New Jersey and New York
It’s Garden State vs. Empire State
Two bordering states in these United States.
Uh, yeah, about that border, there were some border disputes between the two.
More on that in a bit.
It seems like a lot of Americans pick on New Jersey, but New Yorkers are notorious for it.
Why does Jersey always get a bad reputation? Why do people talk so much trash on New Jersey?
Mr. Betts: Because it's easy.
And you know, You’ve seen New York in movies, right?
You’ve seen New Jersey in movies, right?
You can't just do anything you want while you're working.
I mean, every Hollywood film shot in New York seems to make it seem magical, and every film
in New Jersey makes it seem..like..meh, this is just real life.
But after watching this video, I’m sure you’ll understand why many prefer New Jersey
over New York.
Let’s start with what both states have in common.
First, both have a shrinking population.
Yep, they’re losing people.
But, New York has more than twice the population of New Jersey.
Most of the population in both states live in the
New York metropolitan area, the biggest metropolitan area in the world.
Look at that!
Despite not having one city within it with a population greater than 300,000, New Jersey
is the most densely populated of the 50 states.
Residents of both states are mostly Christian, but both have sizeable minorities who identify
as Jewish and Muslim.
Both do share quite a bit of history.
American Indians had lived in what would become the two states for thousands of years.
At the time of European arrival, Algonquian and Iroqouian-speaking tribes dominated what
would become New York, while the Lenape dominated what would become New Jersey.
In 1609, Henry Hudson explored much of what would later be the two states, and soon the
Dutch were establishing trading posts, establishing the colony of New Netherland.
Soon after, the Swedes settled parts of future New Jersey, establishing the colony of New
Sweden, which lasted just 17 years before the Dutch, led by Peter Stuyvesant, conquered
it and made it part of New Netherland.
But in 1664, the English conquered the Dutch and took over, changing the name to New York
and also establishing the colony of New Jersey.
In 1673 the Dutch recaptured New York City and renamed it New Orange.
One year later the English got it back.
Whew.
During the colonial era, both New Jersey and New York attracted immigrants from all over
the place, and thus became diverse places.
And then, one long border dispute.
Between 1701 and 1765, the two colonies led skirmishes and raids against each other in
what became known as the New York – New Jersey Line War.
The King finally settled it on October 7, 1769.
Between 1708 and 1738, New York governors ruled over New Jersey, and this of course
made Jersey residents mad.
During the American War of Independence, both colonies saw lots of action, but more than
a third of all battles fought in the war took place in New York.
After the United States became a country, New York City was the capital until 1790.
New Jersey was the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, New York was the 11th.
While both states had banned slavery by the early 1800s, it was a gradual thing, and even
as late as the Civil War Jersey had a small slave population.
Canals in both states drove growth and industry.
The Morris Canal in New Jersey, which connected the Delaware River and Hudson River, and the
much larger and much more famous Erie Canal, which connected Lake Erie to the Hudson.
The Erie Canal was the main reason why New York City became a HUGE hub, connecting the
Midwest and Canada to Atlantic trade routes.
After this, New York’s population exploded and New Jersey fell behind, as it was still
mostly agrarian.
Upstate New York saw a lot of action during the War of 1812, and throughout the 1800s
it became a staging area and place to escape for Canadian rebels against Great Britain.
Of course, New Jersey became much more industrial after the Civil War, and industry helped both
states become two of the richest in the country by the beginning of the 1900s.
Through both of the World Wars, both were centers for war production, and even Upstate
New York played a central role.
While M.Laser has an excellent video going into New York City’s history, one thing
that affected the whole state was the fact that New York City, since the 1800s, has been
the largest port of entry for immigrants into the United States.
On Ellis Island alone, 12 million immigrants went through between 1892 and 1954.
Interestingly, Ellis Island was also where there was another border dispute between New
York and New Jersey, as both claimed it.
Only in 1998 did the Supreme Court step in to settle the matter once and for all, giving
the original part of the island to New York and the area added by landfill to New Jersey.
Of course.
Today, both states are ethnically diverse compared to most other states due to this
history of immigration.
While New York City thrives, both New Jersey and New York State are in what’s known as
the Rust Belt, a region of the country known for declining industry and run down factories.
Both lean to the left politically, and reliably have voted for the Democratic Party for the
past few decades.
Both have rivalries within each state.
In New Jersey, it’s North Jersey vs. South Jersey.
In North Jersey, it’s busier, more expensive, and more influenced by New York City.
South Jersey is more influenced by Philadelphia.
It’s also a bit more laid back, and the people there are a bit more social with strangers.
Oh, and this is very important….in North Jersey this is called a “sub,” while in
South Jersey it’s called a “hoagie.”
Don’t get it wrong.
Meanwhile, in New York, it’s Upstate vs. Downstate, although those two terms are always
relative.
In general, Upstate New York is more conservative, rural, and laid-back...with exceptions of
course...and Downstate is all urban, more liberal, wealthier, and of course, busier.
I mean, it’s basically New York City versus the rest of the state.
But that could be two entirely different videos.
Back to New York and New Jersey as a whole dangit.
Both have mountains, with the Appalachians going through both.
Granted, New York has bigger mountains and much more of them.
New York also has the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains.
While it’s New York City that seems to be at the root of the differences between the
two, it’s definitely a lot more than that.
For starters, look at this map.
New York borders Canada, in two spots, for crying out loud.
New Jersey culture is more centered around the Atlantic Ocean, although don’t forget
about New York’s Long Island, both the largest and uh, longest island in the contiguous United
States.
With 40% of New York’s population, it’s also the most populated island in the United
States.
Just a million more people live in all of New Jersey compared to just Long Island.
Anyway, being further north and inland, New York is colder, and of course gets more snow.
Northern and western New York ESPECIALLY get more snow yo.
They get that lake effect snow, due to both Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, two of the Great Lakes.
Basically, lake effect snow happens when cold dry air passes over lots of warmer water.
And so, you end up with cities like Syracuse, New York averaging around 124 inches (315
cm) of snow each year!
That’s more than triple what New York City gets each winter.
It’s no surprise Syracuse usually wins the Golden Snowball, an award given to the city
in Upstate New York that gets the most snowfall in a season.
New York generally has a humid continental climate, and so does northwestern New Jersey,
but the New York City metro area has a humid subtropical climate, like most of Jersey.
Both the New York City metro and New Jersey are vulnerable to occasional hurricanes.
In 2012, Hurricane Sandy was particularly destructive to both states.
New York is about six times bigger than New Jersey.
New York has more violent crime than New Jersey.
Perhaps contrary to popular belief, New Jersey is one of the safest states in the country.
Related to this, New York has a higher poverty rate.
It also has a slightly higher unemployment rate.
New Jersey has a higher household median income.
Overall, New York has a higher cost of living than New Jersey, but that can be misleading
because it’s all due to New York City being the most expensive city in the country.
I mean, clearly, living on the Jersey side of the New York City metro is lots cheaper,
but living in Jersey City, New Jersey is more than 55% more expensive than living in Albany,
New York, for example.
More New Jersey residents have college degrees.
More New York workers are members of a union.
In fact, only Hawaii has a higher percentage of workers who are in a union.
New York residents are less religious.
Major industries in New Jersey include agriculture-hence the Garden State nickname- but also pharmaceuticals,
telecommunications, and financial services.
Major industries in New York include banking, media and publishing, advertising, and finance.
You weren't surprised about New York’s major industries, were you.
Much of New Jersey just feels like the suburbs...suburbs of either Philadelphia or New York City.
But people forget that much of New York State looks like this.
Yeah, so while New York City and all of New Jersey are part of the Northeast Megalopolis
mwhahahahaha, a part of the country that contains more than 17 percent of its entire population,
or some 50 million people on less than 2% of the country’s land area, more than 86%
of New York state is rural.
New Jersey has no sales tax for clothes.
Speaking of which, New York has the highest tax burden of any state in the country, but
New Jersey is number 3.
But check it out.
New York spends more money on education than any other state.
New Jersey also is number 3 in this category.
New York has more toll roads.
Ugh.
New York has this crazy group of 11 long, narrow lakes going north to south.
They look like leeches, so that’s why they’re called the Leech Lakes.
Just kidding, they’re called the Finger Lakes.
New Jersey is the only state in the country where you can’t pump your own gas.
It’s literally illegal to do so, and you can be fined hundreds of dollars for trying.
This probably won’t surprise most of you, but historically New York has been the first
to pass laws that later were passed throughout the rest of the country.
Like workplace safety laws, seatbelt laws, making cars have license plates.
All kinds of stuff.
But New Jersey has always been soon to follow.
So sure, today while that New York City skyline casts a shadow over Jersey City and that Philadelphia
skyline casts a shadow over Camden, it’s often New Jersey that has the last laugh.
It’s cheaper, safer and warmer in New Jersey, after all.
However, the New York-New Jersey rivalry is misleading, due to the dominance of New York
City over the rest of New York.
Yep, it seems that the more stark difference is between Upstate New York and Downstate
New York combined with all of New Jersey.
Alright, I'm here with Mr. Betts and
he has lived in BOTH New York and New Jersey so
what have you noticed are the biggest differences
uh, between the two states?
Mr. Betts: Well, first you have New York, which is a cultural capital
New York has the best bagels and pizza
New York has the best, uh, baseball.
But New Jersey does have some stuff going for it.
Mr. Beat: Like what? Mr. Betts: Ummm
In New Jersey, if you like New York football, you actually like New Jersey football because
both the Giants and the Jets, they play in Jersey.
And if you like to duel and to shoot Alexander Hamilton
you could do that in Jersey
where you couldn't have done that in New York.
so, there's that.
Mr. Beat: You live in Jersey currently. Mr. Betts: I do.
so I get to see
New York City, every day.
It's kind of like, you don't want to live
in the best looking house on the block
you wanna live across the street
from the best looking house on the block
so you can look at the best looking house on the block.
Hey....thanks Mr. Betts.
You all know Mr. Betts from Mr.BettsClass?
At this point?
Right?
Also, a shout out to my man Keith Hughes, who is from Buffalo.
So which state do YOU think is better?
New York or New Jersey?
Eh, let me know in the comments below, alright?
Or forgetaboutit.
Also, uh, which states should I compare next?
Eh?
Thanks for watching.