New Jersey is filled with suburbs and commuter towns, but there are some really special communities sprinkled along the infamous Garden State Parkway. The best of all New Jersey towns you will find at exit 135. Westfield is the perfect urban city-town, featuring a trendy downtown, the birthplace of the Addams family, and probably the best Lord and Taylor in the country. If you’re from Westfield, New Jersey here are 12 things you can definitely relate to:
B-Chat has the best bagels in the world and that isn’t an understatement. If your friend asks to go to Manhattan Bagel instead, you may want to reconsider if they are really a “friend.” Oh, and when you go to B-Chat, be ready to run into your best friend’s ex, that annoying girl who was in all your classes junior year, and your mom’s best friend’s sister.
While Vicki’s has that nice classic diner feel and unbeatable breakfast, the Westfield Diner is referenced as “The Diner” for a REASON. You’re bound to have wound up here unexpectedly… or more so because there’s nothing else to do in Westfield at 1:30 am except get a milkshake and french fries at The Diner. Whichever you go to, it’s another place where you’re bound to run into the EXACT people from high school that you didn’t ever want to see after graduation.
Academics in Westfield are no joke. Between the endless AP classes, honors level courses, and teachers that seem to think their class is the only relevant one you’re taking, you’ve DEFINITELY spent nights crying over your AP test study guides at 2 am. On top of homework, you were definitely in 2 clubs and played a varsity sport. While it may have been hellish at the time, by the time you got to college you were a pro at studying and test taking, and college workloads weren’t too much of a shock.
If you’re from Westfield, New Jersey you’ve definitely pleaded with your mother to allow you to walk around downtown with your friends after school. You had no money, but your Coach wristlet was definitely filled with orbit gum and Lipsmackers. You spent a lot of this time downtown sitting in Panera, and when it closed a few years back it felt like they were closing the doors on your adolescent memories.
Aside from excelling in academics, the Westfield High School Football team is also constantly on top. The Blue Devils have won the last 3 state championships, and is notoriously undefeated. Coach DeSarno knows what he’s doing, and was even named football coach of the year. Nothing beats watching your hometown football team kick ass on the field.
The theater department is NO JOKE. The shows that come out of the Westfield High School Theater Department are probably the most professional public school productions you’ve ever seen. The outstandingly talented and incredible director, Daniel Devlin, always chooses unique and different shows that shows off the student’s talents… and let me tell you, those students are RIDICULOUSLY TALENTED. Broadway here they come!
Getting into the city takes 35 minutes driving or an easy train commute right from downtown, so whenever you were feeling stuck in the suburbs NYC was an easy escape. The second step to freedom (after walking around downtown without parental supervision) was the day your parents let you venture into the city with your friends. You’ve definitely gotten lost in midtown, and you’ve definitely missed your NJ Transit train back home.
The Chocolate Bar. Kilwins. Coldstone. FroYo. The list goes on. Whatever your ice cream tastes are, Westfield has the place for you. Your go-to meetup place with your friends from Westfield, New Jersey is almost always the squad’s favorite ice cream destination… and if your favorite isn’t The Chocolate Bar, something is definitely wrong with your squad’s mojo.
The Rialto movie theater is a Westfield trademark. While it may not be the fanciest, it is the most homey movie theater you’ve probably ever been to, and you’ve definitely been going there since you were a child. And if your date acts fast, you could be the one person per year that gets prom-posed to via the big sign outside Rialto.
The SPF/WHS rivalry is no joke. If you’re from Westfield, New Jersey it is your duty to represent your town proudly and boldly. There have been legitimate brawls between kids claiming their school is better than the other… which is weird, because Westfield is CLEARLY the alpha. The rivalry is so strong we even have pet names for each other: Wastefield and Crotch Pains (original, we know).
In Westfield, we have the North Side of town and the South Side of town. You can usually tell just by talking to a Westfielder whether they are from the North Side or South Side, but don’t EVER ask if a person is specifically from the North Side or South Side, because getting it wrong can spark outrage. In fact, this debate has so much heat behind it, it’s hard to say more without stepping on some toes (*cough* SOUTH SIDE IS THE SUPERIOR *cough*).
There’s something about the Westfield community that keeps you coming back. Nothing beats that feeling of pulling off the Parkway at exit 135 and crossing the train tracks to see the big “Welcome to Westfield” sign. If you’re from Westfield, New Jersey it will stay in your heart forever. Westfield is where you made amazing friends, became an adult, learned to drive, went to prom… and you wouldn’t want those memories anywhere else.
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