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Boston is wicked smart


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Those 'entrenched' folks [READ: long time white residents] in Hyde Park and West Roxbury with their nauseating low class accents and attitudes. Why can't they just die already so the obviously superior 'newcomers' can complete Boston's magical transformation into a 'world class' city?

I spoke with a young female 'newcomer' the other day who told me of her intense dislike of the Boston accent. I asked her if she had ever visited London [where my mom is from] and heard the typical London accent. I have an image of her lecturing London residents about their accent and how she [from suburban CT] spoke better English because she pronounces the letter 'R' hard instead of soft.

There's a prevailing attitude among 'newcomers' that Boston, Cambridge, etc. would be so much better of all the 'locals' would just disappear.

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It's so easy to dismiss the southern parts of the city but I wonder how many students at Boston Latin (arguably a better school than most private schools in the area) come from those lesser neighborhoods?

I used to live in Harvard Square when I was a 20-something yuppie who worked for a technology start-up in Kendall Square. I'm embarrassed for my former self for acting the way I did. Now I realize that I'm as smart as ever and I live in the lowly City of Quincy.

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i think you're reading more into this than is in the text.... introducing race and accents into this, there's nothing in original article or comments to take it there. Not to mention the fact that if you are reading "Hyde Park" as synonymous with "white" townies you are waaaay off the mark.

i'm a Bostonian by choice, a relative newcomer (8 years), part of the "creative economy" (design), and came to the area by way of studying at the kremlin on the charles.... I have many friends that live here and fit one or more of those categories, and I can't think of one that have the "prevailing" attitude you are talking about. I think the chip is squarely on your shoulder.

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Perhaps they should try and bring back the Boston Brahmin Accent. Nothing fits better than an accent that was apparently described "sounding British to Americans and American to British"

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Unrelated to the article's content: The photo of the harborfront had me very confused, until I realized that the image had been reversed. For reference, here's how the view from the Moakley Courthouse should look:
http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&searchterm=boston#id=93028372&src=8550ad559e25b69c126adafb86620ee6-1-49

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While Boston also has many other smart characteristics--including quality transit

I need to take another hit for that one...

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The MBTA is flawed as hell, but that still puts us heads and shoulders above almost every other city in the United States. Most American cities barely have transit at all, and when they do they're pretty imperfect. We're not New York or anything, but we have one of the most actively used transit systems in America, and that counts for a lot.

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We should be competing as the Tiffany's of states, not the Wal Mart.

Smart city
Top schools in the country from K-12 and beyond
Among the greatest medical services in the world
Easy access to oceans, mountains lakes and about every kind of outdoor activity you can think of
Expensive - but still cheaper than NY and SF and probably on par with DC

OK - our taxes could be a little lower and our government a little more welcoming and we have 90 days of really crappy weather a year (which is why we have JetBlue and Southwest), but otherwise - we should be selling our state as a PREMIUM place to do business - not the bargain basement. Filenes is closed. I thought our last couple of governors (D and R) were supposed to be business experts. Why don't we/they take the high road.

There's a reason to do biz in Mass and it's not because we gave you some measly tax break!

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Well for one thing a lot of our workers live in NH and on the other hand we are importing a ton of benefit recipients which don't work or pay taxes from other states/countries which soak up revenue.

We are like a rich doctor that keeps allowing 3rd cousins to move into our guest house and keeps paying off gambling debts of friends.

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It's all well and good to have a nice safety net, which I'm not at all against, but it's another story entirely when 'outsiders' from other states, even countries, come here to take advantage of all the goodies. It's of course incredibly stupid on our part to allow it.

As for NH: No question, just check the license plates in, for example, the Kendall Square area, or anywhere in Eastern MA; obviously, MANY NH residents make their livelihood in MA. One of the interesting things about places like Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, D.C. is you can easily live in another state and commute to your job in the big city. This isn't possible in many big U.S. metro areas like Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, LA, S.F.

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"...but it's another story entirely when 'outsiders' from other states, even countries, come here to take advantage of all the goodies. It's of course incredibly stupid on our part to allow it."

What goodies? I never understood this "island" approach to things where anybody that crosses the border into your state/city/neighborhood has a negative effect somehow. People that come into the city are most likely going to spend money, either directly out of their pocket or indirectly somehow. And, you do realize that those NH people working here pay MA income taxes?

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I think s/he's referring to Auntie Zeituni and Uncle Onyango and the like (at least he worked - although his tax dollars probably haven't paid for the cost of the INS and DWI prosecutions).

And it's well known that a lot of contractors "live" in NH - and work here - but never declare that check to Mass DOR.

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There are a ton of people that make their way up the East coast to Massachusetts to mooch of our bennies. The southern drawl of many waiting in line at the various public benefit agencies should be a hint. As are the immigrants whom care enough to work hard enough to bring their extended family legally into the state (that's nice) and dump them into the system for the rest of us to support (not very nice).

The seasonal Greyhound migration of grifters from warmer parts of the country to collect during the spring/summer whom then depart in the colder months is another example of this.

If there was a residency requirement for X number of years prior to getting Massachusetts/city benefits it wouldn't be an issue.

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The 'goodies' part wasn't a reference to NH commuters; it's a reference to welfare/social services, and the substantial number of people who 'collect' who choose MA for it's very nice safety net. We also have a substantial illegal immigrant population, MANY of whom collect this and that. A substantial number of our legal immigrants collect various social services also. Yes, most IMO are decent people and good workers when they have a job, but the fact they're nice people is beside the point. MA also picks up the slack for some of our neighboring states; many homeless folks in Boston area are from rural northern N.E., and they come to MA for the social services.

Yes, I'm aware NH residents who work in MA pay MA taxes. My only issue with some NH folks who work in MA is they love denigrating MA, but don't mind making a living here. In fact, the reason southern NH is a living and commuter option for most people is because of it's proximity to eastern MA and the Boston area, which is New England's economic engine.

I love NH, and think it's a beautiful state.

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