Hey, there! Log in / Register

Watertownian to Back Bay: You suck

Chicago resident gets ready to move to Boston (you listening, Mr. U.S. Census Bureau, we're going up!), and wants to be in the middle of it all. But he gets frustrated because rents in the South End, Back Bay and Beacon Hill are too high - so he's forced to resign himself to the lesser, more "residential" domains of Arlington and Watertown.

Lisa Williams at H20town tells him to buck up because Back Bay is not all that: Who needs Back Bay? I fart in their general direction!

Don't despair, my man! Back Bay is really just a Hollywood stage set, a Potemkin Village mockery of a real community. ...

Why, Watertown has its own theater. And lots of urban amenities mixed with green spaces. And buses.


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

You're not missing much. I lived in the Back Bay area for 2 years - and unless you can pay upwards of $2,500 a month for rent, you would have been in a one bedroom, under 500 square foot apartment in a building full of college students, or recent college grads. I've since moved near Davis Square, and I couldn't be more thrilled. Rather than vomit on my doorstep, sirens at night, and asshole neighbors blaring their music at all hours, I get a unique neighborhood with a sense of community, friendly locally owned businesses, and a substantially more welcoming and diverse population. Arlington is lovely - and you have ALL of the advantages of living 5 miles from the heart of Boston, with none of the BS of actually living in the city. Best of luck on your apartment hunt - it's no fun!

up
Voting closed 0

You're absolutely right. Back Bay is awful. Watertown is super cool. Please move to Watertown. It's too crowded here in the Back Bay anyway. Who wouldn't prefer to live in Watertown?

I strongly recommend you live elsewhere. Those of us stuck in the Back Bay will stay and try to make a go of it. Please check in with us now and again to make sure we're doing alright here with all these old buildings and so much commerce and gracious old open space and parkland. If you have any tips for handling playgrounds full of happy schoolchildren or sidewalks bustling with shoppers and international tourists or retailers and galleries where you can buy any damn thing you want within three blocks of your home, please let us know. It's a burden, I tell you. A real burden.

If I pass through Watertown on my way to, I don't know, say, Belmont, I'll give you a wave and see if you have any advice to aid my struggle for survival.

up
Voting closed 0

It's not the suburbs and it's not the city. It's the perfect limbo. Don't knock it 'till you tried it.

up
Voting closed 0

seriously, I don't see how Watertown is *not* a suburb!

* a residential district located on the outskirts of a city
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

* Suburbs are inhabited districts located either on the outer rim of a city or outside the official limits of a city (the term varies from country to country), or the outer elements of a conurbation.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suburb

* residential area within the boundaries of a town or city
www.idealcity.org.au/glossary.html

* An area of housing around the edge of a city.
geographyfieldwork.com/GeographyVocabulary7.htm

seriously, how does Watertown not fit any of these definitions?!

if it walks like a suburb and talks like a suburb...

up
Voting closed 0

Moved from Chicago after having lived there for 6 years. Loved every minute of it. It was a SHOCK to move back to the Northeast and deal with tiny apartments, no view and ridiculous rents. I bought a small condo in the Back Bay four years ago via a first time buyer's mortgage which makes monthly payments a lot cheaper than apartment rents. Living here is fantastic. I walk everywhere - work, grocery store, restaurants, museums - there are even tree lined streets, parks and the river is a block away. There are no frat boys in my building and no late night parties. Sure, I hear them on the street partying on the weekends, but this is a college town. Get over it. For me it's just background noise. If you're unhappy here, then you're better off in the suburubs. Enjoy it!

up
Voting closed 0

I drove to Watertown last night to pick up a package.
That Arsenal Mall sure is impressive - and a Home Depot, too! It's not a hometown if it doesn't have a Home Depot, I always say.

But my real destination involved that package: nice UPS facility, guys. I can see why you love it there.

up
Voting closed 0