Warning: If you or someone you love is a hipster, then do not read this.
Williamsburg in Brooklyn is a college town (minus the college) for people just past college age who are still being supported by their parents. This is what you get when the everybody-gets-a-trophy generation reaches an age where their helicopter parents no longer have teachers, school administrators, league coaches, camp counselors, music instructors, SAT tutors, admissions officers or professors to badger. The "kids" wind up in an overpriced section of Brooklyn reminiscent of Disney World. It is Disney-like not because the streets are supernaturally clean (as a matter of fact, the streets appear to be paved with cigarette butts), but because it all seems contrived.
We went there in search of a famed meatball restaurant. In the restaurant every single person was 23 years old and wearing a wool cap. The shops in town look like thrift stores, but if you want to buy a T-shirt, it will cost you $40 on sale. There are empty lots with trash and some shuttered stores with graffiti. (But, incredibly artistic graffiti. Everyone gets a trophy!)
This is a place where extended adolescence has taken on Gumby-like proportions. (Ironic reference to an old-timey animated character.Very hipster of me.) There are a couple of vinyl record stores (you can buy old albums there, also for $40), a make-your-own beaded jewelry shop, lots of storefronts with the word "vintage" in the windows, and restaurants boasting gluten-free menus. The real estate is expensive, yet no one seems to be at work in the middle of the day.
Where is this generation headed? I couldn't tell you, but when they get there, they'll be sporting a bad case of hat hair.
No comments:
Post a Comment
What do you think?