Over the River and Through the City

One of the privileges of living in West Orange is having a ring of several cities surround you. From Jersey City to the Big Apple, it is safe to say that West Orange is one of the easternmost suburbs. Nearly every settlement between it and New York is far more urbanized than your average town. While Newark, New Jersey’s largest city accounts for less than 300,000 people, it is no secret to any Garden State natives that their state is showered with numerous smaller cities.

The hometown of Thomas Edison is for all intents and purposes the last stop before diving into this urban megalopolis which separates it from the Hudson River. Perhaps it is for this reason that West Orange is so often characterized as “urban-suburban”, noting both its suburban charm and, simultaneously, urban vibe. In this progressive town affected by both the western suburbs and eastern cities, uniqueness stems from a combination of two equidistant yet contrary cultures. We see both desolate fields and car filled alleys; gated communities and three family apartment housing; Mom & Pop shops and big franchise strip malls. It is an absolute melting pot; a microcosm of our country, if you will.

In addition to architectural character, this town’s location breeds diversity, modernity, and convenience. As a former West Orange resident, though, my favorite pastime was to enjoy the city lights that envelop any view east of Northfield Avenue. Whether it’s up the windy, elevated Walker Road, or high up top on Eagle Rock Reservation, one is easily immersed in a metropolitan world, yet able to watch from a peaceful distance. Even something as simple as looking from the top of eastern Lawrence Ave., where I once lived, one can see a plethora of illuminated buildings. They begin in Orange and work their way east, becoming both bigger and brighter. Having just recently returned to my old stomping grounds, I have quickly become reacquainted with staring towards and beyond the Hudson River, an act that strikes me with both awe and nostalgia every time I revisit it. Oddly enough, my home in Korea these past two years provided me with a strikingly different, yet unbelievably similar panorama.

As contrasting as Anseong is to West Orange, it too provided me with a magical view of a city, reminding me of the precious compromise my hometown has — to be both urban and tranquil. I now realize these towns, separated by thousands of miles and possibly just as many cultural differences, do have this, as well another characteristic in common — they can both be easily misjudged.

 Through the main entrance to West Orange, “Mountaineer” may be the last word that comes to one’s mind when looking ahead at the cars whizzing by bustling Main Street; Northfield Bagel and the Citgo gas station the first two buildings in view. Roughly a mile away, however, one can bask in the woods of Turtle Back Rock, a bastion of nature and equanimity — a region that might give the name of the high school mascot some more meaning. Likewise, when people enter Anseong they may be taken off guard by the big bright sign that boasts “City of Masters”, as most of what follows are scenes of countrified communities, far from any term linked to “city”. Within a short distance, mind you, springs a superfluity of urban culture.

Anseong and West Orange are very much alike in that one can enjoy the city in action from a far— the wonders of urbanity without the headaches of traffic, clutter and clamor. While residents of West Orange view the surrounding cities, the predominantly rural Anseong, a town that covers over 200 square miles, views its own city from the top of Bi-Bong Mountain. This is the end of a hiking trail that is seemingly a world away from the urban downtown that it rises above. One can take pleasure in the gorgeous view of downtown from the edge of this town’s highest mountain; a site that has become an all time favorite of mine these past two years. Not too far away sits the Anseong River, another scene of serenity that overlooks a portion of the same city, yet could not be any more different from the distant neighborhood in vision.

It is quite rare to find places to enjoy both the life of a quiet reservation or hiking trail and a magnificent skyline of a bustling city. I happened to live in two places on opposite sides of the world that offer this. Such wonders illustrate the drastic differences in our world, whether continents away, or through our own backyard.