If you feel like the words happy and New Jersey don't usually land in the same sentence, you are not alone.

Photo by Husna Miskandar on Unsplash
Photo by Husna Miskandar on Unsplash
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A recent report, however, does put those three words together, and it also claims that the Garden State is among the happiest states in the country in a particular category.

This should be good. What category makes New Jersey people happier than people in other states? The irony is amazing.

It turns out that New Jersey has some of the happiest people in the country when it comes to traveling, according to Reward Expert. New Jersey travelers are the 8th happiest in the whole nation.

Photo by Phil Mosley on Unsplash
Photo by Phil Mosley on Unsplash
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Let's see if we have this right. New Jersey, known for its grumpiness, is among the happiest states, but only when we are leaving New Jersey. Now it's starting to make sense.

Every time you hear about New Jersey on a national platform lately, it seems to be about leaving the state or wanting to leave the state. And that's a shame because I think it has more to do with money than it does with the state itself.

If New Jersey was a state where things were affordable, and we could plan to retire here, wouldn't we love the thought of staying here? I think we would. The winter weather aside, we do love this great state.

Let's not think about money and traffic, and let's think more about beaches and boardwalks and we'll all be much happier. Even when we're not leaving.

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