As many of you must already know, and if I haven’t said it enough times, I currently reside in Boston. Downtown Boston to be exact. I could not be happier with the location of my school; I am quite literally in the middle of one of the most booming cities in the U.S. To top it off, my dorm room this year has a million dollar view (pictured below- I had to brag).
However, living in a city comes with its ups and downs. I will now attempt to share with you what I think are the best and worst parts of living in a city from my experiences in Boston.
Best
Everything is close: Whether its on the next block, or two stops away on the T, everything is more or less easy to get to. I often forget how condensed a city like Boston is when I’m in it, but when I go home to Los Angeles and realize I work 10 miles away from where I live, it becomes clear that Boston is small. Tiny even. A mile radius around where I am currently living encompasses everything I will ever need from Trader Joe’s groceries, to the nearest hospital, to the two Chipotle locations in Boston (which is necessary).
There is always something to do: I get bored very easily, but even I never get tired of all the things my city has to offer. If you’re feeling cultured, there are multiple museums and the city is rich with historic landmarks and tours. It is often just enough to walk around a new neighborhood. On the more exciting side of things, there is always a party to go to on the weekends, a game playing at Fenway or TD Garden, or a concert/tour in town.
Small, but mighty: Boston is fairly small geographically. But what it is, is very loud. I’d like to think that is because of all the college students that live in the city. My college is in no way one of the big names in Boston. There’s Boston University, Berklee College of Music, Northeastern, and right across the river in Cambridge, Harvard and MIT. There are over 30 colleges and universities in the city of Boston alone, not to mention at least another 30 in neighboring cities and towns. The city is never boring with all these young people running around. It’s actually quite nice to be in a place for school that inhabits so many different and diverse people in similar situations.
Worst
No driving: Like I said, everything is close. So it’s really not that important to be able to drive in a city like Boston. But I do wish at times that I could drive, especially in the middle of winter when going outside to walk to the nearest T stop is just painful. The traffic looks as unbearable as it probably is to be in. And to top it all off, there is barely any parking in Boston. It’s actually an issue that the city is facing currently.
Being Cautious: In any city, it is extremely important to be aware of your surroundings at all times. I won’t lie that I have witnessed and heard about seriously frightening and dangerous situations happening in the city. It sucks to always be on watch for yourself and your friends, but its something that comes with the price of choosing to live in an urban setting.
It’s expensive: There’s not much explanation to this fact. Cities are expensive to live in. Dining is expensive, living is expensive, spending money on taxis or tickets for public transportation becomes expensive. Cities are expensive.
I do love living here, despite my few complaints. And I encourage everyone who hasn’t, to plant themselves in the middle of a bustling city for at least a full week and try to enjoy the experience.
-Zoe