What is Boston like?

It’s an awful town full of awful people. The “tops” are self-loathing freaks who will beat the shit out of you after the sex. And not in the sexy way.

[quote]What is Boston like?

A college town with a fishing pier.

OP, all your responses will be from New Yorkers.

In Boston all seems to breathe freedom and peace and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils.

“Nobody tells fibs in Boston.”

Go to North instead.

Boston is England

N'Orleans is France

New York is anyone's for ten cents a dance!

Ask Greg.

The quarterly Tell Me About Boston thread is SURE to reveal something new, this time.

Boston...one of the great cities of the U.S.

The worst recipes! And don’t drink the water!

It used to be wonderful and present itself as it was. Old and new. Gritty and honest. Then the developers came in and power-washed it. It's like a Disney Boston now. Boring mirrored boxes that pretend to be buildings and no place to park.

[quote]Boston...one of the great cities of the U.S.

City?

[quote] The worst recipes! And don’t drink the water!

Or make it into ice cubes!

It's a Tom of Finland comic come to life, Rose.

A lotta fags.

MASSHOLES, OP. MASSHOLES!

Quite crowded right now, The Boston Marathon is tomorrow.

Patriots’ Day!

Boston has some fine escorts, a friend told me.

OP, Boston is too horrified by your grammar to do anything to encourage you to visit.

Everyone is obsessed with the Boston Marathon, hoping for leaves changing colors, wishing that it would be snowy, cloudy and cold for 7 months so they can hibernate inside and drink, and that it rains constantly all during our Greenland-like short summer so their grass lawns don’t ever get brown. Fun stuff.

I lived there for five years. it's a beautiful city, but it's still one of the most class-conscious towns in America. The snobbiness of both the A-list homosexuals and the wealthy straight sorts there is hard to take.

There are no A-list homos in Boston.

There is a G-list, so I’ve been told—over and over again.

Scranton with clams.

Awful town

It’s one of the best cities in the United States.

I'm from a racist part of Boston..........called Boston.

R14 is an attention-desperate lonely piece of shit.

[quote] There are no A-list homos in Boston. There is a G-list, so I’ve been told—over and over again.

There certainly is.

[quote] I lived there for five years. it's a beautiful city, but it's still one of the most class-conscious towns in America. The snobbiness of both the A-list homosexuals and the wealthy straight sorts there is hard to take.

In my experience, only losers feel that way.

All the racism and classism doesn't quite gel with it being such a blue town, but somehow they managed to figure it out.

They are all obsessed with vacationing in Nantucket, another awful cold windy place.

Boston’s mayor, Michelle Wu, is the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants.

And the Governor of Massachusetts, Maura Healey, is the first woman and first openly LGBTQ person elected Governor in Massachusetts history.

Our Lieutenant Governor is Kim Driscoll.

_quote]MASSHOLES, OP. MASSHOLES!

Ahead Warp Factor 3, Mister Sulu.

Boston is elegant and sophisticated. The city has beautiful townhomes, wonderful parks, a world class symphony, exquisite dining, and historic buildings. The people are friendly without too intrusive.

There are gays in Boston, but they are either partnered and living in quiet bliss or they would find openly discussing sex horridly crass.

There is a proportionally small group of rescue cats there.

Bring an interpreter.

Thank goodness for Brookline.

R36 is spot on.

Ah R1, so it’s a town to avoid then? Ha

It’s fine. Quite fine actually. You have everything there that you’d want from a “big” city. Gay scene has been on life support for the last decade or two though.

The Brownstones are beautiful, but if you think you’re going to own a single family triplex you better have Heinz-Kerry money.

There’s also a lot of closed-minded provincial prisspots. If you been visiting DL for the past year or so, you’ve surely been unable to escape the whole “02116” mess - the quintessence of why you should avoid moving to Boston. It’s a nice place to live if you can avoid those sorts of assholes.

[quote] If you been visiting DL for the past year or so, you’ve surely been unable to escape the whole “02116” mess - the quintessence of why you should avoid moving to Boston. It’s a nice place to live if you can avoid those sorts of assholes.

You sound so ugly.

Ditto!

This is what 7 million gets you.

Massachusetts #3 for best mental health.

R45 That might be an ambitious asking price. The "Zestimate" is 4 million. I know those can be inaccurate but not usually by 3 million.

I'm not even joking, I would actually love to be hosted by Greg in Boston and see how the other half live, on the other side of the world.

Massholes.

Hello, R48.

It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve hosted someone from Australia.

I have a very dear friend who lives in Brisbane.

[quote] They are all obsessed with vacationing in Nantucket, another awful cold windy place.

Posted by someone who has never been to Nantucket.

Lovely architecture, clean streets, some excellent museums and venues for classical music; the seafood is superb. Harvard and MIT are both great resources.

The place is overrun with students (surprise!) and the people tend to be brusque. Driving is a nightmare, although the city is compact enough that there is little need for a car.

It is beautiful in Autumn, and especially so in stormy weather.

It's not a place with much of a buzz if you're not in the academic or medical community.

I asked black Bostonians if they had ever experienced racism. Both of them said no.

Racism in Boston might depend on where one lives.

OP, you are Black?

Harvard and MIT aren’t in Boston

R53, no.

R54, I am aware Harvard and MIT are in Cambridge, nearly a full 1/8th of a mile away from Boston.

R53, whoops, responding to the wrong comment. I am not OP.

Narrow streets that look like one-ways with cars parked on each side.

R55. A distinction with a difference

R34 damn, talk about going over-woke!

Cream pies everywhere.

Which one of the Maverick Men are you, r60?

I went to Nantucket in August and the sea was freezing compared to southern Europe, Florida, and the Caribbean. Horrible for swimming.

7 million is a pretty good deal for the house shown at R45.

Traffic sucks. It takes an hour to get from Boston to go to Boston.

Boston notoriously has a pretty shitty nightlife for a "major city". Even the straight nightlife isn't great, so of course the gay one isn't either.

R62 Landlocked and geographically challenged.

Yes R53. But I’m not worried about that too much. I am sure there are Black people in Boston, so it can’t be that bad.

[quote] Yes [R53]. But I’m not worried about that too much. I am sure there are Black people in Boston, so it can’t be that bad.

As a white man, I don’t feel it appropriate to speak about racism in Boston, but I have a number of Black friends who are happy here, R67.

But again, I can’t really speak about racism here from firsthand and personal experience.

I’m sure it also depends on where in Boston one resides and spends time.

I see R68. Boston was actually one of those cities I was afraid of going to because of the reputation it supposedly has of being racist. You know, the Democratic type.

I visited Connecticut this year, and, although I was apprehensive, it was a very pleasant experience. Much different than what I am used to where I am. I think I just might make the move, and become an East Coast guy.

I always hear that Boston is very racist. Are white Bostonians racist against Italians? I know that there are a lot of Italians in Boston.

We’re positively on tenterhooks awaiting your decision r69. No, really.

I have never personally experienced racism in Boston, even though my parents always hated it when I would visit friends there. I've been told that it's the kind of racism where they smile in your face and call you the N word behind your back or make sure that you don't move next door. Who knows? I don't spend my life looking for or expecting racism, but people don't just pull this stuff out of their asses. There's clearly some reason why Boston has this reputation.

Why so miserable R71? Is it because no one wants to fuck you? What a shame…

I've only visited once, about 14 years ago and loved it. Went in the summer and it was HUMID as all get out. Amazing food city with so much history and beautiful parks.

R69 is deluded.

No one ever thought Connecticut was better than Boston.

I’ll just post some data from the 2020 census. Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the North End, and South Boston had less than 5% black/African American residents. Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan had from 20% to 70+% black African-American residents.

That sounds about right, R77.

It’s segregated by neighborhood. Like every other major American city.

R78 There was a previous Boston thread in which folks disagreed about whether Boston is still a segregated city. I think the data answer that question.

Please, come to Boston!

It sucks. Freezing. Unfriendly, boring, uptight people. Expensive housing. Impossible to park without thousands of dollars in tickets.

It is beautiful though. Driving along Memorial Drive next to the Charles River is pretty.

Extremely liberal. Racism is of the unconscious kind because there are so few having Black people here. Lots of Asian, Indian people though. Definitely can’t imagine anyone using the N word. Even the sports radio guys are liberal. At least on 98.5.

I visited Boston last year for the first time in over a decade. It hasn't changed much, but two things I did notice was, there are a lot of higher end stores and restaurants now, and there is significant more traffic congestion within Boston. I can only imagine how bad traffic would be if they hadn't done the Central Artery/Tunnel Project.

Also, a personal pet peeve. At least half the street corners in Boston have no street signs. For a city that has no grid design whatsoever, it makes navigating Boston a nightmare for visitors. Even if you are following Google maps or other directories, it is still confusing without knowing what street you are either on or turning on.

R84 I will never drive in that city again.

[quote] For a city that has no grid design whatsoever, it makes navigating Boston a nightmare for visitors.

Back Bay is a perfect grid design.

From the river there is: Beacon, Marlborough, Commonwealth, Newbury, and Boylston streets.

In the other direction, going from the Public Garden to Mass Ave there are the alphabetical and English-named streets: Arlington, Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, Exeter, Fairfield, Gloucester, Hereford, and Mass Ave.

Easy and orderly.

Not so true in the older parts of downtown.

[quote] [R84] I will never drive in that city again.

Why not, R85?

It’s so easy, to be honest.

It's kind of like Chicken, Alaska.

R86 I was referring mainly of downtown. But even other areas that have a grid design they are also missing signs. I often had to walk 3-4 block before seeing a street sign to verify my location.

The Back Bay is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in Boston, with its treelined streets, charming promenades, a multitude of green spaces, the Commonwealth Avenue Mall—inspired by Parisian boulevards—and Boston’s best restaurants, bars, and shops. [bold] Set out in a grid configuration, [/bold] one finds that the cross streets (those intersecting Newbury Street and Boylston Street), are in alphabetical order, beginning with Arlington Street, abutting the Public Garden.

The new streets [bold] were laid out in a grid pattern [/bold] according to an 1856 plan by architect Arthur Gilman. Inspired by Parisian boulevards and London’s green squares, Gilman designed long, wide straight streets with extended vistas and a strong central axis. The core of his plan was Commonwealth Avenue and its grassy Mall, designed to create a straight-line vista beneath a canopy of four rows of elm trees.

One side of Commonwealth Ave (the sunny side) is lined with Magnolia trees and the other side is lined with Dogwood trees.

It is all elegant and beautiful.

R866 And to add, even in NYC, where there is impeccable grid layout, you never see any corner without a street sign.

Small town, trying to act like a big town. A bunch of people with annoying accents and small cocks.

Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore are richer and poorer versions of one another.

Here is the Back Bay grid.

These are the only streets that are truly Back Bay proper.

2 biggest takeaways (This is 2007-2011- I was 27-31 so its a long time ago)

It is an EXTREMELY small city- You do not learn that until you walk it- Its really, really tiny.

It is silently very racist leaning and silently more republican leaning than you might realize. (I guess this could be said about 90% of the cities) I do not know if that has gotten better or worse-

On a stupid note, I always fucking hated anyone and everyone who said they "lived in Boston" if they were within 60 minutes of the city. Canton is not Boston. Stoughton is not Boston. Hell, even Brookline is not Boston. Burlington is not Boston. And I guess you understand.

Nice city in many respects-

[quote] Small town, trying to act like a big town. A bunch of people with annoying accents and small cocks.

I smell jealousy.

Greg- Back in the day I had it made. I lived at 163 Beacon, and if I could find a parking spot, I believe my cross street was Berkeley- which got you right onto the highway or whatever the hell it was - Was that Storrow? So convenient.

I was one of the few people who traveled north from Boston to work in Newburyport- So I avoided alot of traffic, because no one who lived in Boston, worked in Newburyport :)

[quote] Greg- Back in the day I had it made. I lived at 163 Beacon, and if I could find a parking spot, I believe my cross street was Berkeley- which got you right onto the highway or whatever the hell it was - Was that Storrow? So convenient.

Hello, R95.

Yes, Berkeley Street goes from the South End, through Back Bay and terminates on Storrow Drive.

Where do you reside now?

Hello- A little town on NH seacoast. Its boring and almost as expensive as Boston now..

Probably The Carolinas next.

I was born and raised there.

According to the DL, every city in the US is a piece of shit with no redeeming values.

R91–Manhattan, much less the rest of the city, is not a perfect grid by any means. Many corners lack street signs.

Berkeley as in Barkley, or Berkeley as in Berkeley?

r73 = the lifelong virgin’s response.

All the south end boys love to eat ass.

The North End - what's left of Italian and Portuguese fishing culture; one of the few places in the US where the urban fabric seems actually antique.

Downtown - architectural collection that is much more interesting than anyone thinks it is; I include the City Hall, which is a Brutalist wonderland.

Beacon Hill - probably one of the top ten most beautiful urban neighborhoods in the world. You could also put it in your eye.

Back Bay - a slab of 16th Century Paris laid out on a Manhattan grid. Dab of 1970s super-glamorous Houston right in the center.

The Fenway - never as upper-class as everybody seemed to think it would be. Nice parks and greenery.

South End - lovely ovals and squares. Basically Beacon Hill, the Sequel. Greater production values, shittier cast and script.

Chinatown and the Leather District - blink and you'll miss 'em urban theme parks.

Roxbury - battered grandeur with a side order in genteel ethnic and black American gentrification.

South Boston - nobody does lace-curtain racism quite like the little old ladies and gentlemen who have their steel mitts all over this place.

The Warehouse District - yuppie heaven, hell for anyone else.

Did I miss anything?

A regular Margaret Mead we’ve got here^ 🙄

R107 I have never observed the sexual rites of Bostonians and have come to assume that they simply lay eggs, so, no.

Prim and plain.

[quote] Did I miss anything?

Yes—the Seaport District.

[quote]According to the DL, every city in the US is a piece of shit with no redeeming values.

Not New York!!

And East Boston.

Boston and San Francisco are both extremely small r95, they are almost exactly the same size. When you visit both you realize the actual city limits are tiny and it is quite feasible to walk across the entire city on foot if you wanted

And THIS IS good old Boston,

The home of the bean and the cod,

Where the Lowells talk to the Cabots,

And the Cabots talk only to God.

They are also simultaneously liberal/open-minded and quite provincial…rolled into a pretty package on the water.

And West Roxbury

And Roslindale

And Dorchester

R84? I lived 3 1/2 of the most miserable years of my life in Storrs, CT, and one of the things I figured out about New England was the reason there are very few street signs. You know why? Because if you don't know where the fuck you are, you're not supposed to be there anyway. Just go away.

You're welcome.

Someone just told me that South Boston is rapidly gentrifying and already quite unaffordable for those just starting out in life. The old South Boston seems to have vanished.

All of Boston is very expensive now r120.

Boston has a ton of people in biotech, medicine and tech. Many high paying jobs in one city.

South Boston is where the kids in their twenties live and party now.

"I hear Boston doesn’t have a strong gay scene. Are there lots of tops there to get pounded? I hear the New England disposition is quite gritty, does that carry over into the bedroom too?"

There is only one homosexual left. He is a bottom and a starfish and does not bathe.

[quote] Are there lots of tops there to get pounded?

I never went dry.

R123 I thought Spongebob Squarepants was set in the Caribbean?

R120 That person is correct. For example, new/newer 2-BR, 2-BA approximately1000 sq ft condos in South Boston near the Broadway T station start at about $1 million.

And Jamaica Plain.

I once fell through the ice at Jamaica Pond.

Then we moved to Arlington—but I never fell into Spy Pond.

It's not a red carpet world, New England.

--Bette Davis, on the Dick Cavett Show.

Wherever that town is in Connecticut, it has nothing to do with what Boston is like.

Can you get Boston Cream Pie in Boston?

Storrs is UCONN’s main campus. It’s in the middle of the eastern part of Connecticut. There’s nothing in Storrs other than the university. The towns around it are exurban and poor. The biggest nearby town, Willimantic, has been known as “Needle Town” since I was a kid growing up in Mystic in the 1980s. Storrs is not representative of CT. The biggest population center in the state is Fairfield county — Greenwich, Darien, Norwalk. Places in which NYC rat-racers have aspired to own homes for generations.

Like any place, Connecticut has its good aspects and its bad. Same way Boston has its good aspects and its Gregs.

Some of the best years of my life were in Boston, but I left in 98. Just visited last weekend. I’d never move back. Too much has changed.

R133 All of the litter boxes are electric now.

[Quote]Can you get Boston Cream Pie in Boston?

I'm sure Greg could fill you with cream pie, if you ask him nicely enough.

I like living there, despite the racism that existed at the time. And then, when busing happened, South Boston got pretty violent and tried to run over school buses with kids in them. It was pretty disgusting. But it was also a fun city. I'm not sure who said it did not have a large gay community, unless it shrank after 1973. It seemed pretty vibrant when I was there 5 years ago. But I'm sure it still has a strong streak of prejudice running through it. People change very slowly in life.

[quote]Did I miss anything?

R106. Yes. There are at least 10 other neighborhoods that make up the city of Boston. They are not right downtown (although some are), but they are substantial parts of the city proper. In addition to the some of the sections of town that you listed, i.e., Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Chinatown, Fenway, North End, etc., there are at least a dozen other sections of the city. To name some (but perhaps not all), they include: West Roxbury, Brighton, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Allston, Charlestown, Readville, Dorchester, Mattapan, East Boston, South Boston, South End, and West End.

^^Add...Roslindale, which is another section of the city of Boston.

By the way, all these sections of the city listed in R137 are part of the city. They are not separate towns with their own mayor, police department, fire department, etc. Although each section feels like a separate town due to the relatively large size of each area and the very distinctive feel of each neighborhood.

[quote] Like any place, Connecticut has its good aspects and its bad. Same way Boston has its good aspects and its Gregs.

One and the same.

[quote]The towns around it are exurban and poor.

Fuck you, R132!

Many Bostonians have moved to the north shore area, Beverly, Salem, Wenham, Ipswich, etc.

[quote]According to the DL, every city in the US is a piece of shit with no redeeming values.

Most DLers are liberals, who hate America.

[quote] Most DLers are liberals, who hate America.

Wow.

The North Shore sucks. So, so, so ugly to drive there along Route 1. Traffic is insane. Horrible.

R142 Get fucked, Boris.

Aww, well that’s disappointing R92.

Liberal does not always imply that someone is not racist R83. There are plenty of Dems/Liberals that are racist. It just has a way of manifesting that is different from a Conservative.

Pay no attention to R92.

He has obviously never been to Boston and just likes to share his bitterness.

OK, going to try to wade into this cesspool as a native San Franciscan who spent the last five years commuting/dating someone from the Noth Shawr. We stopped dating because we got married and he lives in SF with me now. Have spent a lot of time in the city of Boston, and traveling around New England in general. Don't think you can separate the two.

Here are my impressions:

1) Bostonians are loud, sometimes obnoxious, highly opinionated, speak with almost unintelligible accents, reserved and yet in your face, fucking hilarious, kind, informed, generous, absurd, fun, and outgoing. My in-laws and my partner's friends are a scream. We have a condo in an "economically challenged and ethnically diverse" neighborhood. New England otherwise seems very Caucasian to me. People of color and even recent immigrants there strike me as being Bostonians with the same attitude, but less pasty looking. 2) Logan airport sucks. It's too small to handle the booming traffic. Same with the narrow, ancient roads that weren't designed for the cars that didn't exist in 1649. And MASShole drivers. 3) They have weather, and actual seasons. It often sucks. Most of the time, you just want to come home to California -- like when you must shovel snow -- but sometimes the scenery is so incredibly stunning that it makes you speechless. Also, the Atlantic "Ocean" is flat and boring, and riddled with shahhks. But there are quaint fishing villages and so much great seafood. The sun also rises and sets on the wrong side of the water, which is nauseating. Have tried to complain to Management, to no avail. 4) Year-round, fresh produce is not a thing there. 5) Cute city, a small, old town as the capital of a major metro area(R) - adding the intrusive 'R' here. In that sense, it reminds me of San Francisco, but it has fewer unmedicated psycho people. The 'T' and commuter rail system is fabulous, despite the diesel smell. 6) Apple cider donuts. This is why real estate costs in Boston are astronomical. 7) My partner is literally snoring through his CPAP in a thick Boston accent in the adjacent room as I type. Didn't expect my life to end up like this.

We'll be selling our property there soon and we both have mixed feelings about that, sort of. The. Fucking. Weather. Pollen, humidity, snow, ice.

Greg, this is the OP here. I actually think I like the Boston accent(or Northeast in general), as long as it isn’t annoyingly thick. I will say, though, that the replies have been very helpful R148.

R144, Fuck Route 1, Route 95 is the one to take.

Once around the garden, Boston Garden!

She IS Linda(hahahaha)!

Can someone from Massachusetts tell me if “Fantasy’s” bar in Ipswich is still open?

Salem, MA has become a Mecca for gays.

I live in a neighboring city to Salem, and the number of Grindr profiles from Salem is astounding.

Hilarious that it was named after Boston in Lincolnshire, a small town which only has 40k population, established 1545.

What? You ain't never had a Boston "Cream Pie"?

I would like to experience one R158.

I loved Salem when I visited. There's even a Bewitched statue.

R160 is insane. We all know there’s only one true Bewitched statue, and it’s in Gloucester.

Is Provincetown worth visiting?

R160, Some moron threw red paint on the statue two years ago, but it has been restored.

R164, I must have seen the statue a few months before that happened. I visited during Covid.

R164 I like it with the red paint.

No r163. Almost unimaginable you’d feel the need to ask.

r163There is only one homosexual left in Provincetown. He is a bottom and a starfish and does not bathe.

I had a vacation in Boston about 20 years ago and really liked the place. I liked that it is small enough to walk everywhere, and people seemed friendly enough.

I stayed in a gay hotel that had a gay bar on the ground floor. It was called Chandler Inn, I wonder if it is still going.

R169 . . .

I agree with the “power wash” statement, the developers raised all the prices and steam cleaned all the fun out of the city, like the COmbat Zone and South End. Gay neighborhood or sex? Nope!

We stayed at the Dagny a few months ago and it was a great deal on Orbitz and maybe $120 a night off peak.

Thanks R170. That’s a shame as it was a great little hotel and very friendly. There was definitely a few other gay place within walking distance, but of course that was 20 years ago. It was definitely a nice neighbourhood.