Unraveling The Mystery: How New Jersey Locals Identify Their Hometowns

New Jersey residents will be the first to tell you that there a few things that define us here in the Garden State:

- Do you call it "pork roll" or "Taylor Ham"
- If your favorite convenience store/gas station is Wawa
- your closest major highway

Based on your answer to those questions above, New Jersey residents can usually tell which region of the state somebody hails from.

For example, if you love Wawa, refer to NJ's popular breakfast meat as "pork roll," and travel up and down BOTH the Garden State Parkway AND the Atlantic City Expressway, chances are you're from somewhere in South Jersey.

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That's why when a fellow NJ resident asks another what part of Jersey they're from, they usually NEVER get the name of the hometown as the initial answer.

Somebody brought that exact point up in a TikTok video and it couldn't be more true. She broke it down like this: whenever two NJ residents are meeting for the first time, they usually first list the region of the state they're from (North, Central, or South) followed by the county, and only at the very end of the introduction will they reveal the actual name of their hometowns.

Weird, right?

I have to say, though, I'm guilty as charged.

Here's how a conversation would go between you and I if you asked me where I'm from:

You: "Where in Jersey are you from?"

Me: "South"

You: "Yeah, but where?"

Me: "Grew up in Gloucester County, but now live in Atlantic County."

You: "Okay, BUT WHERE?!"

Me: Mays Landing

I know I'm not the only one who does that. Can someone explain to me why it's so common NOT to reveal our actual town names here in the Garden State??