Regarding Red Bank, I was stunned that this town was referred to as "the Soho of NJ" for many reasons. The art galleries are your typical suburban fare of talent, there are only a few good restaurants, middle-of-the-road nightlife and a very white bread atmosphere. The positive side is the town has a fantastic antique mall and one independent movie theater. All I can say is that after five years of a four hour door to door commute into the city, I'm happy to be here in Jersey City. Additionally, you have to work in the city in order to receive enough salary to afford to live in Red Bank and the surrounding area so there's no way to escape the horrendous and costly commute (if that is where you choose to live).

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It was in the Page Six magazine (which is published on Sundays and distributed with the Post) so take it in the context it was printed.

The piece reads like it was written for one of those "special" sections that appear in the paper from time to time whose sole purpose is to sell ads. What would've been more interesting is to see what ads were on the same and adjacent pages of this hard-hitting piece of real-estate porn. I wouldn't be surprised if there were display ads for 77 Hudson, some Toll Brothers monstrosity, etc....

Also, is it just me, or does anyone else have a hard time believing that Springsteen would "come and stay for hours" at a clothing boutique that caters to the ladies-who-lunch set? The idealist in me would like to think he's doing research for a new album dedicated to the hard-luck stories of Monmouth County's investment bankers and brokers (and their trophy wives) who suddenly find themselves without bonuses....

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Let me see ? Greek islands, An island in the Pacific and basically anywhere I can walk around butt naked with my balls tanning themselves in the sun and bouncing around like 2 coconuts in the breeze.
I'm saving my $ as we speak for a early retirement.

I don't think the author has ever actually set foot in NJ. Her article seems like she just hit up google earth. I can't beleive this was actually in the post, it's written like an article from a high school newspaper, but with less insight.

I question the motives of every article like this....

There are a ton of "cool" places to live in NJ, YET, people only seem to write articles about towns where New Luxury Condos are being built.

Could she paint with a broader brush?
I need to write and article and send it to the Jersey Journal. I'll talk about the hidden treasures of New York, like the Empire State Building and Central Park.

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I think JC is pretty great. Hardly perfect, but nowhere is.

If you don't, why do you live here? I'm not being fresh, I am curious. Life is too short to live somewhere you don't like.

Without question NJ has some great towns and suburbs, but JC isn't one of them.

Click here for the article with images (the JC one will make you mad, I guarantee)

Welcome to New Jersey, the New New York
It's long been called the armpit of America, but not anymore. Lately, the Garden State has been sprouting some major cultural clout.
By Kirsten Fleming

When Bruce Springsteen, patron saint of the Garden State, was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame last May, he noted that the state is a place "that will never get any respect; where [its] inhabitants bear the cruelness of the forever uncool."

Eat your words, O Man of the People: The state defined by unsavory sulfur smells on the turnpike and bad jokes with hairspray kickers is undergoing something of a renaissance. "The rest of the northeast is experiencing a cultural awareness of what New Jersey has to offer, and we're being thought of in the same vein as places like Philadelphia and New York, especially in terms of music," says Caroline O'Toole, owner of Asbury Park's legendary nightspot the Stone Pony (where the Boss got his start). "It's just our time, and it's happening in a lot of our towns." With the help of gentrified cities, new boutique hotels, vibrant venues and celebrity residents, the state is shedding its image as the prison from which people escape to Manhattan as soon as they can. "I've lived here for 20 years, and it's amazing and eclectic," says makeup maven Bobbi Brown of her adopted home state. So if you think you heart New York, think again?there should be space for the Garden State in your affections too.

If you like the Bowery, you'll love Atlantic City

Atlantic City became the place for pasty hipsters this summer. "It is the new post-ironic destination," says Alexis Swerdloff, managing editor of Papermag.com. She has seen plenty of the flannel shirt?wearing, Parliaments-smoking contingency head for the revitalized seaside resort town since the July opening of the Chelsea Hotel. Paul Sevigny and Matt Abramcyk, the duo behind Manhattan hot spot the Beatrice Inn, consulted on the hotel's fifth-floor nightclub and literally moved their scene down to AC in July with a free party bus, to hype the modern, chic space. "Once it was announced that these guys were involved, it gave AC more cred," Alexis says. And since then, Sean Avery, Chlo? Sevigny, John Mayer, members of Maroon Five and James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem have all visited?and changed the notion that Atlantic City is for pensioners carrying social security checks, oxygen tanks and crab legs they stole from the buffet.

Meanwhile, the nearby Water Club Hotel, which is attached to the Las Vegas?style Borgata complex and catered by Geoffrey Zakarian, superstar chef behind NYC eateries Country and Town, has drawn the likes of gal pals Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson. "There are great concerts there as well. [Paper magazine's bespectacled fashionisto] Mr. Mickey and [Village Voice columnist] Michael Musto love it there,"

Alexis says. Still, the boardwalk is not quite gentrified, thanks to a Hooters to Go restaurant and various cheap sundry stands. "The thing to do is to buy a cheesy Atlantic City loose tank top from one of them," Alexis suggests. "Hipsters wear them with their cut-off jeans shorts and boots."
Getting There: The bus trip takes three hours from Port Authority Bus Terminal; $28.50 one way.

If you like Downtown Brooklyn you'll love Newark

For a city that's known for murder rates, drive-bys and corrupt former Mayor Sharpe James, Newark sure cleans up well. "Newark is no longer a punch line," says Stefan Pryor, deputy mayor. Thanks to his superior, Mayor Cory Booker, a crime-busting phenom who in '06 shed his blazer to chase down a robber at an ATM, Newark is a kinder, gentler place. (Homicides dropped by 40 percent in 2008.)

The surest sign of true gentrification? A Zagat eatery guide to accompany the city's first-ever Restaurant Week this past November. "Newark is an up-and-coming culinary destination," publisher Tim Zagat says. "It made sense to extend our coverage there." Those in the know favor Iberia and Fornos of Spain on Ferry Street. Tapas joint Vivo and sizzling Brazilian lounge Adega are creating foodie buzz too. And Newark native Queen Latifah loves the soul food at Je's.

Like Brooklyn, Newark's high-rise condos are luring yuppies across the river. Native son Shaquille O'Neal got the OK in August to develop a 25-story condo in the downtown business district. And with the 2007 opening of the Prudential Center as the home of the New Jersey Devils, downtown is the place to be.

Newark has also attracted film crews for Cadillac Records (which drew stars Beyonc? and Adrien Brody to Halsey Street). And actor Forest Whitaker is producing Brick City, a documentary series starring the mayor, to air in '09 on the Sundance channel.
Getting There: The train trip is 20 minutes from NYC's Penn Station to Newark's Penn Station on N.J. Transit; $4 one way.

If you like the Upper West Side, you'll love Montclair

When the 1920s vaudeville theater the Wellmont reopened in Montclair last October, many of the bohemian town's well-heeled residents came out for the opening. "I've seen Counting Crows and John Legend there and I'm forcing my kids to see Duran Duran," says Bobbi Brown, who has lived in the historic locale for 20 years. The theater, which is run by Montclair Entertainment, is a partnership between NYC's Bowery Presents music promotions company and Andy Feltz, a Montclair native who ran the UWS' Beacon Theatre from '86 to '06. "If we could put this place on wheels and bring it to New York, it would be the best venue in the city," says Bowery Presents partner Jim Glancy of the restored spot, which can accommodate up to 2,800 revelers. Comedian (and local) Bill Maher has performed there, as have Tony Bennett and indie band the Decemberists.

The town is also known for its fabulous public schools?just like the Upper West Side?and its parental involvement. "We do this amazing party in June called Dancing in the Streets and it raises over $300,000 for the schools," Bobbi says.

And Montclair's downtown area is a bit like 72nd Street, complete with Bobbi's Spinning gym, yoga studios and organic nosh spot Elevation Burger. "There is a rumor that [frozen yogurt sensation] Red Mango is coming, which I hope is true," Bobbi adds.
Getting There: The train trip is 30 minutes from Penn Station to Bay Street Station on the Montclair-Boonton line; $5.50 one way.

If you like Soho, you'll love Red Bank

Though the Jersey Shore town of Red Bank has always been home to director Kevin Smith, it's much more than the ragtag places, slackers and drifters portrayed in his quirky films like Clerks and Chasing Amy. A ritzy downtown area, with its pristinely maintained old buildings, is home to hip young professionals and cash-heavy commuting bankers and lawyers. "Red Bank is the crown jewel of the Jersey Shore," says Maury Povich, who, along with his wife, Connie Chung, lives in nearby Middletown. "It's a happening town for couples and singles."

As for celeb-spotting: Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi, who both live just a few miles away, are frequent visitors to the shops, as is Debbie Harry. "Bruce comes and stays here for hours because nobody bothers him," says Kimberly Landau, who owns Coco Pari, a three-story boutique that's a hybrid of Intermix and Bergdorf Goodman.

The dining is also top-notch. Swank restaurant Reds and the more casual Downtown Caf? are owned by New York hospitality veterans Daniel Lynch and Matthew Wagman. Just five miles away in Rumson, Maury, Richie Sambora and Geraldo Rivera frequent NYC chef David Burke's Fromagerie. Maury insists, though, "Red Bank's not a pretentious town at all."
getting there: The train trip takes one hour and 20 minutes from NYC's Penn Station to Red Bank Station on N.J. Transit; $11.75 one way.

If you like Lower Manhattan, you'll love Jersey City

Known as Wall Street West, Jersey City has long been a landing pad for large banks like Goldman Sachs. "Ten years ago, it was embryonic, but over the last five years people have seen the transition," says Dean Geibel, managing partner of Metro Homes, a development company. Dean manages Jersey City's Trump Plaza, which started moving residents in this summer?and has sealed the city's fate as a destination du jour (the 2,000-square-foot penthouse just sold for $2.4 million). "Donald Trump saw the writing on the wall and thought it was time to develop here," Dean says.

Liberty State Park, a massive greenway just like Battery Park, sports amazing views of the other side of the Statue of Liberty. And Port Liberte, a chichi housing enclave along the Hudson River, boasts canals, restaurants, tennis courts and swimming pools?and is the spot for bankers and ladies who lunch and shop at Tia's Place for AG jeans and Tibi dresses. Or just sit and sip Bloody Marys while overlooking the river at the Point.

Meanwhile, Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, and former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani belong to Liberty National Golf Course, one of the most expensive in the U.S. Designed by pro Tom Kite, the over-the-top course shuttles their members in true New York style?by chopper.
Getting There: The train trip is five minutes by Path Train from World Trade Center to Exchange Place; $1.75 one way.