What I Would Miss

I enjoy reading David Lebovitz's blog, and recently he made a post about what he would miss if he left Paris. I don't have plans to leave the Boston area anytime soon, but it was nice to stop and think of what I like, even love, about living here.

1. The Obsessiveness of Bostonians

I will have to split this into a few parts because otherwise I won't have anything to write about.

1. Obsession with sports

Every team is "we." We won last night, we are going to the finals. We are better than everyone else (even when we are not) maybe because we have so much history in sports. Even if we suck this year, we have 17 other pennants to boost our egos. Even when the Sox hadn't won a World Series, it was only because of a curse, not because we weren't good enough. Everyone else thinks we are crazy and we love it. Fever Pitch is accurate.
2. Obsession with food

I am sure there are crazy food people everywhere, but people here will argue whether Santarpio's is better than Pizzeria Regina or if Galleria Umberto should be known for their pizza or their arancini. I've driven to Maine for a hot dog. Are hot dogs better steamed, grilled, or deep-fried? Don't even start about lobster rolls or how our hot dog buns are top-loaders, not side-loaders. There are probably 4 or 5 ice cream stands in our town alone and they are all successful. Year-round. Outdoors. It gets cold here. People are strange. PS I just checked and there are 7 Dunkin Donuts in our town. There are 29,000 people in our town.

3. Obsession with being the best (aka we are better than New York)

Ask anyone who lives here and they will tell you that Bostonians are smarter than everyone else. Let me tell you, proximity to the best colleges does not equal being a student at one of these colleges. But it doesn't matter - people still act that way. Don't ever confuse a resident and a tourist. People will be furious with you. We live here! We are better than the tourists! Our roads aren't confusing - they are historical! There are no street signs on purpose - they want the tourists to get lost. Only people who live here know where they are going. It's like a secret club. We talk funny on purpose - only other Bostonians can understand us!

4. Ridiculous Laws

Many of these have been changed, but they were all pretty funny. Blue Laws prohibited mostly everything on Sunday: no alcohol sales, stores used to be closed all day. We just got tattoo parlors and body piercing stores in the past few years. Down the street people can't have anything modern on their house because it's a historical district. People are legally allowed to save their parking spaces with lawn chairs when it snows. We were told when we rented our house in college that 5 girls couldn't live together without a permit because then it would be considered a whorehouse. Turns out that one wasn't true, but it wouldn't surprise me if it were. People here love the pilgrim connection and the laws that came from it.

5. Boston is small

I still haven't been to all parts of Manhattan because it's just too big. Drop me off anywhere in Boston and I know where I am and where the good food places are. I walked once from the aquarium to Newbury St to Mass Ave and over to Cambridge and it wasn't even that far. Plus I can be in New Hampshire in 10 minutes!

6. The view from the Red Line when you cross the Charles

I always turn around and look out at this point. Only the stodgiest people don't look. The sky and the water are so blue and the sailboats are so pretty. It's the best view in Boston.

7. The summer is quiet

Now that I live outside the city, it's not all that relevant anymore, but the city empties out for the summer when all the kids go home. It's so nice to be out walking and not get knocked off the sidewalk. You can find metered parking! No yelling and kids traveling in large groups!

8. My history

I may have grown up in New York, but I started my adult life here. I met my husband here, we bought a house and settled here, I met my closest friends in college at Tufts, I had my first real job here (and many more), and became an adult in this place. I sometimes forget how long I've been here and how quickly time passes.

I am sure I could make a list of why I should leave or all the reasons this isn't the place for me, but for now, it's just nice to remind yourself of all the good things around you. I am sure I will think of 50 more things as soon as I hit publish, but these are my first thoughts, so they stay.

Ok I will try to find a picture I took to put in this post that is Boston-like.