I guess you don't like art or music very much. I like the best of both worlds. Nice, quiet, country living on the one hand, but access to all the pleasures of life on the other. I've lived in a dozen states, and been to all but 5. I wouldn't want to live in a place like, say, Alabama (been there, done that) where a lot of bands don't even do shows, where there's no pro sports teams, no mountains, no good restaurants, etc. I want it all, and NJ has it all.
Jersey gets such a bad rap because of a handful of overcrowed cities. Outside, Jersey City, Newark, Camden, Trenton, Elizabeth and most of Hudson county, New Jersey is a beautiful state. I have a good friend from England who now lives in Basking Ridge and he says many areas of Morris and Hunterdon Co. reminds him of Dorset County in England. Unfortunately, popular culture is fixated only on organized crime, traffic jams, pollution and a certain gay Governer.
Brilliant conclusion right?
Yeah, those idiots who call themselves musicians here in Austin Texas (Live Music Capital of the World) are too stupid not to live in NJ.
I do like art, but will never overestimate it's importance to a nation or state.
I'd rather die in Alabama than live in New Joisey.