Over the bridge from Manhattan, New York is Williamsburg — a place some locals know as Little Lawrence. The place is flourishing with young artists, recent graduates and hipsters — but most of all people who used to live in Lawrence.
Justin Montag graduated from the University of Kansas. He moved to Williamsburg after working in Lawrence for Cornerstone Promotion, a marketing company based in New York.
Montag is in some ways a guru of the New York nightlife because part of his job is being on top of the music scene. He says that besides the girls, the best part about New York is the fast pace.
"So much goes on here in just a week that you lose track of what is happening night after night," he says.
But when Montag gets together with his Lawrence friends in Williamsburg, it's just like being back in Lawrence.
"Whenever or wherever I run into them it's usually filled with discussions on how Lawrence holds it down," he says. "From thrift stores to the Love Garden to the girls at ATC to the Jayhawks."
Becky Lake, former Stilwell resident, also lives in Williamsburg. She says she moved to New York because she wanted to be an actress and had lived in the Midwest most of her life.
"I wanted to be in the most intense spot in the world." Lake says.
Like other former Lawrence residents, Lake talked about a "magnetism" that connects her to other people from Kansas.
"For every friend I meet in New York, I befriend two new KU people." Lake says.
Lake's favorite bar, the International Bar, in the East Village, is a prime example of this.
"Sure enough, there will be someone behind the bar from Lawrence when you enter that bar." Lake says.
Montag and Lake agree that Williamsburg has become a magnet for people who used to live in Lawrence because most people either know someone who recently moved there or because it's fresh, hip and attracts a crowd interested in an inexpensive place like that.
"There's even a bar in Williamsburg called Enid's that is referred to as the New York Replay." Lake says.
Lake said there's also a bar in the Upper East Side that broadcasts all of the KU basketball games.
Nadia Mustafa's story is a bit different. She lives in the East Village but spends some time in Williamsburg.
Mustafa graduated from the University in May 2001 and was working in New York a month later. She moved to New York after being hired as a reporter for Time magazine.
To Mustafa, a lot of the bars in New York feel like bars in Lawrence. One of the
bars she described as a Lawrence bar was the International Bar.
Her nightlife is different from other New Yorkers in that she doesn't like the fancy "meat market/singles scene/hot new celebrity club/dancing until three in the morning." she says. She says she doesn't like bars where a drink can cost you $25.
"It's more about just going to the bar with some friends and drinking and talking and having a good time, kind of like Lawrence." Mustafa said.
There is something about New York that makes the Lawrence crowd feel at home. It's a vibe that lingers in the air of every bar in Williamsburg. A vibe transported from bar to bar in the city. No matter if it's the East side or the West side, when the Lawrence crowd is partying, the University of Kansas stories roll.
"The beauty of New York is the whole city is your own Mass. street," Mustafa said.
- Carlos Centeno can be reached at ccenteno@kansan.com
"The beauty of New York is the whole city is your own Mass. street,"- Nadia Mustafa
8. 20.06 Jogging 5