I lived in the Parsippany area for a couple of years. There is a good side. I actually saw some of the good side tonight. It seems that the East side (east of 287) is pretty nice. But areas west of 287 are a different story.
I remember my first day of high school, walking into the boys' smoking lav by mistake - the area where I'm staying smells like that....yes, that unmistakable combination of Marlboros, nitrogen, and ammonia.
I have to be careful what I say about NJ because my wife is a Jersey-girl. It seems NJ is like a Charles Dickens novel - best of places and worst of places.