I'm also all NJ. Im about to graduate and am excited at the prospect of possibly leaving. For some reason Charleston popped into my head as a place I should consider looking into. I also liked DC when I was down there visiting friends, but I just get the impression that the competitiveness to get a job would make it hard for me to find one.
grew up in Hamlin, New York, about 30 minutes west of Rochester. population is around 9,000 but the area is around 45 square miles. lots of farm land with a fairly small suburban development on the edge of town where we lived. there is nothing to do there.
I was born in Silver Spring, Maryland and lived in that area til I was 5, then my family moved to our current hometown of Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. I go to college in Northfield, Minnesota though. Mount Horeb is mostly known for being a super Norwegian town with lots of troll statues lining the main streets, and we used to have the National Mustard Museum.
Deerfield Beach, Florida. Part of the big tri-county area in South Florida so spent a lot of time pretty much all over there growing up. I have weird feelings about it as a place now.
Bullhead City, AZ. Super rural and I'm sure no one's ever heard of it. It's about an hour and a half south of Vegas, right where AZ/CA/NV come to a point. Hot af.
Reality was high school and college kids getting drunk and paying off cops that gave them trouble, hah. Now it's regular Joes getting robbed and casinos getting shot up. It's bad down there. I'd advise anyone to generally stay out of that country for the time being. Even the popular vacation spots.
Which part of Mexico were you near, if you don't mind me asking? I was considering a trip to Mexico City earlier this year. I wouldn't mess with the border towns or the vacation spots. Obviously a cartel presence in those areas.
Living in AZ, we used to allllways go to Mexico for trips, primarily to Rocky Point, but nooooot anymore. =\ Different now. I know what you mean.
Reynosa. I wouldn't be as concerned in Mexico City. My best advice is always travel with friends, even if you'll just taking a walk.
I'm from Troy, MI, which is like a 20 minute drive from Detroit. It's a nice place to raise kids but there's not a whole lot going on there. I always get bored quickly when I go visit my parents there now.
Willmar, MN (pop. ~18,000), which is about two hours west of Minneapolis. It's shit there, though. No need to visit.