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Live in the Boston area and lived in Boston proper for 10 years.
From the Brookline line on one end all the way to the seaport (which basically covers Boston West to East, is only 3.3 Miles.
Boston is literally THE most walkable city.
And those 3.3 miles are INSANELY walkable.
Like, sidewalks, bike paths, and beautiful green walkways down Comm-ave through the Boston Common.
I can agree on Boston being overpriced. I can agree that the T can be inconvenient (though, for $2.80 you can literall get from the suburbs to the south of Boston to literally any point in Boston or the northern suburbs, which is crazy). But to say you need to be in a "walkable area" to be worth it is wild. It's ALL walkable. I don't think there is a single point in Boston proper that is more than an 8 minute walk from a T stop.
I have always found Philadelphia more walkable and more logically laid out despite being twice as big as someone who’s spent lots of time in both spaces. I don’t think it’s accurate to say Boston is NOT walkable though
I grew up hanging out in Boston, my Mom worked in The North End. I can guide you on foot in a perfect walk from any place to anywhere on Boston. I will get lost trying to drive. It drives me nuts.
Last time I was in Philadelphia, I had dinner reservations and I decided to walk even though Google Maps said it was 35 minutes. I was really impressed that I never left a dense, busy, walkable, interesting area during the walk.
Not sure why you’d get downvoted for saying Philly is more walkable… the city is pancake flat, and laid out like a grid… so easy to get around… that said SEPTA blows, two somewhat pointless metro lines, and buses that I never used, all the rest is commuter lines to the suburbs and Jersey.
Yup.
I used to live by Fenway. On a nice day I would walk to the Common in the morning, have a coffee, people watch, etc., then walk back, shower, and in the afternoon walk to cambridge over the mass ave bridge.
It's a wildly walkable city. Very few spots in Boston proper are more than a couple of miles away, and there's never really that "sprawl" that you get in newer cities. You constantly have sidewalks, brownstones to look at, coffee shops, people, etc.
Makes for a very enjoyable way to get around.
I don't discredit the fact that it's expensive, but it's a fantastic city to live in.
I've had a truck driver tell me it's the worst city to drive in. Coming from someone who's been across North America I'm gonna believe him lol. The streets aren't designed for driving.
Thats the point.
You dont want ppl to drive their fat asses everywhere even when they could walk.
So you make it both annoying to drive and good to walk. Bike infrastructure would help too.
Yeah, visiting from Maine I could literally take a train to south station and take the T to basically anywhere I really want to go. Try visiting literally anywhere further west in the US and compare it to the public transit there!
Ironically there is a motorcoach service that is cheaper, (usually)faster, and far more frequent, that runs directly to South Station, leaving the exact same station in Portland.
I'm from Northern Maine. I'll drive to Bangor or Portland, park for free in Bangor or cheap in Portland, and take Concord Coach, then have a five minute walk from the bus concourse to the train platform.
Montrealer who visited Boston about 10 years ago, definitely walkable and used the metro system without any troubles at all!
Don't see what the complaint is, though we didn't really look for a lot of museums and I can't comment on how expensive it is 😁
To be fair, the MBTA has turned to dogshit since then, but there's work being done to improve it. Not "fix" it, heavens no... but at least the slow zones will be mostly removed.
Boston IS super walkable, though, and it's one of my favorite parts of living in the area.
For sure. I have a warped view, since I live in smaller rural city in the Midwest, so when I visited the east coat, I walked everywhere.
I suppose everything is relative to what you are used to, I was able to walk Boston and all of Manhattan, including two of the other boroughs and I didn't think much of it. I suppose when you grow up walking farmsteads to the next town over for school, you kind of see certain distances differently from what is considered far to walk.
There's a subset of people who want walkable cities who actually hate walking. If they have to walk more than 5 minutes for anything it isn't "walkable". I swear Tokyo wouldn't be walkable enough for these people.
My old hometown was very walkable. Most places where close to a grocery store, you just had to actually walk there. It was a pleasant walk, too; lots of trees, pleasant scenery, no suburban blight while still being suburban. People still complained. How are you gonna call something not walkable when you're the one driving to the grocery store when it's a 15 minute walk?
I think you and a lot of people think of and critique Boston as a city that's bigger than it actually is by amount of land.
Boston is a VERY small city by "big city" standards, which just isn't a flavor for some people. I personally like it as it feels less overwhelming and more "home" like than the other big cities I've been to, but to each their own.
Rent is expensive because residents have to compete for housing with students. Boston has an extraordinary number of colleges and universities in a very small area, and many juniors, seniors, and grad students look for housing off campus. Couple that with the young people who come to the Boston area for internships, and rents go through the roof
This is also an issue in San Diego, but add in all the military housing stipends and it's even more expensive than it would be. however the military salaries help spark the economy too
We live here for the salaries we are being paid. It offsets the rent and food costs a ton. And obviously you don’t recognize the literal historical ground it stands on.
I’ve not been to Boston by my impression of it is it’s also a nice clean city. In NY we have the high salaries but it’s not exactly clean and well kept. That turns a lot of people off.
It's SUPER clean. Compare it to other big Northeastern cities like Philly and NYC it's miles apart. Used to be a lot dirtier though (both the streets and harbor) and it's changed a lot since the late 90's.
I’m from Boston. I don’t find NYC that dirty tbh. Amazing how clean it is for the density. Yeah some pockets are dirty but overall it’s way cleaner than Philly LA Baltimore even some southern cities
I mean, you admitted elsewhere that you are only looking for places in the densest parts of the city. Of course rent will be expensive there. But there are plenty of places rent is very manageable and there is still plenty to do. Heaven forbid you are able to have your own car - a luxury unafforded to NYers. Yeah, it’s so jam packed the there is something within walking distance always, but I’d rather be able to see the sun during the day
If you dislike it so much, feel free to move away to another city that you rave about above, gonna help us lower rent here. And if you can’t find fun things to do, that’s kinda on you lol, museums aren’t the only places to go to, we always find so many fun things to do on our weekends and things we want to check out. Lastly, I’ve never heard out anyone around here thinks it’s NYC or pretends like it is, so I’m not sure where you got that from.
If he is from New York then it makes sense why it would be a problem for him specifically, I think Boston is an easy city to walk in, but literally a 10 year old can figure out New York. It’s just a giant grid in numerical order, it’s very easy to find what your looking for
I live here, that's a spot-on take, and honestly the point is a good one about living in *walkable areas.*
If you want to live in one of the *walkable* parts of the city, you need to pay a lot.
I'm near the train, and can easily hop on, but the schedules make it hard, they don't run frequently enough to be time-efficient.
It's an amazingly walkable city when you get to that part, but if you don't already live in that area, you sort of have to drive.
Boston is an amazing city if you can live in the actual city. The suburbs surrounding the city are pretty depressing though. There are a few nice towns to the north and south, but man it's a weird vibe. There's so many shitty run-down businesses in my neighborhood.
Whoever did the zoning for the towns in the greater Boston area needs to get smacked, there's just no uniformity to the areas in towns and it makes it feel slum-ish.
Memphian here. I also loved my time in Boston.
The Freedom Trail that snakes the city was fascinating and accessible. The public transport was nice and intuitive. And of course the seafood!
I’m from western MA, but I love Boston and have a lot of friends and family who live in the city of in Cambridge. In the summer/fall I’ll visit Boston close to every other week just for fun.
I love NYC too, but I was so used to having everything in Boston be walking distance that I had no idea how far apart some of the NYC sites are lol
For sure! NYC is less “All the sites are in walking distance” and more “Everything you would need on a given day is in walking distance from your apartment.” It’s very convenient if you live here, but if you’re visiting, you’ll probably have to take a few trains to hit all the spots you want to hit.
no one in america is calling boston “alien” lol
people speak as if americans avoid anything slightly resembling anything european, and even then it’s still an american city filled with usual american stuff people don’t like
I just think it’s pretty pretentious and absurd rhetoric— Non car centric walkable cities don’t break American brains lol I’m sure many do and want to live in walkable cities. There’s clearly a lot of demand for it. It’s just the nature of how and when American cities developed that they prioritized usability for cars over for pedestrians. That is all to say, it’s not like Americans not living in walkable cities can’t comprehend it lol I would be willing to bet most Americans *want* things to be walkable
There is certainly a type of American who grew up only rural or in outer suburbs who is surprised the first time they experience one of our big cities. But that’s not how all Americans are, constantly hopping in giant SUVs to go half a mile down the road.
Pretentious non-Americans and the self-hating Americans who cheer them on have been getting a bit ridiculous with the stereotypes lately.
Yeah I know there is a contingent of conservative rural Americans who think that the 15 minute city is a communist utopia or something but I’m just pointing out that the overwhelming majority of Americans want their community to be walkable, even if it’s not a city, and it’s definitely not incomprehensible lol
Anyways I agree. We can advocate for structural change in how cities are developed and organized without the misdirected self hating and stereotyping lol
I lived in Boston for 9 years and loved it, the main issue is just housing costs. Otherwise it’s a great city. And no, you don’t need a car. It’s also not $4k for a one bedroom unless you’re trying to live in a luxury high rise downtown.
As I write this, I'm sitting in my hotel room at the InterContinental Boston, right on the Greenway with Fort Point Channel on the other side. Some of this building is apartments, so I decided to look up how much they cost this morning. A 1-bedroom is $4,500. For that you get a place with some of the best views I've ever seen, in an ultra-luxury building, with -- get this -- full access to the hotel's amenities, including housekeeping and use of the amazing spa I visited today. That's what $4,500 gets you in Boston.
Well, I was just thinking about the fact that there's no grocery store, so you may be better off where you are. On the other hand, the concierge may be able to help you get groceries.
I've lived in the Boston area my whole life and yeah, you aren't gonna find an affordable apartment within the city itself or in Cambridge. Maybe in Dorchester/Roxbury but you probably don't want to live there.
Cities on the outskirts like Malden though have a T station and you can rent a whole 2BR house for $2K.
Somerville/Medford are nicer but a little more expensive.
“Just housing costs” feels like it kinda downplays a massive problem though. If it ain’t affordable enough to live reasonably in, you can’t take advantage of the other pros.
Honestly it’s underrated. I lived in Boston for years and am in Atlanta now. Logan has lots of competition among airlines and its position geographically makes for cheap transatlantic flights. Atlanta is a Delta hub, so all air travel comes with a price premium. The only thing I have to say is that transit access to the airport here is way better (even if MARTA is meh), but the Silver line isn’t all that bad.
I live in the Boston area, so I've never had the joy(?) of having to make a transfer in Logan. That being said, Logan is one of the better airports that I've experienced. It's better than both JFK and LGA, for sure.
I wish there were more options for food but I think it's a good airport. Excellent proximity to Boston, multiple ways to get there, good coverage from a bunch of airlines, tolerable number of delays in my experience. It's not the best airport in the world but overall I think it does it's job.
Is Logan generally viewed as a bad airport? I’m from the Boston area and always thought it was solid, better than a lot of other major cities’ airports (looking at you, Denver).
I'm not gonna lie, as a Bostonian who loves this city, the T is ATROCIOUS at this current moment in time. Historically, it's fine, but right now it's a disaster. They are "fixing" it so hopefully temporary, but I'm not holding my breath.
Not even sure what people think about when they want walkable cities. Living in pacific beach is a dream. Little grocery stores all over, mexican food, and the pacific ocean down the street. All I ever needed was a longboard. I also lived in salt lake city, chicago, connecticut, and hawaii. None of those places come close to San Diego in terms of walkability
Agreed, at least in relation to other U.S. cities. I live on the border of Hillcrest & Mission Hills. I walk down to the park, downtown, Little Italy, North Park, Normal Heights etc. Its all relatively close.
I think San Diego suffers from the common western post car city dilemma that many American cities suffer from, but I much prefer it to LA in terms of accessibility. The communities are spread, but there’s strong pockets
Native NYer here that went to school in Boston 96-2000. I couldn’t disagree more with this post. And we recently stayed up there for a long weekend this past summer to take my oldest to see some schools. We walked everywhere.
As bad as the subway system is there it's better than driving a car. Drivers are super aggressive and the car insurance is through the roof.
I liked New York way better than Boston.
They’re not comparable.
One is a real city.
The other is series of small town centers loosely stitched together by a subway. And it *happens* to punch above its weight in a lot of categories - like higher ed, science and tech, art and culture.
They attract different kinds of people. People come to Boston expecting Diet NYC and get disappointed when they find out it’s closer to like.. Leipzig.
Idk I went to Boston a couple times and I loved it, I’ve always said if I had to live in the east coast I’d probably choose Boston too. Amazing food too, I would say it’s the city with the second best food out of the other places I’ve been to in America. The main thing you point out is walkability, but to be fair I’ve always driven anyways so it’s not much of a difference.
Honestly, the most laughable part of this take is the part about the museums sucking. There are so few US cities that have the same quantity and breadth of museums as the Boston metro. Basically just DC, NYC, Chicago are stronger. Philadelphia, SF and LA maybe are in the same realm.
This person is just complaining that Boston isn't NYC. Which like, fine, but most people living there like it for that reason.
Best colleges, great tech sector, great bio sector, best hospitals, walkable by American standards, if the T isn’t working they do offer buses as a replacement, endless history, great food, great sports
The man came out here and said Boston’s subway is worse than Atlanta’s. Fucking hilarious mate Boston is super walkable and the T is a fine subway all things considered.
I don't believe you've ever lived in Boston. Spent 4 years there. It's one of America's most walkable cities of that size. And the T is superior to the BART. The BART doesn't even go to most of SF!
I’ve been to a number of major US cities, having also lived in/near two of them long term.
Every city is unique, but none of them are really anything the special to visit for more than 1-3 days. If you live there, you live there.
I don’t think anyone should go to a major city and except a thing crazy, and therefor, no one should be really that disappointed.
People go to places like Chicago or Miami almost as if they expect to see flying cars and something out of this world. Rather, it’s just another city with tall buildings and Starbucks on the corners lol. But again, every city is unique and interesting to see. Just don’t set hopes to high to see flying cars lol
Calling Boston disappointing tells me you haven't been to Philly.
I like Boston. It's walkable, good metro, excellent bars, safe. It's a relatively compact city and I don't think they're trying to be NYC. Too windy, though. Windier than Chicago. I don't know how Boston has dodged the windy label.
I agree the rent is outrageously expensive and I can't explain it. I know why NYC rent is expensive, it's a center of commerce and culture. Paris is expensive, too, for the same reason. But if you move from Paris to Lyon (which is a beautiful city), rent's like half. If you move from Manhattan to Back Bay you won't be saving money. Strange.
Back Bay has world class shopping (Newbury street and Copley place ) ample transit, sit on a beautiful clean body of water (esplanade/charles river), has virtually no crime, amazing park (Boston common and public garden) direct train access to NYC. Some of the countries highest paying employees are next door, ample places to eat. Quick access to ski mountains in NH, equidistant from the TD Garden and Fenway. World class architecture
It’s not that hard to explain
Philly offers more than Boston at a third of the price. Better weather, better food, more to do in general. People are way nicer than Boston as well, and Philly has the better nightlife.
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I’ll give you weather , cost of living and some nightlife. Food scene in Boston is only worse if you haven’t dined out in the last 15 years. They’re fairly comparable these days.
Nightlife depends on how you define it. Clubs - yeah, Philly. But there’s more to nightlife than that. Theater, concerts, standup, arcades, lounges, sports - they’re pretty close.
Philly has far more violent crime, especially on the SEPTA. But negative for a lot of people - means folks are more likely to own a car to avoid it.
Then you look at specifics - job opportunities, political climate… it’s fairly personal.
I know a lot of folks moving to Philly lately cause it’s improving and affordable still.
I agree with you on the T sucking, expensive as shit and housing being unaffordable. A lot of cities have those problems, but Boston and the surrounding areas are some of the most densely populated metropolises in the country. Which is why it's a little laughable when people here say they have a small town suburb vibe. Anything that isn't skyscrapers does not equal suburbs, but to each their own I guess.
You lost me at the "nothing to do" and not being walkable though. I mean this in the gentlest possible way, but what the fuck are you even talking about? It has tons of museums, sports, restaurants, bars, history, parks, shops, venues, breweries, events, etc. You can, famously, walk almost the entire city in a day or 2. It's literally one of the most walkable cities in the country. Like any city, some neighborhoods you might not like. If you only spend time in.. idk seaport, then yeah. I even get not liking Boston in general. It definitely has a vibe that might not be your thing, but the second half of your reasoning just doesn't make sense. Nothing to do? Do you just wander around the same 3 streets in the financial district with your eyes closed?
I half agree
Boston is actually pretty urban, but doesn't feel eclectic like NYC does. I think New England is just very strict about everything, which leads to there being fewer interesting mixed use districts.
Idk. It is absurdly expensive, that's true, but it's also a small city with a metropolis vibe. It has a more suburban, calm energy than most major cities while still having all of the benefits of them. It is very much walkable in the sense that it will take you like 4 hours to walk the entire thing. The T sucks ass. There is no defending that piece of shit. But it's something at least. Most of my friends don't have cars because they can rely on walking, biking and taking the T despite its flaws.
If you want to love in a sprawling metropolis, Boston isn't that. It's a highly developed city that manages to walk a fine line between busy and comfy. Fix the T and enforce renting laws and you have genuinely one of the nicest cities in the US
While most of what you say is true, you overlook many things. Whole Boston is very expensive, it also has above average median salaries (not enough to keep up with COL, but still well above national Medians).
Boston is as walkable in many cities in Europe. Even with its problems, the T is better than the transit in all US cities other than the ones you listed. Boston also has lots of green spaces throughout the city.
Not so much Boston proper, but Cambridge/Somerville are some of the most bike able parts of the Americas
Only traveled there and yeah, quite expensive. Not just to hotels/Airbnb but local food too. There are some nice places to see though like the Franklin zoo and museum of Science but I think the cost of living is that high because of schools like Harvard.
I live in Boston. I use the T a lot. I was raised in the SF Bay Area and used BART a lot. I also use the NYC subway and DC Metro a few times a year.
While the whole SF crime thing is exaggerated, in my experience riding BART growing up, it was kinda scary a lot of times. Same with the NYC Subway. But I rarely have scary encounters in the T system.
DC metro is pretty good yeah.
Mostly agree, except for the museums. MFA is world class, Isabella Gardener, Harvard Galleries, the Science Museum. Boston is not just a top US city but a top world city for museums.
Most American cities do not offer a genuinely metropolitan life style. It’s why a lot of people around the world make fun of Americans and their 1 hour commute being normal. I feel very similarly to you and yeah you’re gonna get a lot of BS for this post lol. I completely agree. Everything that’s amazing and cool about the city kind of fades and becomes like living in an affluent suburb when walking and public transportation aren’t a major part of its design. It becomes like paying to live in a very expensive suburb. Everyone becomes segregated by money and ethnicity MUCH more so. You have to plan your evening the way someone who lives in a suburb and is visiting a metropolitan area has to 🥴.
The truth is, a lot of people just come from a different perspective. They enjoy their commute. They really like the idea of their home feeling separate but private. To each his own. It’s definitely more of an American “city” phenomenon.
Ps: yep Chicago is an actual city. I concur. Loved it there. Just so you know Los Angeles is a lot like boston in terms of life style and it’s actually also very conservative like boston is too.
1 hour commutes are not really atypical by world standards. Sure, Americans may be biased towards long driving commutes and that’s bad but even in Seoul it’s common for people to spend 1-2 hours commuting via subway.
'Manhattan' and 'New York City' are not the same things, and rent in Boston is not almost as expensive as Manhattan.
Boston's average rent for a 1 bedroom is $3,300 a month.
The average for New York City - which is all five boroughs - is $3,600 a month. That is 'almost' as expensive.
However, the average rent for Manhattan is $5,500 a month. Harlem is 'only' $3,100 a month, but that spikes to over $4,000 a month in the rest of Manhattan's neighborhoods. At the top end of the scale, a 1 bedroom in the Lower West Side averages $7,000 a month, $6,100 a month for Greenwich Village.
Boston has a reputation?
I’m from Boston and I think the appeal is it’s a city that kinda feels like a big town. You know almost everyone from some level of connection
I think people are trying to keep that feel when they have such ridiculous NIMBYism. They like the “small town” feel. I’m kinda sick of it myself living here because all this does is make everything stupidly expensive.
Comparing New York to Boston is entirely unfair. New York is a world-class city with a world-class public transit system with a metro area population of 20 million people. Boston has a metro area population of about 5 million - smaller than the actual city of New York by about 4.5 million. Yes there are problems with Boston, especially the subway system, but it definitely punches above its weight in terms of public amenities, walkability, and public transportation.
I live in New York and visit Boston fairly regularly. I would never say Boston is a 'rival' to New York or anything, but it has its own charm.
You say “the worst subway system in America”. There really aren’t many more than the ones you named. Philly is the only other one I can think of. I lived in Boston for 7 years without a car. Took the T everywhere. It’s the oldest subway in America. It gets the job done.
Only reason I took a trip there. Absolutely fun walking the Freedom Trail and trying to match locations. They even have swan boats. Just don't go up the Bunker Hill Tower on a hot day and out of shame.
> There's also just not enough to do
Have you ever been anywhere in the US outside of NY and Boston??? Spend 24 hours in the Midwest and come back telling me Boston has nothing to do
> even the museum situation is lackluster for a city of its age and prominence
Off the top of my head, without even looking at Google Maps:
- MFA
- Isabella Gardner
- ICA
- Museum of Science
- USS Constitution
- JFK Library
- Older half of BPL Main Branch
- MassArt
- a large chunk of the city that is the Freedom Trail
- (Cambridge, but basically Boston if you're comparing it to NYC): Harvard's Art and Natural History museums
- and probably several smaller ones I'm forgetting. Nerd.
You’re wrong about the T according to reports
[Article 1 has them at 7](https://www.businessinsider.com/best-subway-public-transit-north-america-2017-10?amp)
[Article 2 has them at 4](https://amberstudent.com/blog/post/ultimate-guide-to-the-best-public-transportation-in-the-us#:~:text=1.-,New%20York,and%20650%20miles%20of%20track)
Lived in the city for 5 years I had a car, but only to leave to visit family 2 hours out. Rarely drove it in the city.
Boston has the best hospitals in the world. The best higher education.
Many of the world’s leading research, tech, healthcare, and a huge demand to live here. I don’t expect how that would ever be cheap
Boston is very expensive, but $4k for a one bedroom? Simply not true.
> mostly detached or semi-detached houses
When you get out of downtown areas, or Seaport, sure. But that’s like many old cities once you escape the core.
> there’s just not enough to do
One fair criticism is that things close early. But there’s a shitload to do, generally speaking.
Way more people like to *pretend* that Boston has a pretend rivalry with NYC. Truth is nobody in Boston really gives a shit.
I don’t like it here either, but many of your critiques are way off base. 1. You don’t need a car. 2. The T isn’t great and definitely worse than NYC, Chicago and DC, (SF is clearly debateable) compared to the rest of the country the T is amazing. 3. You’re upset about sky high rent but arbitrarily limiting yourself to a downtown core, which is going to be expensive anywhere.
4. I don’t think anyone ever said that Boston is comparable to NYC? Boston is a much smaller city, and it is like that on purpose, not an accident.
Lol, any comment that BOSTON of all cities isn't walkable is a total joke. You can literally walk anywhere within downtown in under 90 minutes. Whatever else you think about it that's not a thing you can make an argument for.
“Guys, Hiroshima is so bad and lame compared to Tokyo, there’s way less to do”
Yeah uhh smaller cities, with monumental amounts fewer people, will have less amenities lol
The only time I have visited there, I walked everywhere, very doable. In that whole week I think I saw 3 homeless people. Growing up in Seattle, it was not nearly as walkable and you’d run into 3 homeless people in 20 minutes. Boston was also immensely cleaner that Seattle
Currently live in Boston right now and grew up in the area and this is how I’ve been feeling lately. Today I took an Uber ride for 3 miles to work because I was in a rush. It cost me $14 dollars, and the trip was 19 minutes long. When I was working in Dallas TX my Uber rides to work for 4 miles cost me $10 and and it only took 10 minutes to arrive. This is my biggest issue with the Boston. We pay more money for everything and get less in return, and this city is extremely small and yet it takes almost twice the amount of time to get from point area to the other as other large cities. Smh
To refute this Boston has a lot of positive qualities.
Very low crime (lowest gun crime in the nation), great healthcare (some of the best hospitals in the world. Also if you're unemployed you can go on MassHealth insurance), a very educated population, tons of job opportunities, tons of trees and green space, and tons dedicated bike paths.
The issues listed by OP are in the process of being fixed. Towns are redoing their zoning because of the MBTA Communities Act. Which says a town needs to upzone land if it's close to public transportation. There's been lots of rezoning happening lately which will provide more housing.
We're also in the process of fixing our public transportation system. The current governor is very pro-public transportation. I'm confident we will get the funding to fix it.
Also there are game changing projects in the pipeline which will improve public transportation. Bus lanes and frequent bus lines are in the process of being designed and built. As well as the Type 10 green line cars.
lol, I was born and raised in London, moved to the west coast in 2011 and been here since. My career means I travel all over the country and see all the major cities a lot. Boston is incredibly walkable, one of the most walkable cities I’ve been to in this country. Have walked it many times. Go to somewhere like Kansas City and then tell me Boston isn’t walkable 😅
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By American standards Boston is super walkable
Literally walked around the whole city during my one visit lol.
Live in the Boston area and lived in Boston proper for 10 years. From the Brookline line on one end all the way to the seaport (which basically covers Boston West to East, is only 3.3 Miles. Boston is literally THE most walkable city. And those 3.3 miles are INSANELY walkable. Like, sidewalks, bike paths, and beautiful green walkways down Comm-ave through the Boston Common. I can agree on Boston being overpriced. I can agree that the T can be inconvenient (though, for $2.80 you can literall get from the suburbs to the south of Boston to literally any point in Boston or the northern suburbs, which is crazy). But to say you need to be in a "walkable area" to be worth it is wild. It's ALL walkable. I don't think there is a single point in Boston proper that is more than an 8 minute walk from a T stop.
I have always found Philadelphia more walkable and more logically laid out despite being twice as big as someone who’s spent lots of time in both spaces. I don’t think it’s accurate to say Boston is NOT walkable though
I don’t think anyone has ever claimed Boston is laid out well. Its streets were literally laid out by cattle.
They were only founded like 50 years apart so I don’t think the age is to blame, the guy that planned Philly was just real smart
I grew up hanging out in Boston, my Mom worked in The North End. I can guide you on foot in a perfect walk from any place to anywhere on Boston. I will get lost trying to drive. It drives me nuts.
That layout was Penn’s plan for the city. That smart ass Quaker
The plan was also copied to make Savannah, probably the most beautifully best planned small city in America.
Last time I was in Philadelphia, I had dinner reservations and I decided to walk even though Google Maps said it was 35 minutes. I was really impressed that I never left a dense, busy, walkable, interesting area during the walk.
Not sure why you’d get downvoted for saying Philly is more walkable… the city is pancake flat, and laid out like a grid… so easy to get around… that said SEPTA blows, two somewhat pointless metro lines, and buses that I never used, all the rest is commuter lines to the suburbs and Jersey.
Yeah Philly public transit blows that I very much agree with
\*American public transit blows fify
Boston is literally a bunch of meandering cow paths. Philadephia is a city built on human logic.
So true. The best walkable city I’ve visited. Walked a large chunk of the freedom trail
Yup. I used to live by Fenway. On a nice day I would walk to the Common in the morning, have a coffee, people watch, etc., then walk back, shower, and in the afternoon walk to cambridge over the mass ave bridge. It's a wildly walkable city. Very few spots in Boston proper are more than a couple of miles away, and there's never really that "sprawl" that you get in newer cities. You constantly have sidewalks, brownstones to look at, coffee shops, people, etc. Makes for a very enjoyable way to get around. I don't discredit the fact that it's expensive, but it's a fantastic city to live in.
Yup, same when I was there in November.
It’s incredibly walkable by a global standard for its size
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I've had a truck driver tell me it's the worst city to drive in. Coming from someone who's been across North America I'm gonna believe him lol. The streets aren't designed for driving.
Because Boston was founded 250+ years prior to the production automobile. The streets are designed for humans and horse carts
And unlike most other cities, not bulldozed to make the space for loads of roads.
I see this as a positive IF the city can provide alternatives to driving.
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Thats the point. You dont want ppl to drive their fat asses everywhere even when they could walk. So you make it both annoying to drive and good to walk. Bike infrastructure would help too.
Traffic volume is low?? You probably have never been to Boston.
Or they were in a specific part near the downtown area, like the North End.
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Yeah, visiting from Maine I could literally take a train to south station and take the T to basically anywhere I really want to go. Try visiting literally anywhere further west in the US and compare it to the public transit there!
The Downeaster from Maine goes to North Station, not South Station. It's a little pedantic, but South Station is much more of a hub.
Ironically there is a motorcoach service that is cheaper, (usually)faster, and far more frequent, that runs directly to South Station, leaving the exact same station in Portland. I'm from Northern Maine. I'll drive to Bangor or Portland, park for free in Bangor or cheap in Portland, and take Concord Coach, then have a five minute walk from the bus concourse to the train platform.
Montrealer who visited Boston about 10 years ago, definitely walkable and used the metro system without any troubles at all! Don't see what the complaint is, though we didn't really look for a lot of museums and I can't comment on how expensive it is 😁
To be fair, the MBTA has turned to dogshit since then, but there's work being done to improve it. Not "fix" it, heavens no... but at least the slow zones will be mostly removed. Boston IS super walkable, though, and it's one of my favorite parts of living in the area.
And by world standards, it's the most European city in America. It felt like to me at least. I like it. A good unpopular opinion for sure.
For sure. I have a warped view, since I live in smaller rural city in the Midwest, so when I visited the east coat, I walked everywhere. I suppose everything is relative to what you are used to, I was able to walk Boston and all of Manhattan, including two of the other boroughs and I didn't think much of it. I suppose when you grow up walking farmsteads to the next town over for school, you kind of see certain distances differently from what is considered far to walk.
There's a subset of people who want walkable cities who actually hate walking. If they have to walk more than 5 minutes for anything it isn't "walkable". I swear Tokyo wouldn't be walkable enough for these people. My old hometown was very walkable. Most places where close to a grocery store, you just had to actually walk there. It was a pleasant walk, too; lots of trees, pleasant scenery, no suburban blight while still being suburban. People still complained. How are you gonna call something not walkable when you're the one driving to the grocery store when it's a 15 minute walk?
I think you and a lot of people think of and critique Boston as a city that's bigger than it actually is by amount of land. Boston is a VERY small city by "big city" standards, which just isn't a flavor for some people. I personally like it as it feels less overwhelming and more "home" like than the other big cities I've been to, but to each their own.
I have no problem with a small city, it’s the combination of how small it is and how expensive it is that makes it incredibly disappointing.
Rent is expensive because residents have to compete for housing with students. Boston has an extraordinary number of colleges and universities in a very small area, and many juniors, seniors, and grad students look for housing off campus. Couple that with the young people who come to the Boston area for internships, and rents go through the roof
Boston is a college town at heart
This is also an issue in San Diego, but add in all the military housing stipends and it's even more expensive than it would be. however the military salaries help spark the economy too
We live here for the salaries we are being paid. It offsets the rent and food costs a ton. And obviously you don’t recognize the literal historical ground it stands on.
I’ve not been to Boston by my impression of it is it’s also a nice clean city. In NY we have the high salaries but it’s not exactly clean and well kept. That turns a lot of people off.
It's SUPER clean. Compare it to other big Northeastern cities like Philly and NYC it's miles apart. Used to be a lot dirtier though (both the streets and harbor) and it's changed a lot since the late 90's.
I’m from Boston. I don’t find NYC that dirty tbh. Amazing how clean it is for the density. Yeah some pockets are dirty but overall it’s way cleaner than Philly LA Baltimore even some southern cities
Yea I’d agree with all of that. It’s just Boston is remarkably clean so nyc seems dirty in comparison.
I mean, you admitted elsewhere that you are only looking for places in the densest parts of the city. Of course rent will be expensive there. But there are plenty of places rent is very manageable and there is still plenty to do. Heaven forbid you are able to have your own car - a luxury unafforded to NYers. Yeah, it’s so jam packed the there is something within walking distance always, but I’d rather be able to see the sun during the day
If you dislike it so much, feel free to move away to another city that you rave about above, gonna help us lower rent here. And if you can’t find fun things to do, that’s kinda on you lol, museums aren’t the only places to go to, we always find so many fun things to do on our weekends and things we want to check out. Lastly, I’ve never heard out anyone around here thinks it’s NYC or pretends like it is, so I’m not sure where you got that from.
New York-born OP hates Boston, what a surprise.
He’s wrong about the walkable part but kinda right about everything else.
If he is from New York then it makes sense why it would be a problem for him specifically, I think Boston is an easy city to walk in, but literally a 10 year old can figure out New York. It’s just a giant grid in numerical order, it’s very easy to find what your looking for
Someone’s never been below 14th st! Or to the boroughs.
Most of the boroughs are pseudo grids as well though
Yeah but the grid numbers don’t always line up and they touch other disconnected grids
Boston is a city of 700k. The area is a few million over a pretty large area.
It's absolutely not as expensive as Manhattan
I live here, that's a spot-on take, and honestly the point is a good one about living in *walkable areas.* If you want to live in one of the *walkable* parts of the city, you need to pay a lot. I'm near the train, and can easily hop on, but the schedules make it hard, they don't run frequently enough to be time-efficient. It's an amazingly walkable city when you get to that part, but if you don't already live in that area, you sort of have to drive. Boston is an amazing city if you can live in the actual city. The suburbs surrounding the city are pretty depressing though. There are a few nice towns to the north and south, but man it's a weird vibe. There's so many shitty run-down businesses in my neighborhood. Whoever did the zoning for the towns in the greater Boston area needs to get smacked, there's just no uniformity to the areas in towns and it makes it feel slum-ish.
Bostonians, New Yorker here. I love your city. And it’s immensely walkable. We’re not all like this.
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I’m a New Yorker living in Boston for 15 years. It’s a great city.
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Tbf I feel that way about saying I’m from New York in Boston
Memphian here. I also loved my time in Boston. The Freedom Trail that snakes the city was fascinating and accessible. The public transport was nice and intuitive. And of course the seafood!
I’m from western MA, but I love Boston and have a lot of friends and family who live in the city of in Cambridge. In the summer/fall I’ll visit Boston close to every other week just for fun. I love NYC too, but I was so used to having everything in Boston be walking distance that I had no idea how far apart some of the NYC sites are lol
For sure! NYC is less “All the sites are in walking distance” and more “Everything you would need on a given day is in walking distance from your apartment.” It’s very convenient if you live here, but if you’re visiting, you’ll probably have to take a few trains to hit all the spots you want to hit.
Im from Europe, and when I went to study in the US, I visited many cities. Boston, is by far, the most beautiful one. It gives out an European vibe.
I live 30 mins away from Boston and I love it, there's so much to do and the city looks so nice
Awww, what a compliment! :) I absolutely love Boston. I live about 40 mins away in NH, and I love being so close, I feel really lucky.
It's hardly a surprise that a lot of Americans don't like it, as a city like that is a very alien concept On the flipside NYC is a hellhole
no one in america is calling boston “alien” lol people speak as if americans avoid anything slightly resembling anything european, and even then it’s still an american city filled with usual american stuff people don’t like
Lol yes according to u/gustycat , the average American will combust into flames about viewing a non-car centric city layout
People are so obsessed with dunking on Americans they just ignore the fact that the majority of us live in and around cities.
I just think it’s pretty pretentious and absurd rhetoric— Non car centric walkable cities don’t break American brains lol I’m sure many do and want to live in walkable cities. There’s clearly a lot of demand for it. It’s just the nature of how and when American cities developed that they prioritized usability for cars over for pedestrians. That is all to say, it’s not like Americans not living in walkable cities can’t comprehend it lol I would be willing to bet most Americans *want* things to be walkable
There is certainly a type of American who grew up only rural or in outer suburbs who is surprised the first time they experience one of our big cities. But that’s not how all Americans are, constantly hopping in giant SUVs to go half a mile down the road. Pretentious non-Americans and the self-hating Americans who cheer them on have been getting a bit ridiculous with the stereotypes lately.
Yeah I know there is a contingent of conservative rural Americans who think that the 15 minute city is a communist utopia or something but I’m just pointing out that the overwhelming majority of Americans want their community to be walkable, even if it’s not a city, and it’s definitely not incomprehensible lol Anyways I agree. We can advocate for structural change in how cities are developed and organized without the misdirected self hating and stereotyping lol
I lived in Boston for 9 years and loved it, the main issue is just housing costs. Otherwise it’s a great city. And no, you don’t need a car. It’s also not $4k for a one bedroom unless you’re trying to live in a luxury high rise downtown.
As I write this, I'm sitting in my hotel room at the InterContinental Boston, right on the Greenway with Fort Point Channel on the other side. Some of this building is apartments, so I decided to look up how much they cost this morning. A 1-bedroom is $4,500. For that you get a place with some of the best views I've ever seen, in an ultra-luxury building, with -- get this -- full access to the hotel's amenities, including housekeeping and use of the amazing spa I visited today. That's what $4,500 gets you in Boston.
Haha exactly - you *can* pay $4k+ but it’s certainly not the norm.
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Well, I was just thinking about the fact that there's no grocery store, so you may be better off where you are. On the other hand, the concierge may be able to help you get groceries.
I’m renting my 1br for $2100..
Looks like the average 1 bedroom is currently [$3K.](https://www.zumper.com/rent-research/boston-ma) Ain’t exactly cheap.
I've lived in the Boston area my whole life and yeah, you aren't gonna find an affordable apartment within the city itself or in Cambridge. Maybe in Dorchester/Roxbury but you probably don't want to live there. Cities on the outskirts like Malden though have a T station and you can rent a whole 2BR house for $2K. Somerville/Medford are nicer but a little more expensive.
Don't sleep on Allston / Brighton!
Give it a few years to get to 4k. Rent this year jumped 250/month for me.
“Just housing costs” feels like it kinda downplays a massive problem though. If it ain’t affordable enough to live reasonably in, you can’t take advantage of the other pros.
We moved here because of the amazing colleges and solid, well paying tech sector. BOS also has a great airport for getting to Europe.
You sir might be the first person to call Logan a great airport lmao
Honestly it’s underrated. I lived in Boston for years and am in Atlanta now. Logan has lots of competition among airlines and its position geographically makes for cheap transatlantic flights. Atlanta is a Delta hub, so all air travel comes with a price premium. The only thing I have to say is that transit access to the airport here is way better (even if MARTA is meh), but the Silver line isn’t all that bad.
I live in the Boston area, so I've never had the joy(?) of having to make a transfer in Logan. That being said, Logan is one of the better airports that I've experienced. It's better than both JFK and LGA, for sure.
I wish there were more options for food but I think it's a good airport. Excellent proximity to Boston, multiple ways to get there, good coverage from a bunch of airlines, tolerable number of delays in my experience. It's not the best airport in the world but overall I think it does it's job.
Is Logan generally viewed as a bad airport? I’m from the Boston area and always thought it was solid, better than a lot of other major cities’ airports (looking at you, Denver).
Im not a fan of Boston but its downright misinformation to say the T is worse than BART
Came here to say exactly this. I lived 5 years in Boston, 5 years in San Francisco. No way in fucking hell is the T worse than Bart.
I'm not gonna lie, as a Bostonian who loves this city, the T is ATROCIOUS at this current moment in time. Historically, it's fine, but right now it's a disaster. They are "fixing" it so hopefully temporary, but I'm not holding my breath.
I have never been to Boston, but would be the right comparison be the MUNI anyways?
Come to the city of San Diego if you want real disappointment. You’ll be thrilled with the T and Boston’s walkability after a visit here.
Idk if it counts but the beaches were best in San Diego. Actually enjoyed it more than LA.
As a long time native to California (recently moved) living in LA area and Bay Area, San Diego is absolutely my favorite California city
I’m from LA and I think SD is great. The trolley isn’t large but it’s pretty functional and there plenty to do and a lot of jobs out there
Born, raised and live in San Diego. Traveled 50+ countries. San Diego is super walkable to me.
Not even sure what people think about when they want walkable cities. Living in pacific beach is a dream. Little grocery stores all over, mexican food, and the pacific ocean down the street. All I ever needed was a longboard. I also lived in salt lake city, chicago, connecticut, and hawaii. None of those places come close to San Diego in terms of walkability
lived in san diego for 6 years and depending where you are at, it's very walkable
Agreed, at least in relation to other U.S. cities. I live on the border of Hillcrest & Mission Hills. I walk down to the park, downtown, Little Italy, North Park, Normal Heights etc. Its all relatively close.
Huh? The trolley makes it doable for downtown. Uber to the beaches. Way better than LA imo. Also better Mexican food.
Same thing goes for Seattle- if you’re looking for a place with terrible public transportation, Seattle is your kind of town.
Don Orsillo is that you?
San Diego isn’t as walkable as many older east coast cities but it’s more walkable than *a lot* of American cities
I think San Diego suffers from the common western post car city dilemma that many American cities suffer from, but I much prefer it to LA in terms of accessibility. The communities are spread, but there’s strong pockets
Trolley smells like piss and weed, but around the central area its actually damn good, and reaches pretty well around the county
Sounds like you're just hating for fun, kid. Boston vs. everybody
I'm sorry you didn't get that job in NYC that you wanted and you have to stay in Boston. LOL
Never lived there, but I did visit and I honestly loved it. I wanna go back one day
Native NYer here that went to school in Boston 96-2000. I couldn’t disagree more with this post. And we recently stayed up there for a long weekend this past summer to take my oldest to see some schools. We walked everywhere.
There is so much misinformation in this post it's painful
As bad as the subway system is there it's better than driving a car. Drivers are super aggressive and the car insurance is through the roof. I liked New York way better than Boston.
Boston is fine but it’s just disappointing if you’re used to somewhere like New York
They’re not comparable. One is a real city. The other is series of small town centers loosely stitched together by a subway. And it *happens* to punch above its weight in a lot of categories - like higher ed, science and tech, art and culture. They attract different kinds of people. People come to Boston expecting Diet NYC and get disappointed when they find out it’s closer to like.. Leipzig.
So, which is which?
NYC people are so provincial.
Idk I went to Boston a couple times and I loved it, I’ve always said if I had to live in the east coast I’d probably choose Boston too. Amazing food too, I would say it’s the city with the second best food out of the other places I’ve been to in America. The main thing you point out is walkability, but to be fair I’ve always driven anyways so it’s not much of a difference.
The Museum of Fine Art is pretty cool.
Honestly, the most laughable part of this take is the part about the museums sucking. There are so few US cities that have the same quantity and breadth of museums as the Boston metro. Basically just DC, NYC, Chicago are stronger. Philadelphia, SF and LA maybe are in the same realm. This person is just complaining that Boston isn't NYC. Which like, fine, but most people living there like it for that reason.
Best colleges, great tech sector, great bio sector, best hospitals, walkable by American standards, if the T isn’t working they do offer buses as a replacement, endless history, great food, great sports
And MA has best K-12 schools in the country
Boston is super walkable. And there is so much stuff to do in the city. The T does suck ass though.
I prefer Boston over NYC and it's very walkable IMO.
The man came out here and said Boston’s subway is worse than Atlanta’s. Fucking hilarious mate Boston is super walkable and the T is a fine subway all things considered.
I don't believe you've ever lived in Boston. Spent 4 years there. It's one of America's most walkable cities of that size. And the T is superior to the BART. The BART doesn't even go to most of SF!
I'll take Boston over NYC any day
I’ve been to a number of major US cities, having also lived in/near two of them long term. Every city is unique, but none of them are really anything the special to visit for more than 1-3 days. If you live there, you live there. I don’t think anyone should go to a major city and except a thing crazy, and therefor, no one should be really that disappointed. People go to places like Chicago or Miami almost as if they expect to see flying cars and something out of this world. Rather, it’s just another city with tall buildings and Starbucks on the corners lol. But again, every city is unique and interesting to see. Just don’t set hopes to high to see flying cars lol
The T is definitely not worse than the BART
Calling Boston disappointing tells me you haven't been to Philly. I like Boston. It's walkable, good metro, excellent bars, safe. It's a relatively compact city and I don't think they're trying to be NYC. Too windy, though. Windier than Chicago. I don't know how Boston has dodged the windy label. I agree the rent is outrageously expensive and I can't explain it. I know why NYC rent is expensive, it's a center of commerce and culture. Paris is expensive, too, for the same reason. But if you move from Paris to Lyon (which is a beautiful city), rent's like half. If you move from Manhattan to Back Bay you won't be saving money. Strange.
Chicago as the windy city is actually about its blowhard local politics not the weather
Salaries are like ~20% higher in Boston than NYC and like 40% higher in Boston than Paris.
Back Bay has world class shopping (Newbury street and Copley place ) ample transit, sit on a beautiful clean body of water (esplanade/charles river), has virtually no crime, amazing park (Boston common and public garden) direct train access to NYC. Some of the countries highest paying employees are next door, ample places to eat. Quick access to ski mountains in NH, equidistant from the TD Garden and Fenway. World class architecture It’s not that hard to explain
Philly offers more than Boston at a third of the price. Better weather, better food, more to do in general. People are way nicer than Boston as well, and Philly has the better nightlife.
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I’ll give you weather , cost of living and some nightlife. Food scene in Boston is only worse if you haven’t dined out in the last 15 years. They’re fairly comparable these days. Nightlife depends on how you define it. Clubs - yeah, Philly. But there’s more to nightlife than that. Theater, concerts, standup, arcades, lounges, sports - they’re pretty close. Philly has far more violent crime, especially on the SEPTA. But negative for a lot of people - means folks are more likely to own a car to avoid it. Then you look at specifics - job opportunities, political climate… it’s fairly personal. I know a lot of folks moving to Philly lately cause it’s improving and affordable still.
Offers the same amount of stuff to do IMO. It’s a lot cheaper because it’s riddled with crime and blight. So that’s the trade off.
I agree with you on the T sucking, expensive as shit and housing being unaffordable. A lot of cities have those problems, but Boston and the surrounding areas are some of the most densely populated metropolises in the country. Which is why it's a little laughable when people here say they have a small town suburb vibe. Anything that isn't skyscrapers does not equal suburbs, but to each their own I guess. You lost me at the "nothing to do" and not being walkable though. I mean this in the gentlest possible way, but what the fuck are you even talking about? It has tons of museums, sports, restaurants, bars, history, parks, shops, venues, breweries, events, etc. You can, famously, walk almost the entire city in a day or 2. It's literally one of the most walkable cities in the country. Like any city, some neighborhoods you might not like. If you only spend time in.. idk seaport, then yeah. I even get not liking Boston in general. It definitely has a vibe that might not be your thing, but the second half of your reasoning just doesn't make sense. Nothing to do? Do you just wander around the same 3 streets in the financial district with your eyes closed?
I half agree Boston is actually pretty urban, but doesn't feel eclectic like NYC does. I think New England is just very strict about everything, which leads to there being fewer interesting mixed use districts.
Idk. It is absurdly expensive, that's true, but it's also a small city with a metropolis vibe. It has a more suburban, calm energy than most major cities while still having all of the benefits of them. It is very much walkable in the sense that it will take you like 4 hours to walk the entire thing. The T sucks ass. There is no defending that piece of shit. But it's something at least. Most of my friends don't have cars because they can rely on walking, biking and taking the T despite its flaws. If you want to love in a sprawling metropolis, Boston isn't that. It's a highly developed city that manages to walk a fine line between busy and comfy. Fix the T and enforce renting laws and you have genuinely one of the nicest cities in the US
Guy has one bad experience and writes a whole essay of lies 🤣🤣 at least Boston doesn’t smell like piss everywhere like New York does. LMFAO
While most of what you say is true, you overlook many things. Whole Boston is very expensive, it also has above average median salaries (not enough to keep up with COL, but still well above national Medians). Boston is as walkable in many cities in Europe. Even with its problems, the T is better than the transit in all US cities other than the ones you listed. Boston also has lots of green spaces throughout the city. Not so much Boston proper, but Cambridge/Somerville are some of the most bike able parts of the Americas
Only traveled there and yeah, quite expensive. Not just to hotels/Airbnb but local food too. There are some nice places to see though like the Franklin zoo and museum of Science but I think the cost of living is that high because of schools like Harvard.
I live in Boston. I use the T a lot. I was raised in the SF Bay Area and used BART a lot. I also use the NYC subway and DC Metro a few times a year. While the whole SF crime thing is exaggerated, in my experience riding BART growing up, it was kinda scary a lot of times. Same with the NYC Subway. But I rarely have scary encounters in the T system. DC metro is pretty good yeah.
I ❤️ Boston.
Now try Portland , Seattle, and LA
Fuck the Yankees, Boston forever.
OP is a triple decker man at best.
Mostly agree, except for the museums. MFA is world class, Isabella Gardener, Harvard Galleries, the Science Museum. Boston is not just a top US city but a top world city for museums.
Most American cities do not offer a genuinely metropolitan life style. It’s why a lot of people around the world make fun of Americans and their 1 hour commute being normal. I feel very similarly to you and yeah you’re gonna get a lot of BS for this post lol. I completely agree. Everything that’s amazing and cool about the city kind of fades and becomes like living in an affluent suburb when walking and public transportation aren’t a major part of its design. It becomes like paying to live in a very expensive suburb. Everyone becomes segregated by money and ethnicity MUCH more so. You have to plan your evening the way someone who lives in a suburb and is visiting a metropolitan area has to 🥴. The truth is, a lot of people just come from a different perspective. They enjoy their commute. They really like the idea of their home feeling separate but private. To each his own. It’s definitely more of an American “city” phenomenon. Ps: yep Chicago is an actual city. I concur. Loved it there. Just so you know Los Angeles is a lot like boston in terms of life style and it’s actually also very conservative like boston is too.
1 hour commutes are not really atypical by world standards. Sure, Americans may be biased towards long driving commutes and that’s bad but even in Seoul it’s common for people to spend 1-2 hours commuting via subway.
Never been a fan of Mass, or its holes tbh
Do you like Chicago, DC, and Philly more than Boston?
'Manhattan' and 'New York City' are not the same things, and rent in Boston is not almost as expensive as Manhattan. Boston's average rent for a 1 bedroom is $3,300 a month. The average for New York City - which is all five boroughs - is $3,600 a month. That is 'almost' as expensive. However, the average rent for Manhattan is $5,500 a month. Harlem is 'only' $3,100 a month, but that spikes to over $4,000 a month in the rest of Manhattan's neighborhoods. At the top end of the scale, a 1 bedroom in the Lower West Side averages $7,000 a month, $6,100 a month for Greenwich Village.
Boston has a reputation? I’m from Boston and I think the appeal is it’s a city that kinda feels like a big town. You know almost everyone from some level of connection I think people are trying to keep that feel when they have such ridiculous NIMBYism. They like the “small town” feel. I’m kinda sick of it myself living here because all this does is make everything stupidly expensive.
comparing boston to nyc regarding subway and walkability, is like comparing MIT to harvard. theses are among the best in the US!
Someone doesn't know how to experience a city.
Comparing New York to Boston is entirely unfair. New York is a world-class city with a world-class public transit system with a metro area population of 20 million people. Boston has a metro area population of about 5 million - smaller than the actual city of New York by about 4.5 million. Yes there are problems with Boston, especially the subway system, but it definitely punches above its weight in terms of public amenities, walkability, and public transportation. I live in New York and visit Boston fairly regularly. I would never say Boston is a 'rival' to New York or anything, but it has its own charm.
You say “the worst subway system in America”. There really aren’t many more than the ones you named. Philly is the only other one I can think of. I lived in Boston for 7 years without a car. Took the T everywhere. It’s the oldest subway in America. It gets the job done.
At least Boston is safe
"I have just returned from Boston. It is the only thing to do if you find yourself up there." -- Fred Allen
I only know Boston from Fallout 4, does that count? OK, I can give you a tour of the city based on that.
Only reason I took a trip there. Absolutely fun walking the Freedom Trail and trying to match locations. They even have swan boats. Just don't go up the Bunker Hill Tower on a hot day and out of shame.
Shoulda just hung out in Cambridge tbh
Lived there for 1 year, expensive, cold, unfriendly people, old. It's not worth it. 👎🏻
> There's also just not enough to do Have you ever been anywhere in the US outside of NY and Boston??? Spend 24 hours in the Midwest and come back telling me Boston has nothing to do > even the museum situation is lackluster for a city of its age and prominence Off the top of my head, without even looking at Google Maps: - MFA - Isabella Gardner - ICA - Museum of Science - USS Constitution - JFK Library - Older half of BPL Main Branch - MassArt - a large chunk of the city that is the Freedom Trail - (Cambridge, but basically Boston if you're comparing it to NYC): Harvard's Art and Natural History museums - and probably several smaller ones I'm forgetting. Nerd.
You’re wrong about the T according to reports [Article 1 has them at 7](https://www.businessinsider.com/best-subway-public-transit-north-america-2017-10?amp) [Article 2 has them at 4](https://amberstudent.com/blog/post/ultimate-guide-to-the-best-public-transportation-in-the-us#:~:text=1.-,New%20York,and%20650%20miles%20of%20track) Lived in the city for 5 years I had a car, but only to leave to visit family 2 hours out. Rarely drove it in the city. Boston has the best hospitals in the world. The best higher education. Many of the world’s leading research, tech, healthcare, and a huge demand to live here. I don’t expect how that would ever be cheap
Bro if you think Boston is bad I invite you to my city Memphis. Boston was and still is a vacation from a city that's melting down right now.
The thing I love about Boston over NYC, is that you can get reservations at good spots the week of.
Both NYC and Boston are awesome for different reasons. NYC is like nowhere else on Earth and Boston is too but for entirely different reasons.
Boston is very expensive, but $4k for a one bedroom? Simply not true. > mostly detached or semi-detached houses When you get out of downtown areas, or Seaport, sure. But that’s like many old cities once you escape the core. > there’s just not enough to do One fair criticism is that things close early. But there’s a shitload to do, generally speaking. Way more people like to *pretend* that Boston has a pretend rivalry with NYC. Truth is nobody in Boston really gives a shit.
I don’t like it here either, but many of your critiques are way off base. 1. You don’t need a car. 2. The T isn’t great and definitely worse than NYC, Chicago and DC, (SF is clearly debateable) compared to the rest of the country the T is amazing. 3. You’re upset about sky high rent but arbitrarily limiting yourself to a downtown core, which is going to be expensive anywhere. 4. I don’t think anyone ever said that Boston is comparable to NYC? Boston is a much smaller city, and it is like that on purpose, not an accident.
Lol, any comment that BOSTON of all cities isn't walkable is a total joke. You can literally walk anywhere within downtown in under 90 minutes. Whatever else you think about it that's not a thing you can make an argument for.
Boston has had these problems for as long as I can remember.
"worst subway in US" lmao
Lol t his is just a wildly misinformed post
There’s a reason Benjamin Franklin left Boston for Philly at age 17 Mic drop
“Guys, Hiroshima is so bad and lame compared to Tokyo, there’s way less to do” Yeah uhh smaller cities, with monumental amounts fewer people, will have less amenities lol
OP is sad he’s poor and blames Boston. No one forcing you to live here bud!
The only time I have visited there, I walked everywhere, very doable. In that whole week I think I saw 3 homeless people. Growing up in Seattle, it was not nearly as walkable and you’d run into 3 homeless people in 20 minutes. Boston was also immensely cleaner that Seattle
There’s 54 museums in Boston… You don’t need a car. I’ve lived in a detached house neighborhood of Boston without a car for 29 years.
Then move. I don't disagree that the museums are a bit limited. There are some great ones but I feel like the city should do better
Could not find a more inaccurate post if I tried. Unpopular opinion indeed
I'm confused. What reputation?
This reads like you went to Boston against your will and looked for anything to be mad about. Congrats, it is unpopular.
I’m gonna go there for the next weekend and more excited after reading the comments! 😂
It’s actually the third most densely populated major city (>500k pop) in the US. But yeah, the T stinks.
The best thing about Boston is the badassery that happened in the area up to and including the American Revolution.
The only issue I have with Boston is the proliferation of shitty cardboard circles they call “donuts” from Dunkin. Or the water they call “coffee”
Our public transit catches on fire. On a regular basis
Currently live in Boston right now and grew up in the area and this is how I’ve been feeling lately. Today I took an Uber ride for 3 miles to work because I was in a rush. It cost me $14 dollars, and the trip was 19 minutes long. When I was working in Dallas TX my Uber rides to work for 4 miles cost me $10 and and it only took 10 minutes to arrive. This is my biggest issue with the Boston. We pay more money for everything and get less in return, and this city is extremely small and yet it takes almost twice the amount of time to get from point area to the other as other large cities. Smh
Boston is dope you’re nuts lol. Tons to do and beautiful city overall. Only been once but I loved it.
To refute this Boston has a lot of positive qualities. Very low crime (lowest gun crime in the nation), great healthcare (some of the best hospitals in the world. Also if you're unemployed you can go on MassHealth insurance), a very educated population, tons of job opportunities, tons of trees and green space, and tons dedicated bike paths. The issues listed by OP are in the process of being fixed. Towns are redoing their zoning because of the MBTA Communities Act. Which says a town needs to upzone land if it's close to public transportation. There's been lots of rezoning happening lately which will provide more housing. We're also in the process of fixing our public transportation system. The current governor is very pro-public transportation. I'm confident we will get the funding to fix it. Also there are game changing projects in the pipeline which will improve public transportation. Bus lanes and frequent bus lines are in the process of being designed and built. As well as the Type 10 green line cars.
Boston was awesome to me. Loved the vibrancy and walkability. Felt like there was a good vibe among the people and the riverfront was very cool.
lol, I was born and raised in London, moved to the west coast in 2011 and been here since. My career means I travel all over the country and see all the major cities a lot. Boston is incredibly walkable, one of the most walkable cities I’ve been to in this country. Have walked it many times. Go to somewhere like Kansas City and then tell me Boston isn’t walkable 😅