However for the same reasons, it's a wonderfully walk-able city. The roads were designed for buggies and evading The British, so there isn't the rational gridding of NYC. Driving there is almost worse than driving in Rome. and you think Philly to Boston would be a big change? Parking in Boston is hell. My hunch is that Boston is easy to love, but after a very long time, it just gets smaller and smaller and no longer seems like the infinitely entertaining big city that it was in my youth. I love Ptown but hate that when I go there, I just bump into all the same people from my own neighborhood that I thought I was getting away from. The stations can be long walks away, they are cold in Winter, and always slower than driving. I was surprised by the earlier comment praising the "decent commuter transit". I have no idea about nightlife since internet killed the video star. The city skews young, because of the colleges, so there's that. condo 20 years ago that is now worth $850,000, and rents have increased similarly.īostonians are cold. I used to love weekend breakfast at the local restaurants, all filled with other young Gay guys, but those days are long gone. The South End Gayborhood now seems to have more aged couples with Nannies than Gay guys.
But being close to the Cape is a huge plus - the ferry service from the city is excellent. It can be a very young social scene, as there are many universities in the city.
New bars try to gain a foothold, but few succeed for long. The nightlife is OK - it's no NYC, Miami, or SF - I would say it's similar to Philiadelphia - a small core of very established places that each attract their own niche. And Boston doesn't have the most sophisticated arts scene. However, culturally, it's a city that's slow to change - it's hard to explain, but there's not a lot of "new" there, and when it does happen, it's years-in-the-making. Boston is extremely supportive of the LGBTs. I met some great guys right away, and before long had a new circle of friends. I know that many say Bostonians are not particularly welcoming, but I didn't find this to be true. My gay friends are supposedly moving to areas like Dorchester these days. However, like other gay enclaves, the South End is now a victim of its own success - the straights are rapidly moving in. You can reasonably live there without a car, but having one is at times convenient. The rents are high, but it's really convenient to many things - shopping, restaurants, nightlife, etc.
I lived in the "gayborhood" of the South End. I lived there for a number of years - in the end I didn't like the job, but I generally enjoyed the city. I moved to Boston in the early 2000s for a job not knowing anyone or anything about the city.