Not to hate, BUT

ummmm is it wrong that this post made me giddy?

I'm glad that other cities throughout the US (and Canada!) are constantly defending their cool-ness and individuality against NY (east) and LA (west). I'm so sick of being in New York and having people say these snide things about Boston and then laughing like they're hilarious. There's a reason there's only one NYC, and that's because no one else wants to be them. Seriously. I don't mean to sound like I'm hating on New York, it's a place I've learned to enjoy and respect for what it is. What I do hate though, is the constant comparison. Which is why the comments after the post made me giddy as well, LOL Well that and the fact that Dutch goes buckwild hating on Sienna Miller, who I thought was a grade-a biatch before her "sh*tsburgh" comment. I haven't even been to Pittsburgh and I thought "oh get a grip, honey, what are you staying in a hotel with 4 1/2 stars instead of 5 or are you just bitter that your bf is probably hanging out with the nanny while you're gone" heh.

Anyways, yeah that's what annoys me, the NYC comparison. I mean it's great to have pride in your city and all (I have Boston pride and I just work here!) but seriously, why is it when you meet a New Yorker that they think their city is the be all and end all? I get that it's an awesome city, I GET THAT, but can't you appreciate another city's uniqueness. I find that even some of the more accepting New Yorkers will show their obnoxious side when pressed. A year ago a bunch of my friends, Boston and NYC friends met up in Mystic for a birthday dinner. We went to the aquarium and then out to a restaurant. Mystic is a village, a small seaside village. We get out of dinner and the snide remarks start flying about the size of the place, how it's only 9pm and all the lights are out and everyone must be asleep, blah blah, how it's "sooooo diverse", and I find myself defending Mystic! Frickin' Mystic CONNECTICUT! It's CONNECTICUT and I hate Connecticut and here I was defending it! SO I said "Oh I'm sorry it's not New York!" and everyone was like "awww c'mon now c'mon" but seriously, it bugged me because it was clear Mystic, CT was not trying to be anything except Mystic, CT.

Another time I took a friend from NYC home with me during a college break. I decided to take the Mass Pike straight into Boston because the view of the city is really nice that way. As we were driving through she goes "Oh wow. You have like, buildings and skyscrapers and stuff." I said "I thought you'd been here before...I mean I know it was a while ago but about 99% of these buildings would've been there then" She said "oh yeah, well I have been here, I went to Quincy Market" Quincy Market!! HA! I said "so that was your impression of the entire city of Boston?" She said "well. yeah. I figured that was pretty much it. besides, the older kids were so worried about us wearing our yankees gear that we didn't get to look around much" Wow. That's special. You take a class trip to Boston and you go to Quincy Market. A place where you can buy lots of fudge and imitation Cheers memorabilia. hmmm, on second thought, this is probably the precise reason that people from New York have the opinion that they do. If I based my sole opinion of NYC on my first trip there, I would probably have the "it's not so great" opinion too - I mean, I went to FAO Schwartz and the Planet Hollywood restaurant, which left a lot to be desired. Good thing I went back for a second try, ha ha.

Anyways, this whole email has turned into a rant, which isn't what I was really going for here. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to take everything in stride, all the comments (your subway system SUCKS! -dude it's the oldest in America and it hasn't been updated, yeah WE KNOW, and there's not much to do here! -ok we're 15 times smaller than you, we can't cater to the lazy, LOOK and ye shall find stuff to do!, and Boston's soooo white! -um again, 15 times smaller than you. look at the 2004 census please, the percentages actually aren't too far off, jerks, and It's sooooo cold there in the winter! -Hello, this is Boston, not Bangor. Can you feel a 3 degree difference? Didn't think so. Also, visit NOAA and look at the winter temperature averages, Boston and NYC aren't too far off actually, as cities retain HEAT and are therefore much warmer than Boston's suburbs, which is to what you're probably making your comparison) and just remember that we were here first and we kind of made New York's existence possible (we defeated the British!) and hold in my heart the satisfaction that Washington DC was chosen for our nation's capital, despite what the huddled masses yearning to breathe free might like to think. heh. Plus I do feel like not growing up in New York has given me the distinct advantage to be able to appreciate these smaller US cities for what they are, and I never have the instinct to compare them to Boston, which is a good thing. I can think of Vancouver as Vancover, New York as New York, Portland as Portland and not as anything else or trying to be anything else. Anyways, can you imagine Boston trying to be New York?! We'd be so bad at it - I mean it would work against everything we're used to - our football teams would be crappy and our baseball teams would win. I would love to see the Red Sox win, but I don't know if my faint heart could really take it! I think I'll stick with Boston the way it is, thank you very much.

PS As much as I hate the New York comparison, I do enjoy the city. Yup. I admit it, though I had to force myself to type it out, and am writing it mostly for the benefit of boyfriend, lest he read this post and feel bad about it, though he will probably just read it and say "what is she talking about? I DO INDEED live in the greatest city in the WORLD!" lol