Texas vs. New Jersey
13 Jul
Brother #3 is here visiting us! I snapped this when he stepped off the plane. Well, escalator leading to baggage claim actually.
We plan to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and maybe Gettysburg while he’s here. He and David are planning to play a lot of XBox 360.
He has already ordered a Dr. Pepper at McDonald’s and been offered root beer instead. I made sure to take him grocery shopping so he could experience having to put in a quarter to get a grocery cart, and see the dozens of extra workers the union requires. We don’t have a lot of unions in Texas.
Showing my baby brother around town has made me reflect (again) on the differences between Texas and New Jersey.
Driving is very different. In Texas, the right line is often right turn only. In New Jersey, the left lane is often left turn only. You can’t make u-turns here. It’s a rare intersection that allows right turns on red.
In Texas, if you miss your exit on a highway, there’s a loop under or on a bridge so you can flip around and get going the right way again. They don’t have those handy loops here. If you miss your exit, you’d better know your way around or have a Garmin Navigation System.
The speed limits are lower in New Jersey. Several Dallas highways have speed limits of 70 mph. The highest I’ve seen in Jersey is 55 mph. I have to say, I think 55 is safer.
You can’t pump your own gas in New Jersey. A native explained to me this week that New Jersey has extremely low state gas taxes, so they can afford to make it full service.
Also, they have E-Z Pass instead of Toll Tags. I learned the hard way that unlike Toll Tags, not all lanes will register your electronic device. You must use the designated E-Z Pass lane.
No one in New Jersey is proud of their state. I think I’ve seen the New Jersey flag one time. You don’t see bumper stickers that say, “I wasn’t born in New Jersey, but I got here as fast as I could!” People snarl and look at us and say, “Why on earth would you move here from Texas?” See, even they know Texas is the greatest country on earth. 
Oh sounds like a good time with the bro
I can’t get past the fact that you don’t have to pump your own gas. That alone (I hate pumping gas) makes New Jersey a nice place for ME!
(Still praying you can adjust and make friends there or God moves you back home!)
Still praying for you guys during this adjustment phase! And those grocery stores where you have to put in the quarter for your cart have now made it to TX!
Michelle, are they at Aldi? I’d never been to an Aldi until we moved here, and then a few weeks later Aldi opened up in Dallas. Brother and I talked about how it must make clerk’s lives a lot easier not having to chase carts all over the parking lot.