Reverse B&T, anyone?

Most people in NYC use this somewhat derogatory term called: "B & T" which refers to the "bridge and tunnel" crowd who live in New Jersey, Staten Island, Queens/Long Island or Brooklyn, who would flock to Manhattan for work or play. It implies that these visitors or commuters are less sophisticated than Manhattanites (whatever that means....) and therefore inferior. In some cases its true, in others its just jealousy. People in Manhattan certainly don't have the luxury of space. We live in crowded space. The streets and subways are filthy, and we shop, and eat in really expensive places.

Last weekend I was lucky enough to enjoy the perfect weather at a house with a nice swimming pool in Rockland County which is about 1 hour north of the city (and I guess would qualify also as B & T). Needless to say, it was an awesome afternoon. On the way back I dropped by this giant Asian supermarket in Edgewater, NJ, called Mitsuwa, formerly called Yaohan. For those of you who ever lived in or visited Japan, you would feel like you have died and gone to heaven. The store is huge, clean and has endless array of fresh and packaged food, decent takout and bakery sections and a very nice "food court". Walking around inside really feels like you are in Japan, except the store aisles are REALLY wide!!! There is also a little mall outside and a Japanese steakhouse near the Hudson river, with supposedly awesome view of Manhattan. Don't have a car? Take the door-to-door shuttle bus from Port Authority ($2 each way). It's a short hop from the ferry and the NJ light rail if you wanna go that route.

This beats going down to NY Chinatown for grocery shopping and dining anyday. Going to Fire Island or the beach from Manhattan is a huge time consuming ordeal. You end up paying the city price and seeing the same people there. You hear also of people having a reverse commute from Manhattan. The thought of getting the hell out of here and living in a bigger, nicer, quieter place crosses my mind often. I guess the little masochist in me still keeps me from moving away. You just don't get the NYC energy (and the smell !) like the Big Apple.