The Hamptons

The Hamptons are a group of seaside communities on the East End of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York. The region consists of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton which form the South Fork of Long Island. The area developed from early agricultural and fishing settlements and became a well-known seaside resort and summer colony by the late nineteenth century.

The Hamptons extend eastward from Westhampton to Montauk. The Atlantic Ocean forms the southern coastline, while bays such as Shinnecock Bay and Gardiners Bay lie to the north. Communities in the Town of Southampton include Westhampton Beach, Quogue, Southampton Village, Bridgehampton, Sagaponack, and part of Sag Harbor. The Town of East Hampton includes East Hampton Village, Amagansett, Springs, Wainscott, and Montauk. The Shinnecock Reservation of the Shinnecock Indian Nation is located within the Town of Southampton.

Early settlement and trade linked the Hamptons closely to coastal New England, particularly Connecticut, and these connections influenced town layouts, which in some villages resemble those of New England coastal towns. The extension of direct rail service from New York City in the late nineteenth century led to rapid growth as a seasonal destination, especially in Southampton Village, while other communities developed more gradually.

Artists have been associated with the Hamptons since the nineteenth century. Studios, schools, and seasonal artist communities formed in Southampton and Springs, and they remain part of the region’s cultural identity. The region also hosts recurring cultural events, including the Hamptons International Film Festival, held annually at venues across the South Fork.

The Hamptons are home to several prominent sporting venues. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton has hosted the U.S. Open Championship on multiple occasions, including in 1896, 1986, 1995, 2004, and 2018. Polo and equestrian events are held seasonally, including matches organized by Bridgehampton Polo Club.

Although widely known as a resort area, the Hamptons retain active farms and vineyards. The population increases sharply during the summer months and declines in winter, giving the region a strongly seasonal character.

Transportation

The Hamptons are connected to New York City and the rest of Long Island by road, rail, and bus service. Major roadways include Montauk Highway and Sunrise Highway. Passenger rail service is provided by the Long Island Rail Road via the Montauk Branch, with limited year-round service and expanded seasonal schedules.

Private coach bus operators, including Hampton Jitney and Hampton Luxury Liner, provide frequent service between New York City and communities throughout the Hamptons. Local bus routes operated by Suffolk County serve connections within the region.

In popular culture

In films

• The 1975 documentary Grey Gardens follows the eccentric aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in a home in great disrepair located in East Hampton.
• Filmmaker Woody Allen depicts characters visiting the Hamptons for vacations in his films Annie Hall (1977), Interiors (1978) and Blue Jasmine (2013).
• The majority of the 1982 black comedy suspense film Deathtrap, based on the 1978 play by Ira Levin, takes place at a house in East Hampton.
• Most of the 1989 movie Weekend at Bernie's was set in the Hamptons. However, the Hamptons scenes were actually filmed at Bald Head Island, North Carolina 750 miles away.
• Something's Gotta Give, a 2003 romantic comedy by Nancy Meyers, depicts a couple finding love later in life at a Hamptons beach house.
• Characters in the 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind visit Montauk.
• The majority of the 2004 movie White Chicks is set in the Hamptons.
• In Inside Job, a 2010 documentary film about the 2008 financial crisis directed by Charles H. Ferguson, the film covers a bird's eye view of the beaches and homes in the area.
• The apocalyptic thriller Leave the World Behind from 2023 is also set in the Hamptons.
• The 2023 romantic comedy No Hard Feelings takes place in Montauk.

In television

• Numerous episodes of The Real Housewives of New York City are filmed in and around the Hamptons, where the cast members participate in the East End social life and charitable events and several cast members own (or previously owned) eastern Long Island homes, e.g., Cindy BarshopTemplate:Broken anchor, Kelly Killoren Bensimon, LuAnn de Lesseps, Ramona Singer, and Jill Zarin.
• Multiple episodes of The Affair were set and filmed in the Montauk and East Hampton areas. Recognizable locations from the show include Deep Hollow Ranch, Marine Boulevard and the Montauk Point Light.
• In Louie, comedian Louis C.K. performs a stand-up comedy set at a private charity function in the Hamptons with comedian Jerry Seinfeld.
• Reality stars Khloé Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick are the main cast of the show Kourtney and Khloé Take The Hamptons, which began airing in November 2014. The show is based on the family spending the summer at a house in the North Sea area of the Hamptons.
• The Castle episode "Murder He Wrote" is mainly set in the Hamptons and the ocean front house Castle owns there. Castle and Beckett marry at the same house at the end of "The Time of Our Lives".
• Royal Pains, which ran from 2009 to 2016 on the USA Network, is set almost exclusively in the Hamptons.
• In "The Hamptons", the 85th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld, Jerry and his friends spend a weekend in the Hamptons. In another episode, "The Wizard", George Costanza's late girlfriend's parents catch him lying about buying a house in the Hamptons.
• The drama series Revenge centers around Emily Thorne returning to the Hamptons to take revenge after the wrongful conviction of her father.
• The series The Black Hamptons is primarily set in a fictionalized part of Sag Harbor.
• In the season 2 premiere of Gossip Girl, almost all of the main characters spend the episode there attending a white party, like the famous parties attended by the elite at the Hamptons.

Other appearances in culture

• In basketball, an iteration of the Golden State Warriors' so-called "Death Lineup", consisting of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and Klay Thompson, is more often called the "Hamptons Five". The term was coined by San Francisco Bay Area journalist Tim Kawakami in the 2016 NBA offseason after the Warriors signed Durant out of free agency. This played off the fact that the other four named players, all part of the original "Death Lineup", traveled with team officials to The Hamptons to meet with and recruit Durant.
• F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby was inspired by the extravagant parties he attended in the Hamptons and along Long Island's Gold Coast in the 1920s. These gatherings, hosted by the wealthy elite, influenced the novel's depiction of the lavish lifestyles of Long Island millionaires during the Jazz Age.
• In the song I Don't Want It At All from pop artist Kim Petras she mentions The Hamptons in the lyrics several times, asking the addressee to "give me summer in the Hamptons", considering it as the ideal place, for the song mentions several fancy things like clothes and places.

External links

• "Real Estate 101 in the Hamptons", The New York Times.
• "Studios by the Sea", Vanity Fair, August 2000.
• "The Most Expensive Golf Courses in the Country", Forbes magazine.
• "Ruffling A Few Feathers In One Of America's Most Exclusive Retreats, The Hamptons" Tayfun King, Fast Track, BBC World News (2008-08-01)