Talkin' Shit About A Pretty Sunset

This is one of the strangest neighborhoods I've visited. I went up this past weekend to see some friends.

The stark urban post-industrial landscape of Williamsburg is mostly filthy and hideous. Once you're off the strip of stores on Bedford Avenue, you'll be walking along past some dilapidated fence, covered in rusty barbed wire, stepping over trash, old tires and broken sinks strewn about. Then, on the next block is the quaintest little restaurant/bar/cafe you've ever seen. Just sitting there like a sore dick, out of place.

Another strange thing about Williamsburg is the complete lack of black people. You can walk to the East River in about five blocks so it's definitely "in the city", despite the fact that it's technically across the river from Manhattan. I saw no more than 10 black people the whole time.

I think Williamsburg is the place where art school graduates (I'm not going to use "the H word") go when they don't want to be in the real world and want to continue the college partying and hooking up thing for a little while longer. About 90% of Williamsburg's population are in their 20s. The rest are a few hold-outs, usually old ladies sitting in fold-up chairs on the squalid sidewalks.

The people are nice enough, and the party I went to was fun. It's just odd that the neighborhoods up there have chosen to self-segregate like that. I felt much more comfortable in very unhip DC.

Below is what everyone looks like in Williamsburg, except usually with bedhead hair.