I live right behind Round Valley Reservoir. It is a nice picturesque area. However paying $11,000 in taxes each year is a killer.
They just built a golf course here called Stanton Ridge. I found a nice 3.2-mile loop around the course. The homes are a little obscene. The cheapest house is "only" $850,000. I believe the President of Johnson and Johnson lives in this development.
Sometimes when I am running here I go past a 200-year-old stone house and ask myself is this really New Jersey.
Up the road 20 miles is Bedminster, which is listed as the nations richest county. These people probably don't care about what state they live. They live in their large mansions oblivious to what is going on in the rest of the state. Some of these homes have 1000-acre horse ranches. The average salary in the Bedminster and Somerville area is nearly $60,000.
New Jersey is an odd state. It represents the best and worst of America. In one USATODAY report NJ had the most wealthy and poor town in the nation. In some parts of the state you feel like you are in Vermont, and in other places you feel if you are on a set for an end-of-the-world move.
There is no denying that both Connecticut and New Jersey are wealthiest and best educated states on the East coast. However, Connecticut probably has a better overall reputation.
Side Note:
I believe Steve Slattery is from Mount Olive NJ. I used to work up there. Mount Olive is one of those interesting areas of Jersey that feel like a lost town in Vermont.