What is the difference between a town, city, borough, or township?

aurigus — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 07:02:30 -0800

What is the difference between a town, city, borough, or township? I am not sure if the difference is just a legal one, population, or what the separations are.

What do the various New Yorkers think of NJ?

MiguelCardoso — Tue, 23 Nov 2004 02:12:01 -0800

What does New Jersey mean to a New Yorker - and does it mean different things according to what borough you live in? [More inside.] On a recent episode of The Sopranos, during a meeting of "Mafia" bosses, one guy justifies his reneging on a debt to Tony Soprano, when reminded he's a "made man" and a boss, by saying "Hey, he's from New Jersey...!"

For the benefit of foreigners (to whom New Jersey is a little bit Sinatra and a little bit Springsteen), just what is the status of New Jersey to New Yorkers? Is it considered provincial or suburban or somehow beyond the pale?

I sort of get the "bridge and tunnel" snobbery but I wonder if this snobbery - if it exists beyond the world of fictional organized crime - is even deeper and more distant with regards to what is nominally a different state. What are the stereotypes in play here?

For instance, would someone from Brooklyn look down on someone from New Jersey, you know, if they were prejudiced and unenlightened in general? Thank you for any answers - they will greatly enhance understanding of The Sopranos, Sinatra's Hoboken monologues and much besides! :)

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What is the difference between a town, city, borough, or township?

What do the various New Yorkers think of NJ?