I personally like NJ a lot. You guys forget, almost none of the people on " The Jersey Shore" are actually from NJ.
Good beaches (especially in the more quiet areas like Belmar), good nightlife in the summer, quiet, outside of Newark and a few industrial cesspools, it's much cleaner than NYC, best Diners in the United States, hot easy college chicks, lots of history and your still a short drive from Manhattan.
I think NJ just has a stigma attached to it and that gay ass reality tv show has made it worse.