Boston (the city) Has Lost Its Allure for Me (condos, homes)

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

I agree with many of your underlying sentiments. The city has lost a lot of its charm and character. It's a corporatized wasteland and home to a lot of pretentious faux-liberals who overvalue their significance to the world, and the many people who have been conned into thinking they need to depend on them.

Not that I totally disagree, but just know that's what most long time residents say about their cities. It's changed, no doubt. But to a degree that separates it from other Tier 1 cities? I don't think so.

Whether it's Austin, or Seattle, or San Francisco, or Chicago, or NYC. Many of the "locals" that have lived in those cities through the decades, always long for the yesteryear.

Change is not very often celebrated.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by mwj119

Not that I totally disagree, but just know that's what most long time residents say about their cities. It's changed, no doubt. But to a degree that separates it from other Tier 1 cities? I don't think so.

Whether it's Austin, or Seattle, or San Francisco, or Chicago, or NYC. Many of the "locals" that have lived in those cities through the decades, always long for the yesteryear.

Change is not very often celebrated.

Nor is change always indicative of progress. Those cities have been affected by similar influencers including globalization and certain social and political trends so it makes sense that sentiments are similar. That doesn't mean it's generally just people being nostalgic or "disliking change."

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

Nor is change always indicative of progress. Those cities have been affected by similar influencers including globalization and certain social and political trends so it makes sense that sentiments are similar. That doesn't mean it's generally just people being nostalgic or "disliking change."

There's a lot of romanticizing about "the way things used to be". Kendall Square used to be a salt marsh, and then it was an industrial powerhouse, then it was a blighted post-industrial wasteland, and now it's back to being a vibrant technological powerhouse that attracts intelligent people from around the world. Sure, a lot of the local flavor has been power washed away to be replaced by tech bros and $20 sandwich shops, but that is the price of progress. I grew up elsewhere, so I can't speak to the local flavor here, but in other parts of the country it isn't as uniformly great as everyone seems to remember.

Where my mom grew up also used to an industrial powerhouse (it was called "the electric city") and has stalled at the blighted post-industrial phase. No one is getting priced out of much, but opportunities are sparse and anyone with significant aspirations is forced to leave (for places like Boston or NYC or SF).

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

There's a lot of romanticizing about "the way things used to be". Kendall Square used to be a salt marsh, and then it was an industrial powerhouse, then it was a blighted post-industrial wasteland, and now it's back to being a vibrant technological powerhouse that attracts intelligent people from around the world. Sure, a lot of the local flavor has been power washed away to be replaced by tech bros and $20 sandwich shops, but that is the price of progress. I grew up elsewhere, so I can't speak to the local flavor here, but in other parts of the country it isn't as uniformly great as everyone seems to remember.

Where my mom grew up also used to an industrial powerhouse (it was called "the electric city") and has stalled at the blighted post-industrial phase. No one is getting priced out of much, but opportunities are sparse and anyone with significant aspirations is forced to leave (for places like Boston or NYC or SF).

As I alluded to in the previous post, I get all of that. I've lived in other big cities and my sentiments around their recent evolution are similar. The changes ain't all progress nor can all the criticism be reduced to simply disliking change. The blighted cities you mentioned are directly connected to factors you attribute to progress and also represent change. We need to find better ways of doing things that are actual progress and which represent more positive change across the board. Settling for less and becoming corporate drones, is not the answer.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

As I alluded to in the previous post, I get all of that. I've lived in other big cities and my sentiments around their recent evolution are similar. The changes ain't all progress nor can all the criticism be reduced to simply disliking change.

Not all change is progress, but the change here is progress for someone. Probably not you. Not even me. I know I'm not a fan of 90% of the needlessly upscale stuff that seems to proliferate everywhere, but enough people are that I understand why that's the way things are heading.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

Not all change is progress, but the change here is progress for someone. Probably not you. Not even me. I know I'm not a fan of 90% of the needlessly upscale stuff that seems to proliferate everywhere, but enough people are that I understand why that's the way things are heading.

This observation is both blatantly obvious and also very subjective. Obviously the comment I made several weeks ago (which now seems to be a topic du jour) was an opinion among many opinions. If the point is to let me that there are other opinions, I'm well aware of that. As a sidenote I would argue that most opinion is based on context, life experience and exposure to difference in the world (usually over a period of time), as well as some willingness to maintain a relatively critical and independent view. In that light, I believe that a lot of what some people consider progress is based on what they have experienced in their lives and is some cases what they have been conditioned to believe.

All of us are subject to that and some, more than others, are more susceptible to it depending on their life circumstances. There has always been some level of psychological conditioning in the country (and all nations to some degree), but nothing like the kind of corporate psychological consumer manipulation that's been occurring over the last couple decades. Progress is also a subjective term and open to long conversations about its meaning. For me its more helpful to look at that meaning as it relates to the bigger picture and over the long run than to a microcosm or short term. I think there's a dangerous and growing school of thought that posits that anything from the past is old and outdated and because of that they lose sight of the forest over the trees. Those who ignore history...you know the drill.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

This observation is both blatantly obvious and also very subjective. Obviously the comment I made several weeks ago (which now seems to be a topic du jour) was an opinion among many opinions. If the point is to let me that there are other opinions, I'm well aware of that. As a sidenote I would argue that most opinion is based on context, life experience and exposure to difference in the world (usually over a period of time), as well as some willingness to maintain a relatively critical and independent view. In that light, I believe that a lot of what some people consider progress is based on what they have experienced in their lives and is some cases what they have been conditioned to believe.

All of us are subject to that and some, more than others, are more susceptible to it depending on their life circumstances. There has always been some level of psychological conditioning in the country (and all nations to some degree), but nothing like the kind of corporate psychological consumer manipulation that's been occurring over the last couple decades. Progress is also a subjective term and open to long conversations about its meaning. For me its more helpful to look at that meaning as it relates to the bigger picture and over the long run than to a microcosm or short term. I think there's a dangerous and growing school of thought that posits that anything from the past is old and outdated and because of that they lose sight of the forest over the trees. Those who ignore history...you know the drill.

It's not blatantly obvious. The operative part of this being the change here being progress. The changes in post-industrial cities are generally just changes for the worse.

I'm curious about what specifically about Boston do you consider counter-progressive change?

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

It's not blatantly obvious. The operative part of this being the change here being progress. The changes in post-industrial cities are generally just changes for the worse.

I'm curious about what specifically about Boston do you consider counter-progressive change?

It's blatantly obvious to me and I'm the one you're seemingly lecturing. I don't have time or interest (on this thread) in getting into the granular details of all of the changes in Boston over my lifetime and beyond. I'm also not interested in (nor do I have the time for) arguing for the sake of arguing, as you seem to be.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

It's blatantly obvious to me and I'm the one you're seemingly lecturing. I don't have time or interest (on this thread) in getting into the granular details of all of the changes in Boston over my lifetime and beyond. I'm also not interested in (nor do I have the time for) arguing for the sake of arguing, as you seem to be.

Ok then. Best of luck.

[msRB311]

I think the biggest issue many have with Boston are the prices that it cost to live there. It used to be more socioeconomically diverse. There are pockets of it that are but not many at all. Then as expensive as it is the public school system and getting around (traffic and public transportation) are awful.

There are wonderful things about the city but it feels like these days they are only meant to be enjoyed by wealthy people. I don't feel like Boston is my city anymore even though I'm from there and my employer is there as well.