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And to massachoicetts’ point-yes most residents of Boston suburbs and even the city itself have an image of NYC as slummy and undesirable. My mother and all her siblings feel that way and make it known.
I feel like some people think it’s cool and some people really don’t. From what I’ve heard, I don’t have much of an opinion.
DC is a cool that city, but its sadly losing its edginess and being replaced with a super corporate, government lifestyle and a heightened self-righteous attitude among a lot of its newer populous, worse than anything I have seen in New York actually.
I visit often for work and friends and I enjoy my visits, but I am happy to leave after a few days. Getting into the details I find New York and Philadelphia to be cooler than DC.
And I agree, DC is viewed as an all or nothing type of city. I have many friends who are oddly obsessed with DC and other friends who loathe it.
I think Washington DC is the absolute antithesis of cool. Probably one of the last cities in America that I would refer to as "cool", in any measure.
Fair enough, that is your opinion. I guess I shouldn't have made the statement as black and white as I did, but I love Washington D.C. and find it very cool.
And to massachoicetts’ point-yes most residents of Boston suburbs and even the city itself have an image of NYC as slummy and undesirable. My mother and all her siblings feel that way and make it known.
Interesting that both of you have encountered this attitude and view of New York City. I personally have never encountered this living in the Boston suburbs for close to thirty years now. Most of the Bostonians I know (myself included) love New York City as far as travel, and many aspire to one day live there.
I can never understand when people think of other cities as slummy considering every city has it's undesirable areas.
The mix of large numbers historically strong ethnic enclaves and the neighborhood feel and events that come with that (Italian, Irish, Polish, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Mexican to some extent- especially West Coast, etc.), historically strong sports fan bases, tough reputations, mix of blue collar and white collar, a stereotype of an identity (i.e. you can picture how a stereotypical New Yorker, Bostonian, Philadelphian, Chicagoan sounds- there are jokes and SNL skits on this), all play into a subjective "coolness."
These are characteristics that NYC, Chicago, Philly, and Boston have, and to some extent LA, Bay Area, and Miami.
DC doesn't have this.....although, I do admit, DC is probably unique because of it's strong African American history. From non-African Americans, we probably don't fully understand this or appreciate it, so it is probably underappreciated. So DC is kind of an outlier.
But DC doesn't come to mind as "cool" like the other cities because as unfair as it is, it's "stereotype" is the nerdy government town, which is viewed as "uncool."
The mix of large numbers historically strong ethnic enclaves and the neighborhood feel and events that come with that (Italian, Irish, Polish, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Mexican to some extent- especially West Coast, etc.), historically strong sports fan bases, tough reputations, mix of blue collar and white collar, a stereotype of an identity (i.e. you can picture how a stereotypical New Yorker, Bostonian, Philadelphian, Chicagoan sounds- there are jokes and SNL skits on this), all play into a subjective "coolness."
These are characteristics that NYC, Chicago, Philly, and Boston have, and to some extent LA, Bay Area, and Miami.
DC doesn't have this.....although, I do admit, DC is probably unique because of it's strong African American history. From non-African Americans, we probably don't fully understand this or appreciate it, so it is probably underappreciated. So DC is kind of an outlier.
But DC doesn't come to mind as "cool" like the other cities because as unfair as it is, it's "stereotype" is the nerdy government town, which is viewed as "uncool."
Again, these are all subjective stereotypes.
All very fair assessments of the topic! I did laugh out loud at your comment about the accents because it's so true!
I'm a big history nerd here, and you're right that it's subjective coolness, but I find history cool, much to the chagrin of many I know/encounter.
You also make great points about the African American culture on Washington D.C. As a caucasian, I may not fully understand the culture, but can certainly appreciate and respect it!
Interesting that both of you have encountered this attitude and view of New York City. I personally have never encountered this living in the Boston suburbs for close to thirty years now. Most of the Bostonians I know (myself included) love New York City as far as travel, and many aspire to one day live there.
I can never understand when people think of other cities as slummy considering every city has it's undesirable areas.
But to each their own.
it doesn't surprise me that Boston residents view New York in that light considering how both cites are known for bashing each other sports teams. Many people view NYC as a wild-west of a city especially back in the day. New York has cleaned its image a lot especially Brooklyn but most people outside the Northeast view NYC this way (cool to visit but not a city I would live in). Boston from a New York perspective is seen as quieter, safer, and overall better quality of life. Boston still has that aggressive, brashness that New York has but just not as overwhelming.
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