<p>Hey everyone! I live in New York (outside of the city) and am very familiar with the ny area. I love nyc and always planned on attending college at a school like NYU or Fordham. Recently however I’ve realized that New York is simply too intense for me. I really still want an urban area so everyones been telling me to look in Boston. People have told me that Bostons alot less dog eat dog, more residential, and is in general, very friendly.
So CC’ers please tell me the distinguishing characteristics that seperate NY and Boston. Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>-Boston is a tiny city, especially compared to New York. You can walk from one side of Boston to the other within five hours.</p>
<p>-Boston has more of a historical slant to it.</p>
<p>-Life is slower in Boston compared to New York (but things still move at a city's pace)</p>
<p>-Housing tends to be small in Massachusetts</p>
<p>-People are generally pretty friendly for city folk</p>
<p>-It's a clean city (in general). Public transportation is good, but not what it should be</p>
<p>I went to NYU for a bit, so I have a decent perspective on NYC. When I first came to Boston I assumed it was like New York and acted Newyorkerish, barely making eye contact with anyone and plowing through people to get on the T (the subway). I thought that Boston wouldn't impress me since I love New York. My personal perspective - Boston has (most) everything I love about New York and Boston does without, surprisingly, most things I hate about New York. </p>
<p>Boston is more neighborhoodish. I make a surprising amount of small talk (well, for myself) when I go into Boston corner stores with cashiers and I talk to strangers a lot more than I used to. When someone bumps into you on the T they always say a sincere "Excuse me" or "Sorry". </p>
<p>Boston feels more "cozy". People acknowledge others around them more whereas New Yorkers just kind of do their thing and see the people around them as in the way. </p>
<p>Boston feels a lot smaller -the actual downtown area is nothing when you think about the tall buildings that spread all of Manhattan. The areas surrounding downtown Boston feel more like neighborhoods and "homey", though they still have a good amount of people walking through them. </p>
<p>There are more "family type" people out and about in Boston - you see less businessmen and rail-thin looking girls who are determined to wear the latest trends (sorry for the stereotype, I'm just trying to help in the most politically correct way I can). There are more "old money" rich people and people are less flashy about things. People in Boston are more intellectually focused and you'll be swarmed in college students - many of whom are wandering around in coffee shops reading books or are going to music concerts (there is a huge music scene here). Bostonians are less superficial - they rarely make sure that they're eating lunch in the latest hotspot. </p>
<p>It's more disturbing to sit outside in New York compared to Boston. In Boston, less people bug you when you just feel like sitting down in a common area. In New York things are more extreme where either a really rich person sits next to you or a super grungy homeless person sits next to you. There's more of a medium in Boston. Boston has less street vendors, but barely anyone in Boston (well, when compared to New York) bugs you on the street to sell you something. Basically, what I'm saying is although you can't live in Boston without a weird person bugging you every once in awhile, this seems to happen less. </p>
<p>The T stations don't have that urine smell and are much cleaner. There are less musical performances in the stations (one thing that I miss, though you will find a lot in Harvard Square) and, after having used the New York subway, you will kind of make fun of the T as it doesn't seem to function quite as well. </p>
<p>In New York, I also felt kind of closed in. I actually felt a little relieved when I went back home to suburbia and saw green space, but in Boston I don't long for green space as much. Things and people are more nature-oriented here. </p>
<p>Well, that's my personal perspective. Sorry if I stereotyped :-/. These are the things that mostly surprised me. I thought I'd return to NYC and live in the city for the rest of my life. Now, however, since I moved to Boston, Boston appeals more to me now... but I do still have yet to live on the West Coast so we'll see :)</p>
<p>Nicole is right for the most part, but everything she says is what appeals me to the city I love(NY). It is really fast paced and people aren't going to help you...it's perfect(for me). Boston is cool though too...</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm sorry. I just re-read what I said and it sounds overly biased. There are a lot of things I miss about New York - like the street vendors everywhere, not having to be polite or talk to anyone when I just feel like being alone, the fast pace, better public transportation, the size of the city, the art scene, etc. They're both great cities, and I could live in either one forever :)</p>
<p>Nicole's post #3 seems 100% right to me. </p>
<p>One thing that bugged me in Boston was how a lot of students from the NYC area feel compelled to constantly compare NYC to Boston (and NYC always wins for them in these comparisons). So, supcollege, if you end up in Boston, do the locals a favor and take Boston for what it's worth...and accept the fact that it isn't NYC and it's not trying to be NYC.</p>
<p>new york was definitely not for me. i visited there 3 times but ended up realizing how much i didn't like it. but it only took me one two day visit to boston to convince me that i LOVE it!</p>
<p>"-Boston is a tiny city, especially compared to New York. You can walk from one side of Boston to the other within five hours."</p>
<p>Walk? No way.. The marathon takes people over 5 hours to finish running, and it covers only a small part of Boston.</p>
<p>But from my personal experiences Boston is much more peaceful than NYC. I'd take downtown Boston over downtown NYC any day.</p>
<p>I've always thought Boston was much more beautiful than New York. The architecture in Boston is just gorgeous.</p>
<p>"Walk? No way.. The marathon takes people over 5 hours to finish running, and it covers only a small part of Boston."</p>
<p>First, the reason the marathon only covers a small part of Boston is because most of the marathon is outside of Boston. The marathon is about 26 miles--you don't hit Boston proper until about mile 21. Second, most people cross the finish line before the 5 hour mark.</p>
<p>When I Google Buick Street (which is on BU's West Campus and roughly the end of Boston) and the New England Aquarium, I'm told that they are less than 5 miles apart (and that's going the long way). I would assume that most people can walk 1 mile/hour.</p>
<p>Boston is a city with "walkability". How's that? Some poeple love NYC. It's exciting and all that but it feels closed in and less friendly than Boston. Also, Boston is more of a college town and while still expensive going out to see a concert and get a meal won't kill your finances.</p>