So, I finally made a return visit to Boston. Having not been there since I left Harvard, it was a trip that was a long time coming. In the years since then, I have sometimes wondered if my love for the city was something that I had allowed to elevate to some mythic plateau. Being the first “big city” that I had ever lived in, I suppose that this was possible. Being back there however, disabused me of that notion completely. I still love it. It is still beautiful. It is still full of warmth and history.
My time there did firm up one nagging suspicion though. I doubt I could live there anytime soon. For all that I love about Boston, it simply doesn’t offer the life that New York does, and I consider that a great travesty. When I came back to NYC, I was saddened by the fact that the city that held more of what I wanted in so many ways, was lacking in so many others.
I find myself wanting a city that has it all. Having traveled all over the country, visiting nearly every major city that we have, I am beginning to think that this isn’t possible. Some people have intimated that Europe and Australia have come much closer, but as I have not experienced these cities, I cannot judge. From my experience, so many things seem mutually exclusive, though for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.
Would making DC have a 24hr train system make the subways dirty and run down like NY?
Would bringing more potent industry (more major corporations) to someplace like Boston damage the fabric of the city?
Does NYC have so many people that it is impossible to make it clean and have some semblance of form and history?
Can a city have an open and lively lifestyle and still maintain warmth?
These are the questions that plague me. I love the wealth of opportunities, the freedom, and vibrancy of New York. At this point in my life, I know that more than anything these things are important to me. But I long for the beauty, and warmth that I find throughout all of Boston and cities like it.
I wonder if I can find that happy combination anywhere.
