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"Boston's Best"....HUH???
You know what really "Frosts my Nose" its when people use the term "Boston's Best" or the Best of Boston & half of the fricken places are NOT IN BOSTON !!!
Gimme a fricken break...when there is something bad happening in the city everyone is sure to declare where they are from...Oh, I live in Newton, I live in Cambridge.. Blah Blah...
Cambridge, Somerville & Newton ARE NOT IN BOSTON so how can they be best of Boston???? !!!!
Burger Poll
Right, but the introductory paragraph says "in the Boston area." Cambridge, Somerville and Newton would definitely fit that category.
That's soooo 1880 ...
Provincial, much?
When I first came out East, I thought it odd that people would say their "town" first, when people from other areas of the country identified themselves as coming from the nearest major city or metropolitan area.
Provincial
If by provincial you mean "local" I would agree, but if you mean "outmoded" I don't. People's identification with the town or city that they live in - i.e. actually spend their days and nights in - is something that I think makes New England special and distinctly different than other parts of the country. Moreover, its something that people all over the country long for as evidenced by everything from identification with one's "home team" to the naming of gated "communities" to which people "belong." There's nothing wrong with local loyalty as long as it doesn't result in clanish vulgarity like keeping "them" out or thumbing your nose at newcommers.
Finally, I think the original comentator's point was that because people are quick to dissasociate themselves with Boston when bad things happen (crime), or when discussing issues where Boston doesn't perform as well (schools), they could at least have the courtesy of not claiming to live in Boston when talking about their own town.
One learns to accept it
I remember saying years ago to a girlfriend that she lived in Boston.
-"No I don't. I live in Newton."
-"But the train's right here. Look, the train!"
-"This train is in Newton."
-"But Newton is really kind of part of Boston, isn't it?;
-"Newton is a collection of five villages, bla bla bla..."
Never again. Far be it from me. Brookline is not part of Boston. Cambridge is not part of Boston. Newton...
I even get cross looks sometimes when I say I live in Boston -- and Roslindale is part of Boston.
Personally, I think it has as much to do with recent as ancient history. Sure, hundreds of years ago all these places used to be separate towns instead of neighborhoods that run into each other. But, more importantly, places like Newton and Brookline have substantial populations of people who left -- or were run out of -- Boston in the 20th century. It's not just snobbery but also security; Boston politicians can't redline their neighborhood anymore.
Let the Word Go Forth
I too live in Roslindale and get the same response. Let the word go forth that Roslindale is, in fact, part of the City of Boston, if only so I don't have to explain it anymore. Does anyone know of any other neighborhood of Boston that people don't know is actually part of Boston? Is it just because Roslindale sounds so ....dalish and green that people think it can't be an actual part of the city? I know there are many towns that people think are part of Boston that aren't - Chelsea and Brookline being the top 2 - but I've never encountered another one that people don't know.
JP
In the past, I've heard some clueless JP newbies express surprise that they actually live in Boston.
Priceless
That's priceless! I've heard of people who live in the South End freak out when they find out that they actually live in Roxbury (because like Voldermort even saying the name apparently creates danger) but I blame that mostly on the realtor because the borders of the South End and Roxbury were lost to time long ago. But JP? Come on.
Most of the neighborhoods, actually
I think this is the case for most of the neighborhoods in which one can use a neighborhood designation in one's mailing address, but which don't include "Boston" in the neighborhood name. I've personally heard people state that Charlestown, Allston, Brighton, Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Roslindale, JP, Hyde Park, and West Roxbury aren't part of Boston. This would come up quite a bit when I worked for agencies that had supported apartments all over Boston. Someone would be suggesting that a client should call some city service and would then make reference to things like "the Dorchester Town Hall" or "no, he needs to call the JP fire marshall, not the Boston one."
I'm frequently told I don't live in Boston. My property tax bill begs to differ.
I haven't heard anyone say that East Boston or South Boston aren't part of Boston.
Girlfriend was right. When
Girlfriend was right. When your town has existed for 350 years, it means something. In a lot of places in this country, the oldest memory goes back to when the railroad came to town. In Boston, that was 200 years after the city was settled.
It's a local thing
It wasn't too long ago that Dorchester
residents would identify their origin
by PARISH. As in, where are you from?
Oh, Saint William's, Saint Mark's, etc.
What did Jewish Dorchester residents do?
Identify by the nearest shul?
Good point...
There was a strong, vibrant working class Jewish
community that centered on the Mattapan end
of Blue Hill Ave. Great but controversial
book on the subject by Hillel Levine:
amazon.com/...Levine/dp/0029138663
And here's a local link on the Synagogues of Dorchester:
www.dorchesteratheneum.org/page.php?id=654
"Best of Boston"
to me, when used this way, means anything within 128. So Newton, Waltham, Lexington are fine; Natick is not.
See, I'd include Natick
Because it's part of the Boston SMSA (yes, I'm a census geek) and because lots of people from there work in Boston (which is why it's part of the Census Bureau's definition of "Boston area"). Ditto for Framingham.
Shrewsbury, however, is right out.
UBURGER in Kenmore Sq, Best
UBURGER in Kenmore Sq,
Best burgers in all of Boston! They grind their burgers from solid sirloin. Little pricey, but you can add another patty for only $1 and that makes it very cost effective. Their fries and shakes are gold too.
Casey's Diner in Natick
Sure they are known for their hotdogs, but their burgers are out of this world. Plus the girl who makes them has an unofficial fan club among area high school boys.
myDedham.org - a community since 1636 and online since 2007!
Like UBurger?
Then you should try Grill Zone down at Babcock and Comm Ave. Better burgers, same "grind our own" mentality...AND all of their disposables are made from compost-ready materials for zero landfill impact.
GrillZone is awesome.
GrillZone is awesome.