Judgmental Maps of Cities

[Crawford]

Jersey Shore is kinda misunderstood. It's stereotyped as Jersey Shore guido towns with carnivalesque boardwalks, and that exists (Seaside Heights, Wildwood) but there's pretty much every kind of beach and beach town, from just south of NYC to below the Mason Dixon line

Places like Spring Lake and Stone Harbor feel like Newport or Martha's Vineyard, then there are Orthodox Jewish beach towns like Deal, gay-oriented beach towns like Asbury Park, Cape Cod-style towns like Cape May, Hamptons-like estate towns like Rumson, Wall Street commuter towns like Highland (via fast ferries), railroad commuter towns like Long Branch, and rather depressed towns like Atlantic City. There are NY-oriented towns and Philly-oriented towns.

Jersey Shore is kind of a microcosm of Jersey - stereotyped as very working class and ethnic, but really runs the gamut.