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I think DC is heads and shoulders above Boston personally. Boston has a more small-town vibe to it. Seems like a great place to get educated, but I've always felt it was highly overrated as a place to live.
Boston is kinda like a cluster of small towns near each other, but without the close knit family atmosphere and with traffic and a permeating tinge of pretense. So yes, highly overrated. But I can't say I like DC much either. It's a real "nowhere place" to me.
Boston is kinda like a cluster of small towns near each other
Is this terribly unique to Boston? Is walking from Back Bay to Cambridge so much different than walking from Pest to Buda or from Westminster to Lambeth?
And yes I realize that a big difference is that Buda&Pest and Westminster&Lambeth have a single city government whereas Boston&Cambridge have 2, but I don’t think that Mass’s love of bureaucracy really changes a lot about the area compared to cities that consolidated.
It’s one thing to feel like Boston isn’t interesting enough, but don’t undeservingly belittle it.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bjimmy24
Boston is kinda like a cluster of small towns near each other, but without the close knit family atmosphere and with traffic and a permeating tinge of pretense. So yes, highly overrated. But I can't say I like DC much either. It's a real "nowhere place" to me.
This thread is about reputation and respect. Not about liking the place. There is no more respected city in the U.S. other than maybe NY, LA than Washington DC. It's simply too high on the totem pole of American cities and way too important globally to ever be considered a "nowhere place". The amount of foreign dignitaries and diplomats that come into town or have homes in the city and region deem it too important of a city to be considered what you frame it as.
Boston's a great historic American city, big city attributes, decent hustle and bustle, but as someone else mentioned doesn't really compare that great to the importance of a city like DC with so much influence and important things going on at once. Boston is great for hospitals and universities and some commerce, but is not a stand out world city in the same league as Washington.
In the city limits of Washington DC alone you have:
The White House
United States Congress
United States Supreme Court
The World Bank
The International Monetary Fund
Smithsonian Institute (largest such complex of museums in the world)
Department of Treasury
Library of Congress
State Department
FBI
Fannie Mae
Planned Parenthood
Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
The Basilica of the National Shrine
Over 170 embassies and consulates more than any city in the United States. Not to mention DC also having it's own fair share of high level universities and hospitals for it's population as well.
No where in the US can compare to that many important institutions all within one city limits, save for possibly New York.
This thread is about reputation and respect. Not about liking the place. There is no more respected city in the U.S. other than maybe NY, LA than Washington DC. It's simply too high on the totem pole of American cities and way too important globally to ever be considered a "nowhere place". The amount of foreign dignitaries and diplomats that come into town or have homes in the city and region deem it too important of a city to be considered what you frame it as.
Boston's a great historic American city, big city attributes, decent hustle and bustle, but as someone else mentioned doesn't really compare that great to the importance of a city like DC with so much influence and important things going on at once. Boston is great for hospitals and universities and some commerce, but is not a stand out world city in the same league as Washington.
In the city limits of Washington DC alone you have:
The White House
United States Congress
United States Supreme Court
The World Bank
The International Monetary Fund
Smithsonian Institute (largest such complex of museums in the world)
Department of Treasury
Library of Congress
State Department
FBI
Fannie Mae
Planned Parenthood
Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
The Basilica of the National Shrine
Over 170 embassies and consulates more than any city in the United States. Not to mention DC also having it's own fair share of high level universities and hospitals for it's population as well.
No where in the US can compare to that many important institutions all within one city limits, save for possibly New York.
As a proud Bostonian, this is a great post, and is why I voted for DC. Repped.
This thread is about reputation and power. Though Boston punches WAY above it's weight, and get's a real amount of international attention, it's hard to understand how anyone could argue against DC on this thread.
Is this terribly unique to Boston? Is walking from Back Bay to Cambridge so much different than walking from Pest to Buda or from Westminster to Lambeth?
And yes I realize that a big difference is that Buda&Pest and Westminster&Lambeth have a single city government whereas Boston&Cambridge have 2, but I don’t think that Mass’s love of bureaucracy really changes a lot about the area compared to cities that consolidated.
It’s one thing to feel like Boston isn’t interesting enough, but don’t undeservingly belittle it.
The ending of that sentence was really the important part. I said that it's like a cluster of small towns but without the good aspects. So yeah I agree, there is no difference between many formerly unique neighborhoods. It's all sterile yuppie yoga studios, glass box condos, and "trendy" bars with a line of Ubers slowly crawling down the streets to whisk our new tech overlords to their next Bumble date.
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