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"Eastern establishment" - That's such a small segment of these cities. Having lived on both coasts for multiple years at a time, I find the east coast weirdness to be way less performative. This notion of the west coast being more weird and chill needs a rethink. Tons of quirky folks back East going about their day without shouting about how "weird" they are - because they just. are. weird.
I'm talking about actual counterculture in American history (new religious movements, etc) not people who make 130K a year for a corporation who are "weird" because they eat at that place that puts cereal on top of pancakes.
I'm talking about actual counterculture in American history (new religious movements, etc) not people who make 130K a year for a corporation who are "weird" because they eat at that place that puts cereal on top of pancakes.
Please get out more. Lots of folks in East Coast cities not living a boho/yuppie life who are confident, quirky, and own their weirdness - for centuries.
The West Coast does not own weirdness or even the concept of "New Age." To bring it back to the topic ("2022 weirdness," SF feels so normcore - unwilling to look beyond its own gaze to reinvigorate itself after covid and if you actually study the hippie movement, lots of transplants to the city came from privileged backgrounds - no wonder there's a strong current of anti-development/out of the box creative thinking in the city now. SF is normcore and has been for a couple of years now. If you want grungy and weird, go to Philly, New York, or Providence - oh they stay open later as well.
There is weird outside of the west coast. Certainly NYC has it in parts. I think New Orleans is very weird. Asheville. But Boston? Uhmm, no. That's one of the more conforming local cultures in my opinion.
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I think Providence gives Boston a run for its money on the weird, eccentric, and LGBTQ elements. Providence has a very large gay bar and LGBTQ scene for its size. It feels kind of like a catch all city with more room for weird, since Boston can be so... well.....very square.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 08-17-2022 at 05:09 AM..
Maybe it's a younger generation thing but I don't recall anyone ever putting Boston in the same category as San Fran when it comes to being widely known for weird, gay or eccentric.
You might be right that SF is/was weirder than BOS. I guess what I’m really more interested in is the change in weirdness in the two cities rather than the absolute value.
Though it was first to legalize gay marriage and it sent the first openly gay person to Capitol Hill in ‘73.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheTimidBlueBars
SF, no question. I'm in the process of moving to the city from the South Bay right now and, although I've visited before, I'm really taking in more holistically now how much weirdness still exists within the city, Twitter and Salesforce be damned.
I went to a Thai restaurant last week that had a literal bathtub in the bathroom, where guests (or more likely, homeless people) could bathe if needed.
A couple nights ago, I randomly struck up a conversation in a (non-gay) bar with a gay man and straight woman, both in their 50s, who have been roommates for years. The woman is married but she and her husband (who, again, doesn't live with her) are open. The guy thinks he's "traditional" because he wants to have kids (in his 50s, as a single parent). They offered me drugs at one point. Again, I was not seeking these kinds of people out, they were just the first people I talked to in a random bar in SF.
Great post! Thanks for sharing!
Quote:
Originally Posted by whereiend
Boston is not weird and never was...
I dunno. I went to an art festival in Salem a few weeks back and there was no shortage of colorful characters. And there are always a number of quirky types at events like Honk! Maybe I’m just using a threshold or definition of weirdness that’s different than yours.
Quote:
Originally Posted by masssachoicetts
Wait Boston lost its pride parade ?? How on -
Mmhmm. They were accused of not being inclusive enough, so the main group running it just decided to disband the thing entirely. This year, most people I know went down to Providence for Pride.
Last edited by Boston Shudra; 08-17-2022 at 05:30 AM..
SF, no question. I'm in the process of moving to the city from the South Bay right now and, although I've visited before, I'm really taking in more holistically now how much weirdness still exists within the city, Twitter and Salesforce be damned.
I went to a Thai restaurant last week that had a literal bathtub in the bathroom, where guests (or more likely, homeless people) could bathe if needed.
A couple nights ago, I randomly struck up a conversation in a (non-gay) bar with a gay man and straight woman, both in their 50s, who have been roommates for years. The woman is married but she and her husband (who, again, doesn't live with her) are open. The guy thinks he's "traditional" because he wants to have kids (in his 50s, as a single parent). They offered me drugs at one point. Again, I was not seeking these kinds of people out, they were just the first people I talked to in a random bar in SF.
"Eastern establishment" - That's such a small segment of these cities. Having lived on both coasts for multiple years at a time, I find the east coast weirdness to be way less performative. This notion of the west coast being more weird and chill needs a rethink. Tons of quirky folks back East going about their day without shouting about how "weird" they are - because they just. are. weird.
That's a valid point. West Coasters are legitimately more "chill" on average, but East Coast tendency toward neuroticism cannot be overlooked. There are a lot of legitimately crazy and eccentric people here.
Yeah, I think SF takes this walking away. SF was weirder then, and is weirder now (though definitely less weird than it was).
Having grown up in the Boston area, and now living in the NYC area, Boston is kinda the poster-child for buttoned-up east coast rigidness. I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way, it makes it a mostly clean, pleasant city. I consider DC in a similar light, and largely NYC as well, all though NYC is so large it has some element of counterculture (though not nearly on the per capita scale that you see on the west coast).
TLDR; cities on the west coast are going to be weirder and more counter-culture than most cities on the east coast. It's the way that it's always been, and likely always will be.
I've heard a joke about Portland that was something along the lines of "where Millennials go to retire", which was years ago so go ahead and replace Gen Z there. That joke would never be made about Boston (or NYC, or DC, etc.)
Maybe Cambridge/Somerville would be a better match than Boston.
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