If you live in South Jersey, there’s one town that almost everyone is familiar with, and you’ve probably been there at least once or twice. That’s right, I’m talking about the town of Cherry Hill, NJ. It is one of the busiest towns in New Jersey, and it’s not even a big city. It’s just a suburban area with a lot of hot spots. Cherry Hill is such a landmark in New Jersey that there is a large group of cities that together are called the “Cherry Hill Area”. Here are 11 signs you live in Cherry Hill or another nearby city.
1. People who live in more rural areas think you live in the big city. As I said, Cherry Hill is most definitely suburban, it’s just busy. Sure, I have 25 Wawas within a 5 mile radius from my home in Pennsauken and 8 within a 5 mile radius near my apartment at Rowan (Glassboro); I also have not one but 2 malls within a 5 mile radius (Cherry Hill and Moorestown), and the closest mall to Glassboro is 9 miles away (Deptford), but I definitely do not live in the city! I live in a small town really close to Cherry Hill, and I go to Cherry Hill for almost everything, and it is busy, but not as busy as Philadelphia.
2. Even though you don’t live in the city, you address anywhere that looks less like civilization than Cherry Hill as “the sticks”. I am a graduate from Camden County College in Blackwood. I’m not saying that I thought of Blackwood as the sticks when I first saw it (because to me, if there’s at least some trace of civilization there, it’s not the sticks to me. Trust me, I’ve seen the literal definition of the “sticks” before!), but I’ve heard people from outside the area refer to it as that, and they were all from the Cherry Hill area. That’s just because they were used to so much civilization.
3. You’ve probably had encounters with Routes 70, 73, or 130, and they weren’t good ones! Because you live in such a busy area, you know the highways are worse, and these highways are the absolute WORST! Your road rage is at its maximum height on these highways.
4. Because of the traffic on these hellish highways, anything further than five miles seemed further away than it actually is. I lived in Pennsauken and worked in Marlton. Both towns are considered to be part of the Cherry Hill area. They shouldn’t be that far from each other right? After all, Marlton is about a 9 mile drive from Pennsauken. On the other hand, my aunt lives in Monroeville, and it’s an 11 mile drive from my apartment in Glassboro. It takes less than 20 minutes to get from Rowan to my aunt’s and back. However, it takes 20 to 25 minutes to get from Pennsuaken to Marlton and back. Why is that? There is NO traffic from Glassboro to Monroeville, and the when you go from Pennsauken to Marlton, you have to use Route 70, and that traffic is ridiculous!
5. You actually know what Wegmans is. Most Wegmans stores are up further North in New Jersey. However, there is one Wegmans in Cherry Hill and one in Mount Laurel. These two stores are the stores furthest south in Jersey. As I said before, I went to Camden County College and everyone I knew lived further south in Jersey, so when I said Wegmans, they just looked at me with a blank expression.
6. The Cherry Hill Mall is so overrated. Everyone outside of the Cherry Hill area seems to think that the Cherry Hill Mall is such a tourist attraction just because it’s the biggest mall in New Jersey. Sure, it’s pretty big, and there’s a lot of stores, but it is ALWAYS crowded, loud, and busy. You can’t even hear yourself think sometimes, and you always walk into people. Also, NO ONE likes busy! Does that sound like a tourist attraction to you?
7. Moorestown and Mount Laurel are the same place! Seriously, the transition between the two towns is so quick, and they look exactly the same. They even sound a little bit alike rolling off the tongue. Therefore, they are the same place.
8. Not all parts of Camden are unsafe. Let’s face it, when we think Camden, we think of bad things. However, not all parts of Camden are that bad. In fact, University District in Camden where Rowan, Rutgers, and Camden County College are located is one of the safest places in New Jersey. There are police EVERYWHERE on that campus! It makes me so mad when people say that they couldn’t imagine going to school on that campus. Then again, you’re unaware if you don’t know anything about the area.
9. Unlike Moorestown and Mount Laurel, Pennsauken and Camden are NOT the same place. If you live in or ever been to Pennsauken, you probably think that it looks ghetto; therefore, it’s the projects. However, once you see Camden, Pennsauken doesn’t seem as bad in comparison. If you live in Pennsauken, seeing Camden makes you so grateful for the town you live in.