Is Boston a "Cosmopolitan" city? (Harvard, Berlin: hotel, school)

[Cliff Clavin]

Originally Posted by analyze_this

What's so surprising about that? You have elite universities like Harvard and MIT out in Boston.

This is exactly what it is. There are a lot of bright young minds in the Boston area, and investors know this.

I'm thinking the large gap in investment funds between Boston and SF will close over the next ten years as well.

[analyze_this]

Originally Posted by Cliff Clavin

This is exactly what it is. There are a lot of bright young minds in the Boston area, and investors know this.

I'm thinking the large gap in investment funds between Boston and SF will close over the next ten years as well.

While that may be true. there is something special that SF area has that Boston cannot replicate - amazing weather and spectacular scenery.

[Cliff Clavin]

Originally Posted by analyze_this

While that may be true. there is something special that SF area has that Boston cannot replicate - amazing weather and spectacular scenery.

No argument there.

I'm fortunate enough to travel to SF every now and then for work. One of my favorite US cities for sure.

[tallahasseehero1]

Originally Posted by analyze_this

What's so surprising about that? You have elite universities like Harvard and MIT out in Boston.

Very true, but Chicago is no slouch. Northwestern and University of Chicago are outstanding schools, though I dont know their prominent they are in regards in science and technology

[johnathanc]

Originally Posted by tallahasseehero1

Very true, but Chicago is no slouch. Northwestern and University of Chicago are outstanding schools, though I dont know their prominent they are in regards in science and technology

Oustanding schools but not as prominent in technology. Consider this statement from a couple of years ago:

A Kauffman Foundation study released today demonstrates the critical role universities play not only in fostering innovation and entrepreneurial growth, but in stimulating the much-needed recovery in regional and global economies.

According to the study, "Entrepreneurial Impact: The Role of MIT," which analyzes the economic effect of MIT alumni-founded companies and its entrepreneurial ecosystem, if the active companies founded by MIT graduates formed an independent nation, their revenues would make that nation at least the 17th-largest economy in the world. Within the U.S., these companies currently generate hundreds of billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs to regional economies, particularly those in Massachusetts and California. Globally, a less conservative estimate of their annual world sales would equal $2 trillion, producing the equivalent of the 11th-largest economy in the world.

[King of Kensington]

I think it is. It's certainly one of the most "cultured" places in the US and has a very diverse population. And the presence of numerous universities including Harvard and MIT brings in a large number of people who want to study in Boston (not to mention leading academics from all over the world teaching there). If you go to graduate school in Boston the universities participate in a consortium and you can take courses at various institutions. It also has a very walkable core and a "European" feel. One of my favorite cities in the US.

[vanitycase]

Boston is definitely "cultured". I've lived here for over a year and it has a lot going on - in no small part thanks to the slightly hipster students. It has a great art and music scene beyond the big galleries/big performance venues that nods to every demographic in terms of ethnicity, class, religion, regional American identity, etc. I especially love Boston's live music scene and indie theatre. The colleges of Boston play a HUGE role - BU, Tufts, Berklee and Emerson have really excellent performances all the time, and so does Harvard.

Looking beyond the extremely exciting student life, it's difficult to say. Boston's professional class is definitely more cosmopolitan than it's blue-collar crowd, but even there Boston has a tendency towards ex-prep New Englanders of a distinctly WASP variety. I think self-selection may play a role here - if someone hears Boston isn't that cosmopolitan he doesn't accept a job offer here, and so Boston doesn't change.

Unlike the diverse student life, the professional culture here is reeally New Englandy. It's all about the Red Sox and local politics...or it's about where you summered and which prep school you went to and do you want to ski in Vermont this winter? It's not bad, and I happen to like New England culture a lot, but Boston is definitely provincial compared to New York. Then again, everywhere is provincial compared to New York - and DC, for that matter. It would be more useful to compare Boston to San Francisco, LA, or Chicago.

Personally, as someone who had a VERY international upbringing, I could only be happy in New York and nowhere else. So from my perspective, I adore student life in Boston but I would not want to be a professional here. But that's keeping in mind my upbringing. Others may find it different.

[miu]

Originally Posted by tallahasseehero1

It seems like a few threads on this forum have touched on it, but I would like to see people go in to more depth. By cosmopolitan I mean is it an international city with an urban and somewhat multicultural vibe.

The thing that confuses me is many people say Boston is so segregated, which I believe it is to a degree, but than talk about how cities like Chicago and New York are so diverse, but many neighborhoods in those cities seem very segregated as well:

The 22 Most Segregated Cities In America - Business Insider

U.S. 2010 CENSUS: THE 10 MOST SEGREGATED CITIES IN AMERICA | BEAUTIFUL, ALSO, ARE THE SOULS OF MY BLACK SISTERS


To me Boston seems very cosmopolitan, but I have limited experience in the city. What do you guys think?

Why?? Are you planning to move here?

[lrfox]

Boston's a cosmopolitan city. Period.

Boston isn't on the same tier as NYC, LA, or Chicago simply due to the fact that it's a heck of a lot smaller. DC is similarly sized but being the capital of the U.S. gives it an international element that Boston can't replicate. However, Boston's status as a hub of medicine, research, education, tech and finance cement it as an incredibly important international city. It's going to continue to be a cosmopolitan place for quite some time.

Are there regional quirks and insular elements to Boston? Absolutely. But no cosmopolitan city lacks those elements. New York may be among the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. However, it certainly has local insularity that's often perceived quite negatively. Watch "Jersey Shore" or "True Life: I'm a Staten Island Girl" among other shows for examples. San Francisco is notoriously "smug" (South Park fans have probably seen the episode) in many ways. Many Bay Area residents constantly pat themselves on the back for being so progressive and bohemian. SF is a cosmopolitan city. It's a beautiful city (one of my favorites to visit). But it's not, however, without a serious local insularity as well.

I'm not so sure that Boston deserves to be maligned for being segregated any more than major cities like Chicago, New York and San Francisco. And furthermore, I'd attribute most existing segregation in any of those cities to economics and gentrification more than I'd attribute it to racial tension. New York City is a glaring example. Manhattan was incredibly segregated until the city really started to gentrify in the past 3 decades. South and East of Central Park was very white and very wealthy. North (Harlem) was poor and black (and Spanish). Harlem is still predominantly black, but as Manhattan prices rise, it's continually infiltrated by wealthier white people while African American people are pushed out. The Western Addition in San Francisco was an African American neighborhood until city rents skyrocketed and whites moved in. By some miracle, the Tenderloin in San Francisco abuts downtown directly and remains a poor, mostly black neighborhood (though it too is evolving). The vast majority of the Latino residents in San Francisco live in the Mission neighborhood. Chicago's segregation? Northside/Southside. You can leave it at that.

Boston's not too dissimilar. The core of the city is exceptionally expensive which pushes people with less money outside of the core of the city. That's why Bostons ethnic neighborhoods are further from the city center. There may be some people old enough to remember when the North End was all Italian and derided by most Boston residents as a "slum." Well, it gentrified to the point that it's a very white neighborhood that's clinging to its Italian roots. You can see the same thing happening with South Boston, Roxbury, Jamaica Plain and parts of Dorchester. Money and prices are the driving forces, not race or ethnicity.

[Jimrob1]

Originally Posted by TAM88

I am curious, aside from NYC, Chicago and LA, which cities do you feel are cosmopolitan and thought leader cities? Or cities where people with new ideas prefer to go?

I'm more curious as to what planet, some of the people live on that are replying to this thread. I don't know where they get thier views, or observations concerning Boston from. Backwater, end of the road. not a major destination for tourist or airlines. Not a destination for immigrants. Not enough shipping mainly pleasure craft. The only thing I'll agree with, is downtown Boston is rather dead when the workday is over. There are plenty of places other than Downtown Crossing. Where people enjoy restaurants, clubs and other entertainment venues right nearby. You want to see a city that is far from cosmopolitan and much bigger try Phoenix. Then you'll think Boston is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in America. Actually I have never heard Boston referrred to, as not being cosmopolitan until reading this thread. Its international appeal and destination status has increased again this year. With the introduction of nonstop Boston Tokyo service from Japan Airlines.