of state that I’m from Jersey, I say it with an attitude and with pride.  The saying you can take the girl out of Jersey, but you can’t take the Jersey out of the girl, is 100% true in my case.

If you’re from Jersey and have anything to add, by all means, comment below.  I could honestly keep going.  I do miss Jersey, mostly because my parents are still there, but also because life is just different down south.  The food is extremely different, and that is something I won’t get used to which is why I make a lot of food at home.  I will say that their seafood down here is amazing.  We are also right next to the water so we get fresh seafood.  The weather down here is much better.  When people think that 50 is freezing cold I laugh a little bit.  Try -degree temperatures and then you can tell me what freezing cold is.

Let’s move on to the linkup!

xoxo Monica

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 I do deClaire  // Elegantly Dressed & Stylish // Glass of Glam// Shelbee on the Edge