Business Insider recently posted a map on their website, titled “America’s Super Elite Live in These Zip Codes.” Twenty zip codes were subsequently listed as the areas in which America’s most elite and wealthy households were most concentrated, hence the referral to them as “super zips.” Among the twenty, one zip code stood out to me: 07046, Mountain Lakes, NJ.
I have lived in Mountain Lakes for the past three years, so I can personally attest to just how “elite” the small New Jersey-an town is. I first chanced upon the online article through Facebook. Several of my classmates from high school posted about the article, making comments such as “OMG yes go Mountain Lakes!” or “Yeeaaahhh we rich!” as if they couldn’t have asked to be represented better. But I, like many of my friends, questioned whether being labelled as one of America’s most “elite” neighborhoods was really a good thing.
Before coming to New Jersey, my family lived in Palo Alto, a town in the heart of the Silicon Valley known for housing such technological powerhouses such as Apple, Hewlett-Packard, and Tesla Motors, as well as notable individuals like Steve Jobs and many Nobel Prize winners. Property values are one of the highest in the nation, and the school system consistently ranks in the top 100 as well. Needless to say, many who lived in Palo Alto hailed from extremely wealthy and accomplished families; Palo Alto, however, is surprisingly missing from Business Insider’s list of super zips.
The begging question, then, is why? The answer most probably lies in the level of socioeconomic stratification. The wealthy in Palo Alto probably have noticeably higher income and assets than those in Mountain Lakes, but the super zip classification depends on the average. Mountain Lakes is commonly referred to as the most elite town in New Jersey because of that fact: almost all residents in the small century-old town retain high income and large multi-million dollar properties, many of which are located on the shores of the town’s several scenic lakes. Compare that to Palo Alto, where, although the rich may be richer, there exists a population of varying degrees of economic status. Two blocks from my old house there used to be a trailer park in which there were a couple dozen residents. Condos and townhomes in Palo Alto were also much more numerous than in Mountain Lakes, where they are few and far in between. Thus is Palo Alto’s average income comparatively lowered, disqualifying it from the ranks of America’s super elite.
With being a super elite neighborhood there comes its share of environmental consequences, especially for minors still attending school. My general experience has been that my peers in Palo Alto were more open-minded and inclusive than those in Mountain Lakes, with more conservative and less flamboyant habits. Mountain Lakes’ big problem is that upwards of 90-95% of the population under 18 come from wealthy families, and thus are more likely to be materially spoiled. Up until high school, these kids grow up knowing essentially only other wealthy children. Spending habits and perspectives on money and status are developed in these years and greatly affect how they behave in high school and beyond. The “Mountain Lakes bubble” is a term commonly used to describe the close-minded perspective that this early lifestyle creates. Many of my peers have lived in Mountain Lakes their entire lives, and upon leaving for college many find themselves lost and unprepared for a world unlike the one they’re used to.
The first year of high school in Mountain Lakes also harbors an interesting phenomenon. As stated before, the elementary and middle schools in Mountain Lakes serve only the residents of the town, but the high school also admits specific areas from the neighboring Boonton Township, a much less wealthy district. The animosity between the two groups is tangible for the first year or two, with many Mountain Lakes students under the impression that their less wealthy peers from Boonton Township are in some way inferior. If you’re from Mountain Lakes, you may have an almost infinite pool of money with which to go out and spend on trips to the mall and an almost regal pride in your social status. If you’re from Boonton Township, you likely have little to none of those luxuries. These discrepancies become less glaring over time as students from both districts get to know each other better, but I never got rid of the feeling that students looked at each other differently based on where that individual may live.
Parallel to that observation is the fact that normalcy is a social quality that is more strictly enforced than in other places. The “weird” ones are avoided or made fun of behind their backs more frequently than they might be in other more open-minded settings. Up until early senior year I was incredibly shy, and didn’t know much about how to deal with people. As a result, I was considered one of the weird ones, and I found that that stipulation carried with it more social barriers than it ever did back when I was in California. I did have friends, but I never felt nearly as comfortable as I probably would have been at Gunn High School. Several male classmates who I know are either unusually feminine or openly homosexual have expressed to me their utter dissatisfaction and frustration in the Mountain Lakes environment. Other students are quick to judge and to discriminate, quick to tease and spread malicious gossip. Contrast this with Palo Alto and most of California as a whole, where acceptance of homosexual individuals is widely encouraged, and you can see the shortcomings of an overly conservative and judgmental community.
There are also qualities present that are common throughout not just Mountain Lakes, but many other neighborhoods besides. Illicit use of Marijuana is widespread and sexual engagements early in high school are considered to be normal. On multiple occasions I have seen peers smoking weed either in the school parking lot or even in the school bathrooms while classes were in session. Similarly, I have heard numerous freshman and sophomore girls brag and gossip about who is have sex with who, which couples are and aren’t using birth control pills, etc. Of course these occurrences may be more frequent in low income neighborhoods, but the fact that such activities are seemingly accepted to be considered “cool” and desirable for many students strikes me as a little odd.
The culture in a super zip may also differ greatly. The more you spend on clothes and accessories, the classier you are assumed to be. I have always looked to find the cheapest (but still good-looking) fashion I can before committing to buy, but many of my peers think otherwise. A few of my friends have laughed in my face when I told them I often shop at Marshall’s. They, on the other hand, frequent stores like J. Crew, Ralph Lauren, and Brooks Brothers. I once offered to bring a friend to Marshall’s so that I could prove to him that he could find the exact same thing he likes to buy for around 1/3 to ½ of the price, but he refused, saying that he would never ever set foot in a cheap store like Marshall’s. The amount of monetary waste and elitism is just so appalling to me, not to mention the fact that the shirts that my male classmates pay $150 for look outright ugly to me.
In terms of academics, Mountain Lakes is considered to be one of the top 10 school districts in New Jersey. Honestly, I have a hard time believing that. Yes, there are intelligent people scattered among the crowd, but the majority of Mountain Lakes students are sports-centered and tend to fare average to below average in most classes. To give some perspective, my freshman academics at Gunn High School were harder and more competitive than all three of my years at Mountain Lakes High School. The number of students who require tutors to pass or do well in a class remains much higher than in neighboring communities. One other bit of hypocrisy that has always disturbed me has been the school’s boasting about its honor code when a large percentage of students cheat their way through classes. I’m not the only one who has noticed; several of my friends have complained of how many of their classmates collaborate during tests. While most AP and honors classes don’t experience this kind of mass cheating, some teachers just aren’t competent enough to notice are don’t care enough to intervene.
If I seem to be heavily criticizing almost every aspect of Mountain Lakes culture, it’s because I find myself in disagreement with most of the town’s qualities. The town itself is beautiful, the community is close-knit and friendly, and the school in terms of facilities and staff is overall pretty decent. My problem is with the people, mainly the teenagers. Of course all the complaints I have listed are not universal; it wouldn’t be reasonable to generalize all of Mountain Lakes as elitist, judgmental, dishonest, etc. But the fact is that my opinions of the town are overwhelmingly negative. Palo Alto is home to much wealth as well, but the presence of diversity in its population has facilitated a more accepting and worldly mentality among its youth. Mountain Lakes is over 90% Caucasian and a concentrated pool of New Jersey’s wealthiest. I believe this environment is what has resulted in Mountain Lakes kids to develop to be so disagreeable to me. I cannot assume that the other zip codes listed by Business Insider are similar to Mountain Lakes, but my one experience with these “super zips” has instilled in me a certain disdain for such neighborhoods of concentrated wealth. Living in a super zip just isn’t all that super.
http://www.businessinsider.com/map-americas-super-elite-live-in-these-zip-codes-2013-12
| henrysong (2014-03-03 01:18:53) |
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Generally speaking, California is a much more accomodating and diversified state where people are more openminded than most of other states in the US. |
| 海云 (2014-03-03 01:26:37) |
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We will be back! 很久不见，问好，宋兄。 |
| henrysong (2014-03-03 01:27:59) |
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欢迎来南加吧！啥时候回来？ |
| 海云 (2014-03-03 01:30:25) |
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至少要等到女儿上大学。 |
| henrysong (2014-03-03 01:33:48) |
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也就是两三年吧？ |
| 海云 (2014-03-03 01:45:34) |
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嗯，差不多。 |
| 春山如笑 (2014-03-03 19:12:42) |
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西方人讲" old rich", "new rich", 呵呵, 你们住的那块可能那些有家底的富人比较多吧? 你儿子的文章写得真好, 赞一个! |
| 海云 (2014-03-03 19:20:02) |
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没错，世袭的和爆发的。：）谢谢春山夸奖。 |
| 阿尧 (2014-03-05 00:55:49) |
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谢谢Kevin的好文。有机会还想读到他对Brown和现在同学的印象。 |
| 海云 (2014-03-05 01:28:19) |
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他写了一篇上大学后的感想给我，我还没有时间翻译，稍后慢慢会跟大家分享。 |
