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Well yeah... I can't critique Atlanta or Chicago... I haven't lived there. The only cities I can truly critique are NY BOS ORL and a few smaller locales nearby. So of the three cities I have lived in, it's quite ironic I comment on BOS NY ORL the most. Hmm...
And if you look at my post history, nearly half of what I say about Boston.... Isn't positive. So I don't get your motive here? That I fact checked guineas for annoying posters here with factually incorrect data?
So by your logic you also can’t critique your supposedly favorite cities like Charlotte, LA, Seattle, Chicago, or DC, since you haven’t lived in them right? In fact, what makes them your favorite cities if “the only cities you can truly critique are NY BOS ORL and a few smaller locales nearby”? Therefore, evidently you’re suggesting that the only cities you should ever mention in your posts with any kind of judgment are NYC, Orlando, and Boston?
Well no, that can’t be true. So then the real truth is that you’re using that argument to mask the truth, whether you want to admit it or not: the majority of your posts concerning NYC and Orlando are overwhelmingly tinged with negative connotations. I’ve literally seen it on several occasions, and so have other posters. You claim half of your posts about Boston are negative. Multiple times, including in several conversations between you and me, you have praised, advocated for, and even became defensive over Boston. I have never seen you do this with Orlando or NYC. It’s clear to anyone who frequents this forum that your sentiments regarding Boston are with an inherently positive connotation. You saying otherwise is a straight up lie.
Like I said, that is completely fine. Own it. But it’s the height of duplicity to say otherwise and sheer hypocrisy to try to call someone out for doing the same exact thing you do to NYC and Orlando.
I see that this debate has been going on for nearly six years now. I haven’t read all of it but from what I did read I offer the following comments:
I disagree with those that say New York is overrated. It is likely one of the greatest, if not the greatest city in the world. It is the center for so much of our country's finance, corporate and entertainment industry. It’s hard to deny it has it all. That said though, it has its issues. It is very congested and crowded and because it has so much, it is very expensive. You have to take the good with the bad.
I also do not agree that Charlotte is underrated. Charlotte is pretty much hyped all the time as this great city with a lot of growth but from what I’ve seen it’s a lot of poorly planned sprawl. Though it is always touted for job growth, I have been surprised at how high the unemployment rate is. It’s been over the national rate quite a bit. Furthermore while taxes may be low, the public schools in NC are poorly rated and services are weak. You get what you pay for. Finally NC taxes groceries which I find pretty despicable. You cannt live without food, why should any state tax an absolute necessity? Northern states may have high taxes but they don’t tax groceries. T.hey also tend to have the best public schools and better services that compensate for them.
I do agree with those that thing that Boston is overhyped. Don’t get me wrong, it is a great city but it also has its issues. It’s very pricey and getting worse each day but I do not think the city has the infrastructure, particularly for transportation, to support the growth it has. Friends I know there complain about the cost of rent8ng and the fact that it can take a hour to commute a couple miles. It’s mass transit is old and does not measure up to other large cities like New York. It really needs to step up. Sadly though the MTA is looking more to expand out far from the city center rather looking to improve its inner core service.
That said, Boston is New England’s No. 1 city, however it’s the No. 2 position that I find arguable. Most people like to tout Providence but I think it is way overrated. Though it has a good restaurant scene, it lacks a strong employment base. Heck it’s largest downtown office building, the iconic 1928 Industrial National Bank Building has been sitting empty and falling apart for the last seven years. That’s sad. Also, it’s mall, Providence Place has seen the loss of three major anchors since its opening 20 years ago. Nordstrom’s just closed last year. Years ago original anchor, Lord & Taylor closed and was replaced by JC Penney which closed completely 2016. I think that kind of shows the city’s issues.
I believe that Hartford is truly underrated and is the No. 2 city in New England. It is the No. 2 employment center in New England with more than 115,000 jobs in the city itself. Only Boston has more. Hartford is home to or has major office of many major insurance companies including Travelers, Aetna, The Hartford, Prudential, Hartford Steamboiler, Lincoln, Phoenix, Nassau Re and Cigna. Downtown Hartford has seen the addition & thousands of new apartments and has one of the highest occupancy rates in the country. There is a lot of great entertainment including the XL Center, Xfinity Music Center and Infinity Music Hall. Theres baseball at Dunkin Donuts Stadium and soccer at Dillon Stadium. There’s the iconic Wadsworth Anthenem, the Connecticut Science Center, the Connecticut Convention Center, the eclectic Mark Twain House and the Harriet Beecher Stowe House. For a small city, it offers so much within it 17 square miles. Definitely underrated. Jay
The number of Bostonians here who think their dung doesn't smell is hilarious.
If they're eating a diet rich in greens and legumes, and consume copious amounts of all-natural ginger-infused teas, it's very possible that their dung doesn't smell.
I feel like you got dumped by a Boston Girl/Guy or something really self-inflicted bad happened to you there.
The way you grind on it really is suspicious.
It's because of people like you that I grind on Boston. It is fact that Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan, Roslindale, Hyde Park, East Boston (none of these places particularly desirable to me) represent a significant amount of population and land mass in Boston, way more than the 15% you quoted. Please check your own facts about Boston, look at a map of Boston and add up some population numbers. Boston is overrated because what people associate with it is not at all representative of over half its population and land area.
Boston has some gleaming tourist areas with some very hohum yet expensive parts representing the rest. The ugly parts of the city are less apparent to a tourist or one percenter than many other cities in America, where the homeless and grime are often very visible in the touristy parts. For instance, in Seattle, the tourist trap Pike Place has a significant amount of riff raff just a block away. You don't see this as much walking down Charles or Newbury St in Boston. They are instead in Dudley Sq or South Bay. But tourists would never go to those places as all the tourist traps are in a tiny area of land in Boston. Thus the overrating among tourists and trust fund babies.
Boston Logan airport is also close to downtown via a tunnel so you don't even drive through the seedy areas to your tourist destinations like most American cities. Again creates an better tourist impression from say Houston or Charlotte, even though the seedy areas very much exist in Boston.
No tourist thinks of a street full of old triple deckers in Roslindale with chipped paint, wire fences and crumbling decks that still cost half a million for 1000sqft when they visit Boston. It looks like Worcester. But the irony is that is far more descriptive of what Boston is actually like than the Beacon Hill rowhouses. Have you lived in a triple decker? It sucks ass. It was crappy housing 120 years ago and it still is, regardless of how expensive it is today in Boston. You can hear your upstairs neighbors take a crap in one. Welcome to Boston!
It's because of people like you that I grind on Boston. It is fact that Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan, Roslindale, Hyde Park, East Boston (none of these places particularly desirable to me) represent a significant amount of population and land mass in Boston, way more than the 15% you quoted. Please check your own facts about Boston, look at a map of Boston and add up some population numbers. Boston is overrated because what people associate with it is not at all representative of over half its population and land area.
Boston has some gleaming tourist areas with some very hohum yet expensive parts representing the rest. The ugly parts of the city are less apparent to a tourist or one percenter than many other cities in America, where the homeless and grime are often very visible in the touristy parts. For instance, in Seattle, the tourist trap Pike Place has a significant amount of riff raff just a block away. You don't see this as much walking down Charles or Newbury St in Boston. They are instead in Dudley Sq or South Bay. But tourists would never go to those places as all the tourist traps are in a tiny area of land in Boston. Thus the overrating among tourists and trust fund babies.
Boston Logan airport is also close to downtown so you don't even drive through the seedy areas to your tourist destination like most American cities.
No tourist thinks of a street full of old triple deckers in Roslindale with chipped paint, wire fences and crumbling decks that still cost half a million for 1000sqft when they visit Boston. It looks like Worcester. But the irony is that is far more descriptive of what Boston is actually like than the Beacon Hill rowhouses. Have you lived in a triple decker? It sucks ass. It was crappy housing 120 years ago and it still is. You can hear your upstairs neighbors take a crap in one. Welcome to Boston!
That’s because presenting the areas of the city that aren’t Victorian Row Homes as a crumbling bombed out neighborhoods just isn’t true. The vast majority of the city is plain and uninspired Housing that was built for a rapidly expanding city with just passing regard for how pretty it looks.
Pretty much every US city (and frankly most European cities too) are mostly pretty plain boring mass produced working class Housing from whatever their boom period was. Whether it be 1810-1890 in Birmingham UK or 1840-1910 in Boston or 1870-1940 in Cleveland or 1920-2000 in Atlanta
That’s because presenting the areas of the city that aren’t Victorian Row Homes as a crumbling bombed out neighborhoods just isn’t true. The vast majority of the city is plain and uninspired Housing that was built for a rapidly expanding city with just passing regard for how pretty it looks.
No one said those other neighborhoods of Boston are bombed out. All I said was Boston is overrated. Boston is a very expensive city with most of its city proper looking more like overpriced lower middle class housing in Worcester MA and Providence RI than London Trafalgar Square. The housing stock is old and tired, the T had massive problems prior to Covid, and the public schools outside of an exam high school are exceedingly poor performing and they still do busing. Sounds like many places in the Northeast right? Hence, overrated.
No one said those other neighborhoods of Boston are bombed out. All I said was Boston is overrated. Boston is a very expensive city with most of its city proper looking more like overpriced lower middle class housing in Worcester MA and Providence RI than London Trafalgar Square. The housing stock is old and tired, the T had massive problems prior to Covid, and the public schools sucked and still did bussing.
Yeah an most of London doesn’t look like Westminster. Most of it is very bland terraced homes and council estates.
Most cities have really plain boring Housing for most of its people.
How do you feel about JP and Allston? How about (moving out of the city proper) Davis and Union? I agree that it’s a shame more tourists don’t make it outside of downtown Boston, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some stellar, vibrant, and safe neighborhoods ringing the historic core. Hence my comment earlier about Boston being underrated, because most don’t know much about it beyond the Common, Freedom Trail, etc.
Of course not all of Boston is going to look like Beacon Hill. That’s like expecting all of London to look like Kensington or all of NYC to look like the Upper East Side.
Of course not all of Boston is going to look like Beacon Hill. That’s like expecting all of London to look like Kensington or all of NYC to look like the Upper East Side.
The difference is Boston's Kensington or Manhattan is on a pretty darn small area of land. It's not even a long walk at a Northeasterner's pace.
Quote:
How do you feel about JP and Allston?
JP is okay, but at $800+/sqft it is just okay. Homeless and panhandlers also a lot worse on Centre St since Covid. Triple deckers galore east of Centre. I actually like the orange line though.
The difference is Boston's Kensington or Manhattan is on a pretty darn small area of land. It's not even a long walk at a Northeasterner's pace.
Boston’s a lot smaller than NYC and London. I’d say the neighborhoods are on the same scale when it comes to “percent of the whole city”.
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JP is okay, but at $800+/sqft it is just okay. Homeless and panhandlers also a lot worse on Centre St since Covid. Triple deckers galore east of Centre. I actually like the orange line though.
All fair. I did say in my first reply to citidata18 a page or two back that I could agree to it being overrated. Specifically, though, because of the cost of living and aging infrastructure. Vibrancy in the outer neighborhoods is an argument to the contrary, imo.
Last edited by Boston Shudra; 07-07-2020 at 04:00 PM..
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