I live on the east coast in the center of NJ. (right near the crevasse). Everythign is pretty much within 1:30 hours from me.. NYC, Philly, Atlantic City, Red Bank is 15 mins away, Seaside Heights, Point Pleasant, Sandy Hook, Trenton. I live in Monmouth county, it's been rated top 10 best places to live in USA (probably cosmopolatin). I live in the suburbs... housing complexes everywhere, 10 mins from the beach. Unfortunetly, there isn't much to do around here... movies/resteraunt/pool/bowling is about it. But that's how it is everywhere except for places like NYC. NJ really is awesome, parts of NJ look completely different from each other... there are nice neighborhoods and there are not. Just depends on where you live.