#trivia
Which US state is
#1 in safety
#1 in education
#1 in % of immigrants
#1 in fewest underprivileged kids
#5 in happiness
#6 in lowest poverty
#6 in teachers
#9 in healthcare
And
#1 in population density
#1 in happily being the butt of jokes
#50 in most hardworking 😁
Which US state is
#1 in safety
#1 in education
#1 in % of immigrants
#1 in fewest underprivileged kids
#5 in happiness
#6 in lowest poverty
#6 in teachers
#9 in healthcare
And
#1 in population density
#1 in happily being the butt of jokes
#50 in most hardworking 😁
The answer is New Jersey.
It consistently ranks in the top 5 and at the most top 10 on most quality of life and socio economic indicators.
But because the state is cool with being the butt of jokes always, its public perception isn't as glamorous.
It consistently ranks in the top 5 and at the most top 10 on most quality of life and socio economic indicators.
But because the state is cool with being the butt of jokes always, its public perception isn't as glamorous.
A quarter of NJ's population is foreign born. And very diverse! We have all colors and religions and sects and everything in NJ.
New Jersey is a poster child, a case study for how immigration and diversity equals economic and social progress.
Why magamaggots hate it.
New Jersey is a poster child, a case study for how immigration and diversity equals economic and social progress.
Why magamaggots hate it.
This 🧵 is btw part of my lecture prep for April for a session on "Geography Marketing".
I start off with Vegas. The greatest example of how pure marketing turned a random patch of deserts into one of the most gleaming cities in the world.
Just pure Marketing.
I start off with Vegas. The greatest example of how pure marketing turned a random patch of deserts into one of the most gleaming cities in the world.
Just pure Marketing.
Then we talk about THE biggest city brand in the world.
NYC!
How people around the world wear I ❤️ NY shirts and Yankees hats without ever visiting the city.
We dive into the long promotional history of New York City. How it was created by Erie Canal commerce. And marketing.
NYC!
How people around the world wear I ❤️ NY shirts and Yankees hats without ever visiting the city.
We dive into the long promotional history of New York City. How it was created by Erie Canal commerce. And marketing.
Then we talk about Hollywood, Bay Area, Texas, Florida, Colorado. Regions that also have strong geography based brands cutting across different industries and lifestyles. Tied heavily to a regional identity that's not necessarily ethnicity based. But something larger.
And then I talk about the greater Seattle, greater Phoenix, and the Research Triangle of North Carolina.
This year, I plan to end the session with a discussion on Austin. Which is Texas but also not Texas. I'm gonna assign them the latest @lawrence_wright article to read.
This year, I plan to end the session with a discussion on Austin. Which is Texas but also not Texas. I'm gonna assign them the latest @lawrence_wright article to read.
In between, I will keep talking about their own state, New Jersey, which does very little state marketing or promotion, relative to its objective numbers. Or maybe because of its objective numbers!
NJ is really not facing any looming crises except climate change. It chugs along.
NJ is really not facing any looming crises except climate change. It chugs along.
I also talk about the stickiness of public perception.
A lot of perceptions about NJ are holdovers from the 70s & 80s when the state did have a whole host of serious problems.
But since the 90s, NJ has been pretty much in cruise control mode on almost all fronts.
A lot of perceptions about NJ are holdovers from the 70s & 80s when the state did have a whole host of serious problems.
But since the 90s, NJ has been pretty much in cruise control mode on almost all fronts.
It's no Utopia. It has its problems.
But on things like income, education, inequality, poverty, healthcare, housing, crime, safety, race relations, immigrant participation, and general quality of life indicators, it is always in the top.
Without really crowing about it.
But on things like income, education, inequality, poverty, healthcare, housing, crime, safety, race relations, immigrant participation, and general quality of life indicators, it is always in the top.
Without really crowing about it.
A big reason might be that NJ doesn't really need to market itself too much.
As a place to live in, it's already among the top choices, being mostly suburbs of NYC at one end and Philly at another end.
NJ has no pretenses of being a top tourist destination. No big cities.
As a place to live in, it's already among the top choices, being mostly suburbs of NYC at one end and Philly at another end.
NJ has no pretenses of being a top tourist destination. No big cities.
In fact no big cities is one reason NJ doesn't quite have this big persona in people's minds. We really only have two cities that are actually cities - Newark & Jersey City.
Both at about 300K, very much overshadowed by a 10 million city from another state just a few miles away.
Both at about 300K, very much overshadowed by a 10 million city from another state just a few miles away.
And yet NJ is the most suburban state in the union. Its identity is not exactly urban and it's not exactly rural. Its median identity is very much white collar suburban.
Thriving well off suburbs equals thriving economy and also good schools, low crime, progressive politics.
Thriving well off suburbs equals thriving economy and also good schools, low crime, progressive politics.
New Jersey is like the In-n-Out burger of states.
It doesn't advertise much. But it still has a huge customer base. Just by word of mouth. And a clear proud modern outlook.
(Tagging @DeFazioNJ who's attended this class almost a decade ago when I focused only on Vegas and NYC)
It doesn't advertise much. But it still has a huge customer base. Just by word of mouth. And a clear proud modern outlook.
(Tagging @DeFazioNJ who's attended this class almost a decade ago when I focused only on Vegas and NYC)
Precisely!
The public persona is sopranos Jersey shore guidos and turnpike exits and something very shady or rough.
Today, NJ is one of the most progressive, diverse, prosperous states.
But it's not insecure & has a self deprecating sense of humor.
The public persona is sopranos Jersey shore guidos and turnpike exits and something very shady or rough.
Today, NJ is one of the most progressive, diverse, prosperous states.
But it's not insecure & has a self deprecating sense of humor.
https://twitter.com/starrrsalign1/status/1633419712397705219?t=dP2uYwis-kd4OphDzCvkmw&s=19
It is not only the most self-effacing state in the union, but it might be the most self-effacing state in the world!
An example is the Fetterman-Oz race in Pennsylvania last year. Oz is from Jersey. Which PA Democrats used to attack him.
How did NJ respond? Not with pique!
An example is the Fetterman-Oz race in Pennsylvania last year. Oz is from Jersey. Which PA Democrats used to attack him.
How did NJ respond? Not with pique!
NJ people, including its top celebrities, totally joined in on the Oz bashing 🤣🤣.
Jersey was like, hey, we will take one for the team if it means defeating a Trumper. Insult his NJ roots all you want. We will help!
That takes collective self-esteem.
Jersey was like, hey, we will take one for the team if it means defeating a Trumper. Insult his NJ roots all you want. We will help!
That takes collective self-esteem.
https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1552819444585336832?t=VlYh-JAM1Ksd-Pye3QQEDg&s=19
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