Boston -- Classic or Dirty Water?

Woo-hoo!

Note too that I don't need to trash other cities to defend here. The great things about Boston speak for themselves. If you want to hate Boston, it's easy to do, but it's also easy to do that anywhere. I know grass-is-always-greener type of people. But if you want to love Boston, it's really easy too. It's a great walking city with a lot of fun things to do.

People talk about the lack of integration, but I don't know how many of you have walked through the South End, where you'll see people from every continent in the world and other diverse backgrounds all on the same streets. And people say hello to you when you're walking down the street there. JP is really integrated too. Or check out Cambridge or Maverick Square in East Boston. Since the 1990 census, every area that had predominantly one racial group lost people from that group and gained people from other groups. We also have the university with the most nations represented (BU) of any university in the nation.

Things close at 2 and it's definitely annoying, but you can go to the North End, Chinatown, or certain bars after and hang around for most of the night. Boston's great in the day too. You're never more than two blocks from a great park of some waterfront, and there are some of the most beautiful skyline views in the world here. Check out the view from the East Boston waterfront, or the view when you're landing at the airport or the view from the Mass Ave Bridge. Walk along the harbor walk throughout the north end and South Boston.

As to friendly people, try really smiling and saying hi to people as you walk in the morning. Sure, many will look away or not say hi. I've tried the same experiment in a bunch of cities and that's true everywhere, but some people will say hi. And people are much more likely to say hi if you're just a bit further from downtown or the touristy areas- once you get into neighborhoods.

We definitely have great culture at a manageable size. We spend the most on culture per capita of any major city in the US. Our Symphony Hall is one of the three best, acoustically, in the world. Our Museum of Fine Arts has the second largest art collection in the Western Hemisphere. Then we also have several university art museums, the Museum of Bad Art, the world's largest outdoor modern art exhibition center (in the western part of the state), and a great sculpture park in Lincoln, MA.

Our local music scene is great. Listen to 101.7, WFNX radio, or the college stations and check out the bars around Central Square.

And it's a city of today. Where else can you find two of the nations top universities (three of the top 25) within four stops on a public transportation line? Where else do you have 5 of the top 10 hospitals in the nation? The largest music store in the world? The largest university library collection (the third largest library collection in general)? The most books per square mile in the nation (Harvard Square)? People who don't need to spend an hour getting ready to leave the house every morning? The city ranked healthiest in the nation by men's health? And the most liveable by some Swiss Magazine.

Then Massachusetts is ranked the second best place in the nation to raise a child for a combination of safety, education and other reasons. This is one of the best job markets in the nation, and has the most college-educated population of any state.

Boston brought you the telephone, the Internet, anasthesia, the nation's first subway, the nation's first post office, the nation's first police department, the nation's first YMCA, the birthplace of two churches, the bulk of 19th century literature.

Then let's talk about people. Harvard educated 7 of the nation's presidents. 4 presidents called MA home. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X both called Boston home at one time or another. We were the birthplace of the abolitionist movement and a center of the women's rights movement. We are undoubtedly the nation's greatest sports town, but if you don't like sports, it's not hard to find ways to avoid them altogether.

We had the most breweries per capita in the nation at the turn of the 20th century. Today, we have much of the best beer again. Sam Adams is great and a tour of the brewery, including 4 samples of beer and a free souvenir glass is only $1.

We have two of the nation's top 10 beaches, aesthetically, within this state. 3 of the top four liberal arts colleges (including the best women's one). The best roller coaster in the world, according to Park World Magazine (at 6 flags New England). We have one of the lowest murder rates in the nation in this state, and we have been held up as a national example of crime prevention.

We've also been seen as a national example for tobacco prevention, public health, and foster care and adoption services.

This is a city filled with life and on the cusp of more great things. The completion of the Big Dig will bring beautiful parks. We're updating our waterfront, our airport, and our sports parks. There's construction all over the city. Sure the construction doesn't look that great, but it's a sign of a city that's very alive.

We have always been a leading architectural city in this nation, and our building codes work very hard to ensure we keep things to scale. That's why our tallest skyscraper is only 60 stories. We have architecture from 4 centuries here, from famous names including I.M. Pei and Le Corbusier (Harvard's campus is the only place in the nation with architecture from him). We have intricate sculptures on the storefronts in downtown crossing and the building fronts in the financial district. Our skyscrapers show a lot of variation. Trinity Church is considered one of the top 10 architectural structures in the nation.

our ice cream is great; try Herrel's in Harvard Square, especially for their frappes.

If you know where to look, we have every ethnic food imaginable. And we continue to keep the independent stores alive. Some unfortunately are being lost to chains, but we still have many. Check out places like Arlington Center and other small town centers for these. The strip mall is not as ubiquitous here as elsewhere, and we have nice town centers.

Then the history is awesome.

Also, we're actually not as expensive a place for housing as many had thought. Recent census info showed that.

So I have way too good a memory for this stuff. I love my city, and if you have a pre-determined opinion, it's easy to remember the stuff that confirms it.

I think the windy streets bring more life to the city. It's awesome that cows were urban planners, though the signs could be better.

There are plenty of nice people around here. Don't complain about their city so much, and you'll find more of them.

jp

By the way, Harvard's campus, or at least the Sert Gallery and the VES department, isn't in Bosting, asshole.

:) :) Cool...by the way...I may have mixed you up with someone and you may not livein CA. If so, my bad...Thanks and Happy Holidays. :) :)

Dude, most of us aren't from Boston, what the hell?

You may not be..but many of these other folks say they now live there...so that was to them.....get it? Not to you....and if you aren't from there you know even less about the place...yes driving can suck, but that is not a reason for me to hate a city, maybe it is for you....but read through these and many people aren't from Boston but NOW LIVE THERE...I, like BJ and others was saying they could all move back to where their from instead of being Boston residents (aka 'Bostonians') because they aren't that anyway, and hate it so much. I see you are not from there....that was not who the Bostonian thing was directed to...you live there you are considered one...excpet for them....and other than traffic why do you like Philly better? I am just curious?

Me too! Lynn...I love it!! Awesome message!

Smooches to you, too. Taking sides: "If you don't like it, go back where you came from!" vs "If you don't like it, what would you like to see different?"

Puritan, get thee to Rhode Island!

Dan, whatever happened to smug Joker fisty guy?

Less Bostonians.

that, and both Philly and Baltimore have better food than Boston. and that includes better seafood. yes, Bostonians, you read that right. so much for Boston Harbor!

Philly also has a "little town" attitude, though Philadelphians are more justified in that it's the fifth-largest city in the country. And they aren't as full of themselves and their town as Bostonians are.

Tad basically explained it anyway, to take things down to the serious level for a sec, because it's so true. I think it's a freaking Massachusetts curse, thinking yourself very bloody important. This is why all the people on this thread who are not from Boston but live there and think a lot of it sucks and should be changed think it sucks and should be changed. It seems kind of telling that the majority of the people who just luuuuuuurve Boston are born there and everyone else wants to blow it up?

Whatever, the Red Sox suck ass, that's what it is.

Anyway, just to dog-pile on Boston some more I have to mention the word that a Maine-born friend of mine uses in reference to Bostonians:

Massholes

The glorification of "baked scrod" has to be the biggest Boston scam ever. But really, why would Philly have such good seafood? Is it the fish? The preparation? Tad?

Cass I'm really glad you had fun even though you weren't in Boston.

I like the Bookstores records shops etc and found Boston much cheaper than NY for things when I was there next weekend. I found the people both friendlier and nicer (cab drivers and waiters). Maybe this is cause I was in Williamsburg NY the previous 2 days - and that place seems to breed horribleness.

Size? It takes only 25 min to get anywhere you need to go if you live sort of in the city. Compared to living in like Zone 2 or 3 or 4 of London for the same price? For all the time I spend commuting I don't have any time to enjoy the things London is supposed to be so great for - not to mention the fact that London does shut down at 1am as well.

Maybe when I hit my 30's I found find Boston's "young" population a bit annoying, but I certainly wanted ot move back there when I was there last weekend.

what?? the point is that boston *completely* shuts down at 2am - whereas if i want to be out dancing in london til dawn i can do it any night of the week in any of dozens of places! and doubtless the same will be true of drinking come next summer, too.

Well, yes, if you're going to come to NY I'd suggest most anywhere BUT WBurg, especially now a days with all the trustafarians living there.

And yes, London does stay open all night, there's absolutely no difficulty in finding a place to go if you really need to - I defy any Bostonian to tell me an after hours bar there. They've only got ONE strip club you know.

Best thing about Boston = excellent guides / hosts (thanks Marianna!), good record shops, hanging out with the Perrys.

I was pleased to find that it is not the centre of Boston which is made of wood. The brain box in which I keep my thoughts about Boston is wooden though.

I think he opened for The Clientele! (not really, alas)

Favorite part of the Clientele show was when the lead singer said, "Please turn up the reverb on my mic, there's a real singer in the house," in reference to me (???). I immediately shouted, "MORE FALSETTO!!!" He chuckled and said, "Yes, more out-of-tune, rubbish falsetto... Where's that reverb?" He was GREBT, though.

OK, than I'll do it.

recently saw someone claim that he once 'drove out to boston'

i am not from new england but i can see 'in', 'up', 'down', possibly even 'over'. but how does one drive 'out' to a hub, unless one is parked on the floor of boston harbor?

(the writer is based in new york, so i guess this could just be a bit of bizarre nyc chauvinism)

Never heard that before.

But yeah, sounds like someone in California driving out to the desert or something.

if you see nyc as the center of the world then everywhere else including boston is outward, makes sense from that angle

A NYer who summered in the Berkshires and once drove the Mass Pike.

FAP anyone?

House / Disco dance party happening outside Boston city hall again right now 🪩