South Jersey comprises the southern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the lower Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation is a colloquial one, reflecting not only geographical but perceived cultural differences from the northern part of the state, with no official definition.
New Jersey is sandwiched between two large cities: New York City in the northeast and Philadelphia in the southwest; Benjamin Franklin called the state "a barrel tapped at both ends". South Jersey may be defined geographically as the area below Interstate 195, in particular the "lower eight counties of New Jersey", whereas North Jersey is the area above "Central Jersey". Culturally, South Jersey is defined as the area in New Jersey within the influence of the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley), in contrast to the rest of New Jersey, located within the New York metropolitan area.
Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties have several older streetcar towns, and many residents commute to Philadelphia. The Courier-Post daily newspaper, which refers to itself as "South Jersey's Newspaper" is based in Camden County. It covers all of South Jersey, but focuses primarily on these three counties. The Gloucester County Times based in the city of Woodbury, however, is the principal newspaper for that county. Salem County and to lesser extents lower Gloucester County and upper Cumberland County serve as residential communities for the industries (mainly petro-chemical) in New Castle County, Delaware. The Atlantic shore areas, in particular Atlantic City in Atlantic County, New Jersey and Cape May have a distinct economy centered around tourism. Cape May has the distinction of being geographically as far south as Washington, D.C., thus giving another sense to the name South Jersey.
Read more about South Jersey: Counties, Economics and Demographics, Professional Sports Fans, Commercial Centers and Resorts, Notable South Jerseyans, Culture, South Jersey English
Famous quotes containing the words south and/or jersey:
“Biography is a very definite region bounded on the north by history, on the south by fiction, on the east by obituary, and on the west by tedium.”
—Philip Guedalla (1889–1944)
“To motorists bound to or from the Jersey shore, Perth Amboy consists of five traffic lights that sometimes tie up week-end traffic for miles. While cars creep along or come to a prolonged halt, drivers lean out to discuss with each other this red menace to freedom of the road.”
—For the State of New Jersey, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)