Carlee: Unpopular Opinion – Boston is a Better City Than London (Or it Could Be, Hear Me Out)

Last semester, I studied abroad in London, England, and I loved every second of it. The city was such a fun city to live in with an incredible variety of things to see and do. It has a culture like no other, the parks are beautiful, and the biscuits are to die for.

London Eye Gif

By the time I made it back to Boston, I had a lot of time to reflect on my experience with London, everything that I saw there, and how the city made me feel. I love both cities so much, but my soul was leaning towards favoring the city that we call home.

At my internship this past week, I was asked to research local chefs and the restaurant scene in Boston. My findings led me to understand that Bostonians tend to think of each other in a lot that they do, building a strong sense of community. Each neighborhood of the city has its own way of giving back to the community, whether that be through family events, food drives, or climate action plans. There’s more of a sense of family amongst Bostonians, and we see that for ourselves every year on Patriots Day, or when the Pats win the Super Bowl (although not the greatest thing to celebrate in my opinion).

Boston Strong Gif

Boston could be the better city for some to call home simply because of these two reasons:

  1. There’s that feeling of community (it’s family-friendly and makes the neighborhoods feel like home)
  2. It’s a compact city (you can walk or bike pretty much anywhere, and everything you need is within reach)

London, on the other hand, might be a bit overwhelming in size. I was there for four months, and I still did not get to everything on my bucket list. The size of London is definitely one of its beauties, though, as is its impressive variety of museums, mild weather, and smooth public transportation. Unfortunately, for some reason it didn’t give me this warm and fuzzy feeling that I feel in other places of the world.

So, this isn’t really about the city itself, it’s about the feeling. I know I could feel this way because I experienced London temporarily, as an outsider, and Boston is more familiar to me. Maybe I’m also only saying this because the view of the beautiful Boston skyline out of my StuVi 1 window has been feeding my soul. Plus, I have seen Boston in the summer when it transforms into a magical hub of lush green life, and I saw London in the fall, with winter fast approaching. There are a lot of factors.

Although it took me a bit to realize, I adore Boston. I’m actually from Philadelphia, which is up there on the list of greatest cities in the world, but that’s an argument for another day. After spending months in both London and Boston, they both truly have a special piece of my heart, but Boston took a bit bigger of a piece. I love it here, and I’m feeling so lucky to have been able to explore my passions in both places.

All the love, Boston. 🙂

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