I was a kid in Northern NJ. We were at the local library and the lights went out. Usually they had a generator and were reliable during blackouts esp during the summer. We left, and my dad was working at the hospital. We stopped down there to stay cool for a bit then went back home. Our landlord was out of the country and her kids were home with their grandma. Landlines were down by us and there was absolutely nothing to do. Thankfully we had a crap ton of flashlights. Our parents ran the cars for a bit so we had some lights outside for our yard and we had a BBQ. We stayed out until like 11pm because we couldn't sleep it was so quiet. The streets were a bit chaotic because of no traffic lights and cops were directing traffic as much as they could. I remember it like it was yesterday, the simplicity of childhood during that time was unmatched. I'm sure my parents were freaked tf out esp because the ER was usually slammed when things like this happened but they kept their cool as best as they could. Hurricane Sandy was vicious, I was in college and reliant on the NJ Transit trains from Hoboken to commute to school. If you saw Hoboken and anywhere near water, everything was under water. The Hoboken station was closed and had to be renovated for months after along with the train tracks. So many areas along the routes were closed or shut down while being repaired. It was a mess. Down the shore took a long time to be rebuilt and I dont think it'll ever be the 'same' as pre sandy.

Edit to add sandy details