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Old 09-04-2012, 02:35 PM
 
Location: Cambridge, MA/London, UK
3,862 posts, read 5,288,028 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eugene80 View Post
For what it's worth, I got the same impression of Boston as the OP after visiting it. I basically got the impression of a small-ish, somewhat parochial town.

The first thing I noticed was that there weren't a lot of businesses. Even in the central part of the city the number of stores and restaurants was much less than what we have in Washington DC for example. The variety just isn't there.

People don't seem to dress very well, they're very casual (shorts + flipflops), Boston seems to be a casual town... which probably explains the weak nightlife culture.

Nothing wrong with these issues, I'm sure a lot of people in Boston like it that way, but a bustling cosmopolitan city it is not.
Im confused as to what you mean by "Central" part of the city? There are not alot of businesses on Newbury St? Boylston? Charles St in Beacon Hill? Beach St in Chinatown? Tremont St in the South End? See what I am getting at here.

As far as nightlife is concerned I agree Boston is extremely tame. Boston is much more a bar/pub city than a nightlife stay up all night city. As someone who also spends a considerable amount of time in DC I have to say DC is the exact same. Pretty sleepy when you compare it to the heavyweights. I love DC and there is no shortage of things to do, but a party city it is not.
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Old 09-04-2012, 02:36 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
866 posts, read 2,627,856 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eugene80 View Post
For what it's worth, I got the same impression of Boston as the OP after visiting it. I basically got the impression of a small-ish, somewhat parochial town.

The first thing I noticed was that there weren't a lot of businesses. Even in the central part of the city the number of stores and restaurants was much less than what we have in Washington DC for example. The variety just isn't there.

People don't seem to dress very well, they're very casual (shorts + flipflops), Boston seems to be a casual town... which probably explains the weak nightlife culture.

Nothing wrong with these issues, I'm sure a lot of people in Boston like it that way, but a bustling cosmopolitan city it is not.
That's funny, I have always thought Washington DC was lacking in the business department. True, it has some business districts in some neighborhoods, and more businesses than the average tourist might realize, but it doesn't seem to have bustling areas like Newbury Street, Beacon Hill, Mass Ave in Cambridge, North End, downtown, etc.

I agree that you're more likely to see people dressed up in DC. The casual factor is one of the reasons I like Boston though.
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Old 09-04-2012, 02:50 PM
 
Location: Cambridge, MA/London, UK
3,862 posts, read 5,288,028 times
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1) Lack of anything open for 24 hours. I know the Charles st CVS is open 24 hours but I don't know much else that is...

Agreed. We need more 24hr options other than South Street Diner.

2) Lack of much ethnic cuisine. I don't believe there is an Indonesian or filipino restaurant in the area. I know that just in Queens NYC, there are plenty of them. It seems like the only food that is reputable here is the Italian food, but i have had pretty crappy Italian food at numerous locations in the south end. Korean food is also subpar compared to the locations I've been to in flushing and koreatown in NYC.

Name an ethnic cuisine other than Indonesian and Boston has it. There is more than enough variety here for ethnic food. Some foods we have here like Cape Verdean, Azorean and Haitian are tough to find in many parts of the country. Also there is a Filipino restaurant in Quincy that is excellent (JnJ Turo-Turo)

3) the shopping is pretty much limited to Newbury St and Copley/Prudential, and the choices there are limited, as there is a lack of staple clothing stores like Top Man and Uniqlo. Downtown crossing is a joke. I was just in nanjing this summer, and the shopping in the Xinjiekou section blows prudential out of the water in terms of both the quantity and quality of the stores (and the food courts in the basement were so much better than the prudential food court). There were several malls in that section all jam packed next to each other in Nanjing, each several stories tall. It was awesome.

Boston is definitely not a huge fashion city. So you it is tough to compare it to larger cities in that sense. With that being said it would be difficult for me to steer you in the right direction as the mention of a store like "Top Man" makes my stomach churn. I wouldnt be caught dead in many of their clothes. Everyone has different taste though.

4) abysmal karaoke scene. There are really only two karaoke studios (golden leaf and doremi) which are pitiful and expensive compared to those in Toronto or Shanghai or pretty much any other city.

Not a huge Karaoke fan, but I will take your word for it. I do know alot of my old classmates at Rotman UofT used to go out to Karaoke at night and seemed to have endless options. So Toronto does seem excellent in regard.

5) Nightlife is also subpar, with everything ending at 2AM

Last call is 2am, like basically almost every single other city in the US and Canada. Plus if you want to find great incredible nightlife, you are going to have to look outside of the US and Canada in that regard. Outside of NYC, Miami, Las Vegas and Montreal...the best North American nightlife is definitely in Central America and the Caribbean. True up all night partying.

6) Also the lack of anything resembling Pacific Mall near Toronto or the endless string of Asian markets and diversity in Markham, Ontario.

Pacific Mall is incredible and the Cantonese food in Markham is second to none outside of Hong Kong. How can you compare a city like Boston with a Chinese population the fraction of the size of Toronto to somewhere like Markham though. I will say this Quincy has the potential to eventually turn into Boston's version of Markham. Smaller of course, but tons of potential there.

Obviously Boston has some pros, but aside from the touristy things, there really isn't that much to actually do in Boston. Would you agree?
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Old 09-04-2012, 03:05 PM
 
349 posts, read 990,604 times
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As far as DC's nightlife is concerned, for all its problems, DC does have a 3am (not 2am) last call and the number of glitzy clubs (not pubs) is substantial, i.e. places with a strict dress code and house music. It's more of a club city than a pub city, while Boston seems to be the opposite. The only place in Boston resembling DC's nightlife seems to be "The Gypsy Bar" -- we have dozens of places like that. World-famous DJs always play at DC's "Glow".

FWIW DC's Mayor Gray is leading the effort to make DC's last call 4 am. That would be unheard-of by American standards.
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Old 09-04-2012, 03:09 PM
 
Location: Cambridge, MA/London, UK
3,862 posts, read 5,288,028 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eugene80 View Post
As far as DC's nightlife is concerned, for all its problems, DC does have a 3am (not 2am) last call and the number of glitzy clubs (not pubs) is substantial, i.e. places with a strict dress code and house music. It's more of a club city than a pub city, while Boston seems to be the opposite. The only place in Boston resembling DC's nightlife seems to be "The Gypsy Bar" -- we have dozens of places like that. World-famous DJs always play at DC's "Glow".

FWIW DC's Mayor Gray is leading the effort to make DC's last call 4 am. That would be unheard-of by American standards.
Is DC better than Boston when it comes to nightlife? 100% Yes in agreement there. My view of DC's nightlife is still that it is tame when compared to heavyweight cities, especially when you start to look Internationally.
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Old 09-04-2012, 06:26 PM
 
Location: Dallas
4,630 posts, read 10,473,803 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eugene80 View Post
...a bustling cosmopolitan city it is not.
So what Boston were you at?

















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Old 09-06-2012, 08:14 AM
 
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are people really that upset because they cant party the extra 3 hours at 2 am ?
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Old 09-06-2012, 08:56 AM
 
Location: In the heights
37,127 posts, read 39,371,920 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by howdydoody342 View Post
are people really that upset because they cant party the extra 3 hours at 2 am ?
Maybe some people, but maybe that attracting at least some of the people who would be interested in that sort of thing would bring some exciting things. Also, I think what hurts more is the really bad mass transit at night. Yes, it's generally supposed to be worse at night, but Boston is just bad.
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Old 09-06-2012, 02:21 PM
 
Location: Cambridge, MA/London, UK
3,862 posts, read 5,288,028 times
Reputation: 3364
Boston.com had a decent slideshow on some places to grab a bite late at night.

50 late-night food options in the Boston area - Restaurants - Boston.com

Wouldn't personally recommend all of them, but personally my go to was Peach Farm before I turned in my clubbing card a couple years back!
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Old 09-06-2012, 04:58 PM
 
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The two places me and my friends will hit up after going out is either the South Street Diner, or Victoria's Diner. Victoria's has a better menu and better food. But South Street is usually more convenient location wise.

I heard Miel stopped being 24 hours. But back when it was, that was the best place to get nicer food at 2:30 am.
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