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One thing Boston and San Francisco appear to have in common is a refusal to accept the actual peer group they are in while trying to tag along with peer groups they aren't in-San Francisco and New York City being the most obvious example.
You'll never hear an SF-Boston analogy coming from the Bay Area but they desperately want to think that NYC is the most natural comparison.
One thing Boston and San Francisco appear to have in common is a refusal to accept the actual peer group they are in while trying to tag along with peer groups they aren't in-San Francisco and New York City being the most obvious example.
You'll never hear an SF-Boston analogy coming from the Bay Area but they desperately want to think that NYC is the most natural comparison.
And the fact that the California city most comparable to NYC is Los Angeles makes them even more annoyed.
One thing Boston and San Francisco appear to have in common is a refusal to accept the actual peer group they are in while trying to tag along with peer groups they aren't in-San Francisco and New York City being the most obvious example.
You'll never hear an SF-Boston analogy coming from the Bay Area but they desperately want to think that NYC is the most natural comparison.
I think that's more of an SF thing. I think most people in Boston believe it's in a group with like DC or SF. Or smaller.
Interesting that all three metro populations shrank from 2020-2021. SF shrank the most, then Boston, then Philly. Metro populations Philly is the largest, then Boston, then SF which is probably the reverse of their self-importance. Philly is probably the most honest about its peer cities. Boston is cool being peers with DC/SF/MIA but not so cool with Dallas/Houston being much bigger metros than them and even Phoenix being on par with them in metro population. SF not cool with any of it, definitely don't tell them that if 2020-21 metro population trends hold then Detroit will pass them in size within the next 5 years.
Interesting that all three metro populations shrank from 2020-2021. SF shrank the most, then Boston, then Philly. Metro populations Philly is the largest, then Boston, then SF which is probably the reverse of their self-importance. Philly is probably the most honest about its peer cities. Boston is cool being peers with DC/SF/MIA but not so cool with Dallas/Houston being much bigger metros than them and even Phoenix being on par with them in metro population. SF not cool with any of it, definitely don't tell them that if 2020-21 metro population trends hold then Detroit will pass them in size within the next 5 years.
Bostonians I think if anything underestimate the cities importance. Like the Summer Games were laughed out of town on the idea a city the size of Boston could not host it, when like Melbourne did.
I think being so close to Montreal, Toronto, NYC, and Philly gives the idea. Boston is a mid sized city when it’s really not. While SF is really far far any decent sized metro other than maybe LA so it sees itself as a “big city”.
I think that's more of an SF thing. I think most people in Boston believe it's in a group with like DC or SF. Or smaller.
I want to be clear (white) Bostonians think they're in this tier they just think they're QOL and the city is way better and cleaner, safer than these places and anywhere else for that matter. If you make a suggestion that comes from another city it's oftenconsidered illegitimate and scoffed at.
I think being so close to Montreal, Toronto, NYC, and Philly gives the idea. Boston is a mid sized city when it’s really not. While SF is really far far any decent sized metro other than maybe LA so it sees itself as a “big city”.
I dunno. As has been brought up before, I think Boston does see itself as the unquestionable capital of its region in a way that’s more similar to SF than it is to Philly.
General Overview • 21.6% of Boston’s population lives in poverty.
• The poverty rate among family households is 17%.
• Poverty rates are notably high among the following subgroups:
o Racial minorities Hispanic population (34.8%)
Asian population (26.6%)
African American/Black population (23%)
How are they calculating these percentages? According to Census, Boston is only: 9.8% Asian and 19.5% Hispanic
But that could be shaky too, generally I see Asian poverty at around 30% in Boston and higher than Latinos.
29% of Asians in Boston live in poverty, more than double the rate for Whites in Boston. 40% of Asians in Boston are Limited English Proficient. 31% of Chinese adults in Boston have less than a high school diploma. 1 out of 4 Quincy residents are Asian and 1 out of 3 Quincy Public School students are Asian
I voted Philly. Having grown up in MA, went to college in PA and have family in SF, I'm familiar enough with all 3. While I can see how someone may choose SF as the west coast sibling of Boston (and that I agree with), I just think Boston & Philly are more alike than they are different. Aside from the aesthetics of the urban cores which obviously favors the Philly-Boston connection, they are also both in some ways in the shadow of NYC due to the close geographic distance (and not saying that in a bad way, or even that residents even care).
I also think there's a similarity of the people - both have a reputation for being sports fanatics, both can bit a little bit standof'ish util you get to know them, etc. And both are ultimately regional hubs rather than national hubs.
With SF, again I see the comparison, just not as close. Boston and SF are obviously both stupidly expensive, have a well-educated and mostly white/Asian yuppie class, and have obvious economic ties with big tech and VC firms having large presences in both cities. And I'm sure Stanford/MIT/Harvard/Berkeley etc. send plenty of students both directions.
That said, SF is more of a national magnet, which is obviously partly related to the even bigger tech industry there, but also because of the weather and scenery (nobody from, say, Kansas will pack up and move to Boston on a whim and "hope things work out", ha). People move to Boston for work, or because they're already from New England and want to move to a big city. Which feels an awful lot like Philly to me.
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