A few weeks ago I drove some of my daughters stuff to her in NYC. I got there around 5:30 and didn't want to drive into the city during rush hour or look for a parking place that late or a hotel with a car full of her treasures. I stopped in Clinton because they had the most lodging signs for their exit. The town was absolutely lovely! Wrought iron bridges you could drive across and adorable shops and resturants. And lovely old restored victorian houses. Less then an hour from NYC. Who knew? Not me. I always thought of New Jersey as Newark and a surburban wasteland. Needless to say, I was wrong. Anymore places like this less then an hour from the city or is this place as special as it looked?

I also stumbled on Clinton once by accident and was stunned - what a lovely and quaint small town. There is a very, very small town that is quaint and much closer to NYC - it's Rutherford and has now been my home for nearly three years. Don't mistake us with East Rutherford - that's where the commercial development is and it's far from scenic. My town is one mile square with 18,000 people, the streets arec lined with huge sycamores and there are many beautifully restored Victorian homes (some regular wood frame homes from the 20's to 40's as well). We lack some of the charm of Clinton but do have a nice small shopping district with two coffeehouses, several good Italian restaurants, a small upscal steakhouse/bistro, a pricey but very well respected french restaurant (Cafe Matisse - I'll try it eventually but $14 appetizers, $36 entrees and $12 desserts are not usually on my agenda). In a few weeks we'lll have a French Moroccan place opening - can't wait to try it. It's only a 20 minute drive into NYC (assuming traffic isn't too bad it can be more or less - I actually made the drive tonight in 15 minutes when I drove my daughter in to a concert near MSG). Downside for visitors is that we have no hotels in town but there is both a Renaissance and a Novotel at the edge of town by Route 3 and Route 17 where Lyndhurst starts. Living here has truly opened my eyes to how remarkably nice parts of NJ can be (every time I drive through Queens or Brooklyn I continue to be grateful that it's a well kept secret!).

I also explored Clinton when I relocated to NJ - but fell in love with the Village of Ridgewood - and the love affair has never ended. Known for it's small restaurants and stores, it really is a neat commnity - a beautiful old community, once a resort town for wealthy New Yorkers, less then 20 miles out of NYC -- diverse population, strong support for the school system as well as social services - Owen, isn't Rutherford home to the wonderful restaurant , Park & Orchard - ???

jp --- yes... Park & Orchard is here - it's actually on the edge of town and technically is in East Rutherford but it's considered to be a Rutherford restaurant. I used to wonder where the name came from as it's not on Park (a main street in Rutherford) and we don't have an Orchard as far as I know. Turns out that it was once located in Manhattan at that corner!

If you want to see a really beautiful little town....then Belvidere in NW NJ is it! Every year they have a victorian week due to the many beautiful renovated painted ladies. It's my favorite little town in New Jersey!

I'm just back from a few days at the Jersey shore. Usual trips involve the I-95 corridor. This time I drove around a bit - and what a wonderful surprise! Great little towns all over - in fact, just the sort of places my folks wanted when they retired to Vermont (where they found nothing of the sort, by the way). I'm actually considering a move to New Jersey if I get really sick of Florida. Plus - all those Italian restaurants! Let's hear it for New Jersey.

Other great little spots:
Montclair, Red Bank, Stanhope, Manasquan, Spring Lake, Cape May
Ok I'll stop now, but this is a great state unjust maligned. As was pointed out on a thread a few months ago, the show "Ed" is set in the idyllic town of Stuckeyville, somewhere in the Midwest. It's actually shot mostly in Jersey and parts of New York. Apparently the thinking is that folks wouldn't believe that such nice places are here in Jersey.
Finally.....
Lets Go Nets!!! Beat Boston Baby!!!!

jp: I didn't think Ridgewood was known for it's "diverse population". It was my impression it is one of the most expensive communities in New Jersey.

Just Wondering: a lot of things changed since the 70's for Ridgewood and certainly after Sept. 11th- the first piece was the introduction of the multi culture restaurants- this happened at the same time the schools began strong programs in diversity and the town council created an advisory board to deal with discrimination. Now more then 63 languages are spoken in town, there is always room for growth, but for example come to the annual holiday festival- first friday in Dec. People of all ethnic backrounds and ages gather on different corners for song and music, each store is open and serving a beverage or food from assorted countries - a greeting is offered from the high school in every language that is represented - it really is a changing community from it's reputation of pre 1971 of being an upper white snotty community...

There was a good reason (once) why NJ was called "The Garden State." Not so much these days, given the overdevelopment, illegal immigration, etc. Kind of laughable that Christine Whitman is now the head of the EPA.

NJ is kind of a well-kept secret, since most people think of the Newark-Trenton corridor and the NYC near-suburbs. But go north to Morristown and beyond and as you get toward the NY/Penn. border it gets almost rural. Lakes. Trees. Oh. My. God.

jp: The census numbers don't show the diversity you talk about. The figures show 88% White and 8% Asian. How diverse is that? I'm sure it is more diverse than it was in 1971, but that's not saying much.

I'm not knocking Ridgewood but the real estate prices eliminate most of the people that would make for a truely diverse community. I still believe that it is one of the wealthest communities in New Jersey. Hey, if you can afford it, more power to you but let's tell it like it is.

shhhhh. Please no more revealing all the neat, beautiful towns of NJ. Those of us who live here know how great it is and we don't need anymore residents or tourists. I live 1 1/2 blocks from the ocean in a beautiful, old house in a small town, but I'll never tell its name.

Sergeantsville is a lovely town. It has a tiny center and then a lot of farmland and rural properties. There's also an old covered bridge.

I once thought NJ looked entirely like the Parkway & Turnpike ("New Joysey, what exit??"), until I participated in a bicycle event called "Cycling Jersey" that bicycled from High Point to Cape May over a week's time. Went on it three times (because they had three different routes, West(1994), Central (1993), and East (1995)).

What a beautiful state!

My second surprise it that it's not very flat! Parts are actually mountainous. I live near the southern Adirondacks, but I plan to do some more vacationing in the Garden State.

Believe it or not, NJ is not a barren wastleland filled w/nothing but factories and highways. Where I live in southern Jersey, there are lakes, parks, cute towns, and yes, farms. I have traveled all over this country in addition to others, and realized that where I live isn't that bad. It might not be beautiful the way the English and French countrysides are, but it's much nicer than other parts of the country that people stereotype as being nice just because they're "down south" for example.

Don't believe what people say. See for yourself.