I've lived in a few places.
North Jersey is great if you have money. There is just an outrageous amount of stuff to do if you have the means. NY is a 40 minute train ride away, a gazillion sports teams, Philly is only an hour and a half away, Great Adventure, Monmouth Race Track, Atlantic City, the shore is an hour away, some crappy skiing, and everyone drives like a maniac.
It sucks because its way too expensive, everyone is on top of each other (try riding the PATH during rush hour), everyone is very aggressive, there are some really really bad areas, and the area immediately surrounding NYC is an industrial wasteland. Oh, and guidos. Lots and lots of guidos.
Pittsburgh is great. If I had found a job there, I'd probably still be there. Its definitely a city, but a very livable one. If you are a drinker, its one of the greatest drinking towns around; lots of great bars and clubs. The food will kill you, but walking up the ridiculous hills will save your heart. Heinz Field is an amazing place to watch a football game (Steelers/Pitt). PNC Park is great too, but the team inside it defines futility. Pitt basketball is a pretty big ticket and the arena is also fairly new. There are a ton of great neighborhoods, and the city and universities/colleges have done a great job in rebuilding. Its also dirt cheap to live there.
It gets really really cold. Unbelievably cold. Testicles in your chest cold. The accent is ridiculous, almost like another language. The roads are crappy and, many times, at what seems like a 45 degree angle. They also get some crazy traffic; downtown is a penninsula with only three ways out, two of which include bridges that turn into tunnels.
I just moved to Raleigh. Its alright so far. I'm digging the weather (relative to NJ and Pittsburgh). Everything is so cheap that it feels like its free. Everything also seems new -- roads, houses, businesses. The main negative I've experienced is that everything goes very slow. I thought I was going to die waiting on line at the grocery store. People move at glacial speed.
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