Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Where am I?

I was in a meeting in one of the rooms overlooking the Hudson and Hoboken, as well as a huge Emporio Armani billboard. As I was looking at the billboard, I thought about the pervasive air of wealth and luxe in this area (for those who can and can't afford it but buy into it anyway) and for a second or two, I really felt like I was in a foreign city. It was almost like an hallucination. I've been feeling like I don't belong in central/northern Jersey or New York City anymore because I feel like people look down on you if you don't own the most up-to-the-minute fashion, drive an SUV, or dress up to go to the mall, but I didn't think I felt it that deeply.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Even if you had all that stuff, people would still think of you as different because you live in Jersey. At least that's what I'm finding. Not so much that they look down, but that they don't understand why anyone would want to. I was home sick today and saw a raccoon in the back yard. It was a good reminder of why I like living in Jersey instead of the city.

Speechless said...

It's not my coworkers that make me feel out of place just because I live in NJ - it's people (some of my non-coworker friends) who are a part of the current overpriced luxury-for-everyone culture that make me feel out of place. I've gotten one or two anti-NJ comments at work, but a lot of my co-workers live in NJ, so it's not a big deal here.

My point is that if I had and wanted all that stuff and lived in NJ, I would feel at home in NJ. But I don't, so I don't.