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If all these other cities being mentioned offer more quality than what DC has, then why is NYC the only other city I would want move to if I left DC? lol.
There's just something about DC I guess. Inexplicable.
Unless your point is that, well, black and white people are different. But that's the case in every city. There are cities, like Philadelphia, where there's a common culture shared by everyone despite differences along racial lines. We all love the Mummers. We all love our "wooder" ice. We all order our steaks "wid or widout." We all go to the "shore," not the beach. We all eat "hoagies," not subs. We generally all have a strong Italian influence, which is evidenced by our gesticulations. There are several little identifiers that will give away the fact someone is from Philadelphia.
If you take a white kid from Bethesda and a black kid from Landover and put them in a room together, they probably would have no way of knowing the other was from the same area absent an open revelation of that fact. On the other hand, you can tell where Fran Drescher and Jay-Z are from as soon as they open their mouths.
Sounds like you're mostly a product of the NE where different areas have unique accents and neighborhoods have long ethnic histories. That's not really true in most of the country and I'm not sure it's important to a vibrant, cosmopolitan city, least of all one built to house a federal government. I mean, the New York accent isn't exactly unique until you get to the outer burroughs.
Sounds like you're mostly a product of the NE where different areas have unique accents and neighborhoods have long ethnic histories. That's not really true in most of the country and I'm not sure it's important to a vibrant, cosmopolitan city, least of all one built to house a federal government. I mean, the New York accent isn't exactly unique until you get to the outer burroughs.
I don't think a city has to have a long ethnic history to be unique. I just pointed that out because you said that Boston was bland compared to DC. Boston has a unique culture and dialect (though not as pronounced as New Orleans', but what other city has a culture that unique) that transcends race and class. Just ask anyone of any racial background in Boston what a "quahog" or a "grinder" is. Boston is unique in that sense and far from being "bland" (especially when compared to DC).
Even when it comes to other things, Boston is not less bland than DC. Boston's architecture is much more varied, unique and innovative (look at the Zakim Bridge for example). Boston's Chinatown is a real Chinatown where you actually see mostly Asians and Asian-owned restaurants and bazaars. Boston is denser than DC in its "core" and has more pedestrian activity (and activity in general). Boston Common is more woven into the city's urban fabric than the Mall is. From Boston Common, you can walk over to Ray's for a slice of pizza, visit Cheers, walk over to Newbury Street, Downtown Crossing, Copley or the North End, or trot over to the Theater District with relative ease. Very few people, on the other hand, would consider a walk from the Mall to Georgetown, Adams-Morgan or U Street "easy." The closest thing to the Mall is Gallery Place, which is kinda generic anyway, and only spans a few blocks. Boston has a huge advantage over DC in that its best neighborhoods are all tightly-packed together, which gives it a street vibrancy DC can't match.
And I won't even discuss the difference in food quality.
Last edited by BajanYankee; 01-07-2012 at 06:44 AM..
Well, I've spent a good chunk of time in Boston and most all of the areas I've been to that you list struck me as somewhat sterile and/or gaudy for tourist exploitation. Cheers is perhaps the biggest let down. I guess I find U Street, Adams Morgan, Dupont, H Street, Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights, Georgetown, and others to feel more organic and to have more character than their Boston counterparts. Back Bay's quite nice - probably nicer overall in architecture than its equivalent, Georgetown. I could see downtown Boston being considered more interesting (definitely better architecturally) than downtown DC. Just the overall vibe - not the buildings and such - is more energetic in DC.
To each their own. It's all subjective. Boston people are passionate about their city so maybe they're seeing something I don't. I certainly won't defend DC's Chinablock as that is obviously far inferior to Boston's Chinatown. Better solution would be for DC to accept that neighborhoods change and stop mandating fake autheticity to call it Chinatown. Let that hood be known as Gallery Place. It would fit better with the Times Square theme they're pushing.
Well, I've spent a good chunk of time in Boston and most all of the areas I've been to that you list struck me as somewhat sterile and/or gaudy for tourist exploitation. Cheers is perhaps the biggest let down. I guess I find U Street, Adams Morgan, Dupont, H Street, Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights, Georgetown, and others to feel more organic and to have more character than their Boston counterparts. Back Bay's quite nice - probably nicer overall in architecture than its equivalent, Georgetown. I could see downtown Boston being considered more interesting (definitely better architecturally) than downtown DC. Just the overall vibe - not the buildings and such - is more energetic in DC.
Cheers was fictitious. Did you expect to walk into the bar and see Sam and Carla?
And Boston's nabes are definitely more organic than DC's, imo. Columbia Heights' amenities consist of a Best Buy, Marshall's, Ruby Tuesday, Target, IHOP, Starbuck's, Panda Express, FedExOffice, T-Mobile store, Pollo Campero, Alero and Rita's Water Ice. Sure, there are a few more places, but you get my drift. It doesn't compare at all to the South End, which is a major tourist destination. Columbia Heights is vibrant by DC standards, but that's comparing it to neighborhoods like Bloomingdale, which has absolutely no retail at all.
If you put Georgetown against Back Bay, Adams-Morgan/Gallery Place against Tremont/Theater District/Downtown Crossing, Beacon Hill against Dupont Circle, South End against U Street, Columbia Heights against the North End, or Quincy Market against Eastern Market, do you honestly think that any of the DC neighborhoods have better shopping, retail and restaurants than any of the aforementioned Boston nabes? I wasn't crazy about Boston at all when I lived there, but from a design and vibrancy standpoint, I do think it is a cut above DC.
Keep in mind that all of Boston's vibrant neighborhoods are right up against each other.
I just don't agree, bajan. You can rag on Columbia Heights like everyone does but reality is its main commercial district fills a critical role of everyday middle/working class retail in the middle of the city that was missing for many years. That place was dead for decades and now has sidewalks full of people of all different backgrounds. Its outlying commercial areas (like Park or 11th Street) also have a great deal of restaurant and nightlife offerings going for them.
Any real estate company video can make any area look like the greatest place on earth. More isn't better and I'd take the character of our Eastern Market with all its local flavor any day over the tourist mecca that is Quincy Market. The Freedom Trail just doesn't inspire me as much as DC's museums and monuments. I don't think it's fair to compare Adams Morgan and Gallery Place to basically all of Boston's central offerings. They fill very different roles. Kind of gets back to the core issue of your cherry-picking aspects of DC to compare to all of other cities.
I think we can all agree that DC's Wilson Building is undeniably far superior to the brutalist Boston City Hall and expanse of empty space surrounding it.
Boston's City Hall is the local equivalent of DC's FBI building, though Boston's City Hall is, ironically, more arresting in terms of its scale and brutalism. The FBI is just an eyesore that hopefully will be coming down soon.
Boston's City Hall is the local equivalent of DC's FBI building, though Boston's City Hall is, ironically, more arresting in terms of its scale and brutalism. The FBI is just an eyesore that hopefully will be coming down soon.
So long as it doesnt cost the taxpayer a single penny I am fine with whatever happens; should it cost even a penny then leave it forever frankly am tired of seeing building and expansion in DC funded by the Govt and all of America. Cut everything to bone before spending a single penny of fed funds in DC or anywhere else in the country. It isnt great but agree Boston's City Hall is far more brutal in many ways, always seems so odd there juxtaposed against Faniel Sq and Quincy Mkt.
On the Boston/DC comparison. Boston is a tad bland in some ways and DC is getting better coming from a more bland place 10-20 years ago. DC could well surpass the vibe of Boston soon but does need to get rid of all the chains. DC is like a hybrid of organic city and vanilla america in too many place but seems to get better all the time. GT has taken a step back IMHO while other areas get better in DC IMHO.
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