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They’re both not a part of Boston so why are you arguing that they are? Accept Boston for what it is and stop trying to change the narrative to try and argue Boston is equal to Chicago in some fantastical way. It’s asinine.
Boston means Metro Boston, obviously. No one thinks Boston is strictly based on the city limits, as if 80-90% of the city doesn't count.
Do you think London is a small English village? Seriously? Do you think Jacksonville is a massive metropolis?
Boston means Metro Boston, obviously. No one thinks Boston is strictly based on the city limits, as if 80-90% of the city doesn't count.
Do you think London is a small English village? Seriously? Do you think Jacksonville is a massive metropolis?
London and Greater London are tightly defined and Greater London is a cohesive political and geographic area with tight boundaries that makes sense.
Jacksonville is coterminous with Duval County- that makes sense.
Adding cherry picked towns who have no official affiliation with Boston governance or institutions or anything Boston in the name does not make sense. If the towns were to actually somehow become a unit with Boston or Suffolk county this would be more rational. You certainly can’t just toss in the four cities you like the best and say their Boston. There’s 147 towns in Greater Boston in MA alone. If I’m talking Boston and I’m talking Somerville then I have to be talking Milton Malden Brockton Cohasset as well.
They’re both not a part of Boston so why are you arguing that they are? Accept Boston for what it is and stop trying to change the narrative to try and argue Boston is equal to Chicago in some fantastical way. It’s asinine.
Why do you include Somerville but not Everett? Why Brookline but not revere? Why Cambridge but not Quincy? you’re just making it up and cherry picking wealthier western and northwestern burbs because it’s what convenient. Hell why not Milton? Or Dedham? Make it make sense other than “population density” because some neighborhoods of Boston aren’t all that dense.
Pretty simple- Brookline quite literally is encapsulated by Boston neighborhoods. Cambridge is .1 mile away from Boston's Core. People live there to be in Boston, and don't live in Dorchester, because it's not as convenient and intertwined. Somerville is 1 mile even to Boston's core, so same applies. They are connected by bike paths, side walks, and are in some cases one stop away from the heart of Boston on the city specific train lines (non commuter).
Quincy is in no way, shape, or form connected to downtown Boston. Milton is farm land. Dedham is a shopping mall. You know the difference, even if you don't want to acknowledge it as someone who lives south.
Boston is unique- It's downtown is the furthest North East point. The commuter neighborhoods, most involved and engrained to downtown Boston (not named Fenway/Back Bay/Beacon Hill/North End/South End), sit across the river. They refused to be annexed, while the Boston neighborhoods south did not. It does not negate the fact that they are very, very, very much a part of the Boston discussion. And when talking neighborhoods and cores, a place like Cambridge is more applicable than most of Boston.
Cambridge has some of the worst schools in the Boston area, so are objectively terrible, and not an option for most wealthy families.
I can think of probably 20 school districts worse than Cambridge in the Boston area. Wealthy families absolutely do send their kids to Cambridge schools , that’s often a specific reason why they move from Boston.
Athens is actually a very large city, with an extremely dense and urban metro of close to 4 million. Smaller than greater Madrid but not by a huge margin. Your comparison would be more apt if you compared, say, Amsterdam to Madrid.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NOLA101
Athens and Madrid have more or less the same population. Athens is around 5 million and Madrid is around 6-7 million. Not a huge difference.
And Chicago is bigger, but not much bigger. Twice the size by MSA and around 20% bigger by CSA. If you compare by economy, the gap is narrower still. Boston by CSA could have a larger economy within a few years.
But Chicago will probably always feel larger because the core is much larger, and it is presently larger by almost every metric. Philly is a better comparison to Boston.
Sorry, I meant the Municipality of Athens, just the city area, not the urban area. In retrospect, not the greatest comparison I've ever made.
Pretty simple- Brookline quite literally is encapsulated by Boston neighborhoods. Cambridge is .1 mile away from Boston's Core. People live there to be in Boston, and don't live in Dorchester, because it's not as convenient and intertwined. Somerville is 1 mile even to Boston's core, so same applies. They are connected by bike paths, side walks, and are in some cases one stop away from the heart of Boston on the city specific train lines (non commuter).
Quincy is in no way, shape, or form connected to downtown Boston. Milton is farm land. Dedham is a shopping mall. You know the difference, even if you don't want to acknowledge it as someone who lives south.
Boston is unique- It's downtown is the furthest North East point. The commuter neighborhoods, most involved and engrained to downtown Boston (not named Fenway/Back Bay/Beacon Hill/North End/South End), sit across the river. They refused to be annexed, while the Boston neighborhoods south did not. It does not negate the fact that they are very, very, very much a part of the Boston discussion. And when talking neighborhoods and cores, a place like Cambridge is more applicable than most of Boston.
You know this stuff.
Boston longest Street, Blue Hill Ave, goes directly into Milton as does its major highway I-93. It’s continuous development straight into Milton form Boston.
Milton has multi family houses, diversity, multiple train stops, multiple bus routes and borders three Boston neighborhoods. Farmland???
Quincy is on the redline and is a 15-20 minute ride into the financial district.not connected to downtown Boston in anyway? It’s faster on the redline from north Quincy to downtown than many parts of Brookline And one stop from being inside of Boston proper. Full of immigrants much like the city itself and unlike Brookline. It’s a dense city of 90k+.
Dedham and Hyde Park blend seamlessly into one another and you cannot tell Hyde park from Dedham when in the area? It also borders West Roxbury-a Boston neighborhood m- and the boundaries are beyond fuzzy. There much retail that Bostonians use that is in Dedham, I’d wager they are the majority of customers-but it’s much more than a shopping mall-theres actually not. Traditional “mall” in Dedham.
Boston longest Street, Blue Hill Ave, goes directly into Milton as does its major highway I-93. It’s continuous development straight into Milton form Boston.
Milton has multi family houses, diversity, multiple train stops, multiple bus routes and borders three Boston neighborhoods. Farmland???
Quincy is on the redline and is a 15-20 minute ride into the financial district.not connected to downtown Boston in anyway? It’s faster on the redline from north Quincy to downtown than many parts of Brookline And one stop from being inside of Boston proper. Full of immigrants much like the city itself and unlike Brookline. It’s a dense city of 90k+.
Dedham and Hyde Park blend seamlessly into one another and you cannot tell Hyde park from Dedham when in the area? It also borders West Roxbury-a Boston neighborhood m- and the boundaries are beyond fuzzy. There much retail that Bostonians use that is in Dedham, I’d wager they are the majority of customers-but it’s much more than a shopping mall-theres actually not. Traditional “mall” in Dedham.
Right, and not one of them mentioned is intertwined like Cambridge, Somerville, or Brookline.
The suburbs you offer border Boston neighborhoods, which border other Boston neighborhoods, that border downtown Boston. Outside of the academic prowess, you can certainly acknowledge the reason folks around the country know Cambridge and not Quincy. Brookline and not Dedham.
When family from Chicago visits Boston, we often go to Fenway, the North End, and Harvard Square. And we do it all by bike. I'm going to Quincy, Milton, or Dedham by bike.
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