New Jersey has a history as the largest city in New York.  Many people look at the states as very similar, and with the proximity there are plenty of comparisons to make.  New Jersey has the highest percent of urban populous.  About 90 percent of residents in the state live in urban areas.  It is not a surprising fact, coming from the state that has the densest system of highways and railroads in the country.  It is the only state in the union that has every county classified as a metropolitan area.

With so many people packed in the urban areas, what do they do for shopping?  North Jersey has the most shopping malls in one area in the world, with seven major malls within 25 square miles.  That means there are plenty of places to get the latest digs and hair-dos sported on television.  If that doesn’t get your attention, the amount of resort cities and towns will.  There are over 50 resort towns in the state, including Atlantic City, Seaside Heights, and Cape May.

These are a few of the reasons to visit the state.  Here are some more to help twist your arm.

• New Jersey has the highest population density in the U.S. with an average of 1,030 people per square mile, which is 13 times the national average.

• In order to meet the increasing demand for his wire rope John Roebling opened a factory in Trenton, New Jersey in 1848. John Roebling, along with his two sons, Washington and Ferdinand, built a suspension bridge across the gorge of the Niagara River. They then built the Brooklyn Bridge plus many other suspension bridges in the United States.

• Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Naughty by Nature, Sugar Hill Gang, Lords of the Underground, Jason Alexander, Queen Latifa, Shaq,, Whitney Houston, Eddie Money, Frank Sinatra, Grover Cleveland, all New Jersey natives.

• Modern paleontology, the science of studying dinosaur fossils, began in 1858 with the discovery of the first nearly complete skeleton of a dinosaur in Haddonfield, New Jersey. The Hadrosaurus is the official New Jersey state dinosaur.

• In 1977, New Jersey voters approved legislation allowing legalized casino gambling in Atlantic City.

If a visit to this great state is not enough, you could make it longer and move there.