All photos in this post are taken by me in the NYC few days ago
Coming off a bus on the 8th in Manhattan Av. your first impression is people across all age groups. But Newton first (and Newton as a proxy for the American suburbia). There was never a single person who grew up and came back to Newton. In fact there might be some secret agent that kills off everyone who is between 18 and 35 in Newton. Because of this (give or take an estate sale) most who live in Newton are new money people, they are not as relaxed about the wealth as aristocrats, they live in a constant fear that someone would come and take away the toys. In fact you might not know it but they actually play King of the Hill 24 hours a day and when a stranger approaches, they treat him accordingly.
This happened to me in Newton, try it as an experiment. Take a break for a walk in Newton on a wonderful afternoon. You can walk for miles without seeing anyone except gardeners and construction workers fixing things. But than you notice a real pedestrian (not a car). Chances are when your paths cross the pedestrian would try to avoid eye contact as if his or her life dependent on it.
Wasn’t the metropolitan Boston a student town you ask? Yes but the students and the youth energy in general is treated in Boston in accordance with the New England wasp tradition – spontaneity, playful exuberance must be contained and segregated at all times, never shown to the world. The most persistent urban resistance in the greater Boston is the containment of the student population away from residential areas and strenuous opposition to the urban density, the very two reasons why Manhattan is such an exiting magnet. Can you imagine the Washington Square Park without NYU? The kids from Kansas are dreaming of the “New York experience” and it is that radiance that makes the city come alive.
In fact when you think of exiting cosmopolitan cities like Paris, New York, Jerusalem and even Moscow, you would find that a week old babies, 18 years olds and 100 year olds all share the same urban roof. This youth exuberance animates the flow of the human river.
MOMA
MOMA Stair
Food line in Chelsea
Four block south from the food line in Chelsea
The legendary West 4th Playground
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow. First, I think you should do some actually fact finding about Newton. Second, when I completed an exchange program in Paris and walked around neighborhoods and said “hello” to people as many do here who are jogging or biking or walking, people would not say “hello” back and I found it confusing.
If you cannot find the exuberance and charm of Boston, move. Obviously you cannot see it because you don't want to see it. Your views are tainted, jaded, or just stifled by something. I find this completely insulting– yes, there are areas of Boston where there's the snobby, WASPy-ness but there's diversity too. Boston is the most-educated, well-read city in the country.
Also, if you want to see what a real suburb is like, it's not Newton. It's Groton. It's Holyoke. It's Mansfield. It's Reading. It's Grafton. Newton. Hardly.
Plus to make this piece more interesting, why didn't you compare Boston “proper” to Manhattan or a suburb of New York to Newton.
One bad experience in Newton need to spoil your entire view on Boston. So one guy has bad manners.
My writing is not a statistical survey, it's poetry. I am sure there might be some comparative surveys on some blog out there.
writergal85 is a troll. Nice piece Ben. I live in NY and grew up in Boston with a short stay in Newton.
Thanks Grace. Do you live in the city?