If The Hamptons Were European Summer Towns

Two coastlines, an ocean apart, have somehow developed remarkably similar personalities.

East Hampton is Saint-Tropez

The name everyone already knows, the scene everyone discusses whether or not they have actually been. People arrive partly for the place itself and partly for the fact of having been seen there. Neither town has ever needed an introduction.

Southampton is Cap Ferrat

Older money, taller gates, and a confidence that has never needed to raise its voice to be noticed. Both towns understand that the quietest wealth is frequently the deepest.

Sag Harbor is Portofino

Polished without trying particularly hard to look it, populated by people with expensive taste who have somehow made all of it appear effortless. The harbour views help considerably in both locations.

Amagansett is Comporta

Understated to the point of performance, all natural texture and beautiful people who would insist they have never thought about aesthetics for a single moment of their lives.

Montauk is Ibiza

Beach clubs, genuine chaos, a wellness retreat somewhere in the mix, and the strong possibility of encountering at least three different versions of the same person across a single weekend.

Westhampton is Marbella

Comfortable rather than showy, family oriented, populated by people who know exactly what kind of summer they want and feel no need to perform it for anyone watching.

Shelter Island is Formentera

Reachable only by ferry, and considerably better for it. A genuine escape for people who actually want to be away from everything else on this list, and one of the better kept secrets among serious boaters on either coast.

The pairing works because both coastlines have, independently and decades apart, arrived at the same basic truth. Wealth, given enough time in one place, tends to sort itself into remarkably similar categories wherever it settles.