“Lighten up Francis”.
I lived in NJ for 9 years after college - beautiful state! Seriously. I lived in a small town (Clinton). It was amazing to have so much rural countryside and think that it still had the highest population density of any state. (They must REALLY cram them into Newark!)
And yes, the history was great too.
We still go back to visit and enjoy it. Although the politics suck, but the state I’m in now is rapidly gaining in the suck department.
I get defensive about my state and I don’t apologize for it.
I grew up in Kearny. Named for it’s most local famous son Union general Phil Kearny and the Kearny ship yards built dozens of war ships that won us WW2.
New Jersey has vast amounts of farmlands and forests. Likewise Connecticut, especially when you get away from the seacoasts.
I'm old enough to remember when nobody pumped their own gas anywhere. You'd pull into a gas station and an attendant would come running out to you and not only pump your gas, but check your oil, clean your windshield and ask you if you needed directions (especially if you had an out of state plate).
This is because gas stations in those days gave out free folding maps of the local area to any tourist passing through. If it was a Mobil station, the maps would have all the Mobil gas stations on them. Likewise for Exxon, Shell, etc. This was a way for them to advertise their brand.
Once unfolded, no man was ever able to fold it back to the original state. It required a woman to do that. Men could read the maps but couldn't fold them. Women couldn't make heads or tails out of the maps, but got them folded up perfect for the glove compartment after the man figured out where they were going. It was good teamwork.