26 October 2008

New Jersey is not pretty much New York.

Dear Citizens of Hoboken, Jersey City and other surrounding areas:

Please stop claiming that you live in New York City. You may work in one of the five boroughs (Staten Island you're a stretch, but you pay city taxes, so we'll take you) but living in Jersey does not qualify you as a New Yorker. I've had people compare Hoboken to Brooklyn. What is this? Hoboken is a homogenized community located in New Jersey that is most accurately described as the Greek Row of NYC...non-affiliated. They come onto campus during the day to educate themselves or work- and we tolerate them as they pay tuition and occasionally do some forced community service. Have you ever noticed how commuters from Connecticut do not claim to be from NYC? That's because they aren't trying to make up for something. They know who they are.

Beyond the obvious geographic boundaries and taxes- transportation is another indicator on whether or not you're a New Yorker. Known for its mass transit system, living in New York City means it costs your $2.00 via subway to get anywhere. It doesn't mean that you take the Metro North for $14.00 from Fairfield, or take the PATH for $1.75, then take the subway for an additional $2.00.

With all that being said, I'd like to further support my case with an excerpt from How I Met Your Mother:


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