I don't like being in the city here anymore (Boston: townhomes, neighborhoods)

[Pear Martini]

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I'm from Brookline/Coolidge Corner, spent 5 years in Miami, and traveled the South East (Georgia, Carolinas) extensively.

Now I'm living in Brighton and I find myself not going into the city. I'm only 25 and I feel old with this type of mentality! Its like I don't even live in Boston because I do everything in Brighton, Newton, Brookline, Natick, etc.


I used to love going down to Newbury and the Public Garden and walking around but now I'm growing tired of it.

Walking on Newbury is almost a hassle. People everywhere it feels too crowded! Going to the Pru is a nightmare because its also always crowded and to be frank I find it stressful.

The Public Garden is still nice but its not worth the trip alone. The restaurants I have been to so far suck, service sucks and the food sucks. Its way too expensive in Back Bay and the food has not been worth it to justify the cost.

The nightlife blows and is dominated by 19 year olds. I rather spend a night in or at friend's house.

Going to Chinatown! Forget it. It is dirty, unappealing, and a maze. I don't like downtown crossing and don't like going to that area.

Bottom line is everything is way to crowded, restaurants and nightlife blow and have premium pricing, and getting there is a hassle (green line sucks and is always crowded and driving is a pain in the ass).


I have a better time in the suburbs out here. I rather go to Brookline or Chestnut Hill and that is pretty suburban. The thing is, I sound like a snob and I'm not I just prefer cities that are more easy to get around, good restaurants and food, infrastructure can handle the population, etc.

Once the novelty of Boston wheres off its just too crowded and too annoying to get around with nothing special to offer besides history and education.

[timberline742]

Nope. Don't see what you're seeing. I've lived in other big cities (Chicago and San Francisco), and smaller cities (Madison and Burlington), and Boston has a great balance. There is good food here, not SF levels by any means, but rival Chicago at the mid levels, it isn't so bad to get around, it has good public transit, some great music/art going on. Really great underground music.

[Dm84]

Strong disagreement about the food here. I think it is insanely expensive in mid range restaurants and the quality is very hit or miss. Public transportation is not something I would brag about since it leaves most of the metro area in the lurch when it's not rush hour.

[timberline742]

It is one of the best public transit systems in the country. That may not be saying much, but it still is. I'll take Boston's over SF's any day of the week. Chicago is is a push IMO, overall.

[sobo16]

I'm not sure what the question is, or if the OP is just venting. Your preferences are probably just changing a bit as you grow into your mid 20s. I'm not sure that the things that are annoying you wouldn't be the same in another city.

What's wrong with hanging around Brighton, Brookline, etc.? Boston is a pretty big metropolitan region and there should be places to go for dining and nightlife that suit you well. If you're tired of the downtown core, keep hanging out in the suburbs, or keep trying new places in different neighborhoods: Cambridge, Somerville, Southie, Seaport, etc.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by sobo16

Your preferences are probably just changing a bit as you grow into your mid 20s.

Sounds like she's outgrown it.

[goyguy]

What we're seeing here is a textbook, if you will, case of "I'm OVER college" syndrome.
Boston and the close-in cities and towns have always, logically, catered to adolescents and 20-somethings in a huge way. At times it does get tiresome to walk into any given restaurant or bar only to find it overcrowded with loudly yammering, smartphone gazing, students + hipsters + yuppies. ("I KNOW, RIGHT? I WAS, LIKE, LITERALLEEE...") And yes, food/drink prices (like ever-escalating rents) are often difficult to justify. There also comes a point in everyone's life where they aim for a quiet night out or at home in lieu of the pervasive "scene." Casual conversations about how bad the T is and how funny the locals talk grow old.

But there's plenty of real life out there, away from the B Line, the South End and Southie, etc. It takes a bit more digging than it once did ("thanks" to gentrification.) Places like Arlington, Quincy, and Waltham are stepping up their restaurant game a bit so that your only choices for food are no longer pizza/sub shops or low-grade Chinese takeout. Commuter rail can take you to a refreshingly bracing change of scenery in an hour and a half at most: Plymouth, Rockport, Providence, Concord, the list goes on.

Boston is pretty much "over" for me, too, although Cambridge/Somerville/Brookline are still not only tolerable but fun if you hit the right spots at the right times. It's every bit as great being a grown-up as an undergrad here. You just have to work at it in the beginning.

[Parsec]

Nothing wrong with that. I know plenty of females in their mid-20s who are tired of the city and have purchased townhomes in the suburbs (Natick, Acton, Norwood, Canton). You've matured, that's all.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by Parsec

Nothing wrong with that. I know plenty of females in their mid-20s who are tired of the city and have purchased townhomes in the suburbs (Natick, Acton, Norwood, Canton). You've matured, that's all.

I work with a couple, they've mostly regretted it two or so years in as they're so outside the social circle now.

[Pear Martini]

Originally Posted by Dm84

Strong disagreement about the food here. I think it is insanely expensive in mid range restaurants and the quality is very hit or miss. Public transportation is not something I would brag about since it leaves most of the metro area in the lurch when it's not rush hour.

The food scene here is a joke! I'm actually surprised it isn't stronger with the yuppie/hipster/moneyed crowd here. Charleston SC, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach have way better food than here.


Public transit is a horror here and its almost mandatory for "nights out" unless one wants to spend $100 on taxis to shuttle to and fro a ****ty bar.