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This seems so obvious to me that surely it's been done before, but I searched and couldn't find it. Ever since a couple of great visits to DC in the past few years, I've been thinking of our nation's capital as my second-favorite U.S. city (after my hometown of New York, eternally my personal No. 1). But a terrific trip to Boston last week, after not having visited for many years and never really having fully exploring it, has me wondering whether I have a new No. 2.
For all their differences, Boston and DC are very similar in a lot of ways and I think they match up really evenly. They are, of course, the bookend cities of BosWash. They're old by U.S. standards; they're historic; they attract a lot of young, professional transplants; they're highly educated; they're somewhat famously segregated; they get similar amounts of tourism; great public spaces; great architecture; their economies have weathered the 2008 recession comparatively well; for the U.S., they're not very car-friendly and rely heavily on public transportation. Even some of the more-esoteric details are similar -- for example, both cities have satellite cities (Cambridge for Boston, Arlington for DC, to name just two) that aren't in the city limits but are very much part of the city's fabric.
Who do you think comes out on top? Let's do some criteria (or you can ignore 'em, whatever you want):
Architecture
Parks and public spaces
Historical sites
Culture (museums, concerts, etc.)
Food
Nightlife
Education
Public transit
Weather
Surrounding area (including satellite cities)
People
I agree with you nyc is the best. But Boston and Dc are two great cities as well. I do find Dc less
Segregated and more diverse than boston.
Who do you think comes out on top? Let's do some criteria (or you can ignore 'em, whatever you want):
Architecture. Tie
Parks and public spaces. Tie
Historical sites. Tie
Culture (museums, concerts, etc.) Dc wins more musuems most of them free
Food. Dc wins more diversity of ethnic foods
Nightlife. Dc wins
Education. Boston wins
Public transit. Dc wins only slighty because metro is more modern than T
Weather. Tie. Dc summers vs. Boston winters you decide
Surrounding area (including satellite cities) Dc suburbs seem have more importance to the region
People[/quote] tie. Boston's struggling racial tolerance vs. Dc's arrogance
I agree with you nyc is the best. But Boston and Dc are two great cities as well. I do find Dc less
Segregated and more diverse than boston.
Who do you think comes out on top? Let's do some criteria (or you can ignore 'em, whatever you want):
Architecture. Tie
Parks and public spaces. Tie
Historical sites. Tie
Culture (museums, concerts, etc.) Dc wins more musuems most of them free
Food. Dc wins more diversity of ethnic foods
Nightlife. Dc wins
Education. Boston wins
Public transit. Dc wins only slighty because metro is more modern than T
Weather. Tie. Dc summers vs. Boston winters you decide
Surrounding area (including satellite cities) Dc suburbs seem have more importance to the region
People
Feel free to elaborate on Boston's struggling racial tolerance.
Architecture DC
Parks and public spaces tie
Historical sites tie
Culture (museums, concerts, etc.) DC, Boston has a better locally derived culture though.
Food DC
Nightlife DC
Education Boston
Public transit DC
Weather DC is quite a bit more moderate with mild winters.
Surrounding area (including satellite cities) DC
People DC, people are surprisingly friendly, maybe b/c all the transplants
Architecture: Tie
Parks and public spaces: Tie
Historical sites: DC
Culture (museums, concerts, etc.): DC
Food: DC
Nightlife: DC
Education: Boston
Public transit: DC
Weather: DC
Surrounding area (including satellite cities): DC
People: DC
Feel free to elaborate on Boston's struggling racial tolerance.
I'm going to speak for them until they respond by saying they are an out-of-towner recalling the days of the busing crisis and things of that nature. Not that Boston has by any means completely moved passed that era, but I'm an undergrad from the area and at least with my generation racism is almost nill, especially compared to the only other state I've lived in (RI I sort of include with MA), California, where the kids my age I was around where much more apt to use derogatory insults and racism as a defense for their own poor performances. Not that Boston and Massachusetts as a whole have succeeded in allowing their minorities to succeed. See our "other" cities AKA Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, Brockton, Lawrence, New Bedford, Pawtucket.
I'm going to speak for them until they respond by saying they are an out-of-towner recalling the days of the busing crisis and things of that nature. Not that Boston has by any means completely moved passed that era, but I'm an undergrad from the area and at least with my generation racism is almost nill, especially compared to the only other state I've lived in (RI I sort of include with MA), California, where the kids my age I was around where much more apt to use derogatory insults and racism as a defense for their own poor performances. Not that Boston and Massachusetts as a whole have succeeded in allowing their minorities to succeed. See our "other" cities AKA Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, Brockton, Lawrence, New Bedford, Pawtucket.
Pawtucket hasnt been in Massachusetts since the 1700s, and Worcester, Lowell are not too bad at all.
These are the two cities I spend the most time in (Live in Cambridge, MA. Spend at least 4-5 days a month in DC for work) Love them both.
Architecture: Tie. Both cities have an extremely well maintained historic housing stock.
Parks and public spaces: Tie. I do love the Boston Common and Fens as regular meeting places, but the National Park system in DC is impressive as well.
Historical sites: Tie
Culture (museums, concerts, etc.): DC for Museums, Boston for local culture.
Food: Tie. There is no type of Ethnic food you are unable to find in either city. The local chef driven food is alive and well. Both cities are also amazing cocktail cities. The Columbia Room in DC and Drink in Boston are two of the best cocktail bars in the country.
Nightlife: DC. Boston shuts down earlier than DC on a regular night from my experience.
Education: Boston. Education capital of the world.
Public transit: Tie. Both reliable and extensive. Two cities where you could easily live car-less.
Weather: Both aren't great, but If I had to choose I would say DC.
Surrounding area (including satellite cities): The VA and MD suburbs all offer great options for living. Boston more than holds it own with surrounding cities like Cambridge, Brookline, Newton, Wellesley, Chestnut Hill.
People: People are the same everywhere. Some nice, some ****ty.
Food - Tie DC has practically every kind of food in its metro area. But Boston's local food is more well-known
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmos
Food. Dc wins more diversity of ethnic foods
I was curious as to what type of ethnic food you can find readily available in DC that cannot be found in Boston. As someone who has eaten extensively in both cities I am unable to think of one.
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