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Comment by alephknoll | Hacker News Reader

> Boston was always a great way to experience NYC-lite.

Since when? Who goes to boston for the 'nyc-lite' experience?

> But the mass gentrification of LIC, Brooklyn and Jersey City has now made it possible to have NYC-lite within NYC itself.

What are you talking about? LIC and Brooklyn are part of NYC. It is the NYC experience. Are you confusing NYC with Manhattan?

> So it makes Boston less appealing.

Nobody moves to boston for a NYC-lite experience. Have you ever been to NYC or Boston?

> P.S: I say this in jest, but make DeSantis ship a few more migrants up to new england. The Mexican food scene is trash and needs help.

What?

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> Since when? Who goes to boston for the 'nyc-lite' experience?

I’ve lived in both. This is a thing. NYC fans will say that nothing compares and only NYC is NYC, but people outside it do think of Boston as a baby NYC.

It has a ton of similarities to their urban fabric, but it’s just saw smaller. It has similar architecture, people, weather, etc. it’s a very walkable city, with a vibrant cultural scene.

It’s just… less than NYC. Less food choice, less cultural options, smaller, less transit, less jobs, less people, etc.

Somebody in real life was just saying something similar about Boston’s appeal as a mini nyc. I was genuinely pretty surprised — I think of Boston as pretty different from New York (much, much smaller, lots whiter, more educated; in my head Chicago or even Philly are closer to nyc-lite), but I can imagine a bunch of new englanders do move to Boston to get an urban experience.

It might be reflecting my tech bias.

The typical tech person only hangs out with young highly-educated transplants in NYC. Racially, those demographics are fairly similar between NYC and Boston. Philly simply does not have the high concentration of top-tier human capital that Boston or NYC offer. Good luck finding a half-decent tech job in Philly.

If anything, Boston universities have ramped up their diversity hiring, so a typical highly-educated group will include a ton of racially diverse people. Intellectually however, Boston has stricter staratification between blue collar and white collar professionals than NYC/Philly.

Are you some recruiter or something? Your comments have been the most bizarre I've read in a while. It reads like PR. Still wondering how LIC and Brooklyn is NYC-lite?

huh, could you elaborate ? I've been on here long enough that my authenticity is secure. But, I am genuinely curious about why my writing comes across as 'fake' ? Is it just this interaction or my comments in general ?

I'm for real. I'm trying to be better in how I communicate. And clearly, I still have work to do. And no, I am not a recruiter, just a distracted engineer like everyone else on here.

______

As for the Brooklyn & LIC bit, it's from personal experience. I have moved around a lot over the last few years, and have found myself comparing these cities side-by-side. Manhattan is most people's image of NYC. LIC and Brooklyn are quieter, more human scale, have more green spaces and the pace of things slower.

I didn't mention Chicago because it's a disservice to call it NYC-lite. Chicago is distinctly itself in a way that makes the comparison feel unfair. Additionally, being in NYC-lite implies wanting the same geographic advantages.

> NYC fans will say that nothing compares and only NYC is NYC

That's not what I'm saying at all. When I think of mini-NYC, I think chicago. Maybe even philly. Someone saying boston is mini-nyc is like someone saying SF is mini-Los Angeles. It's absurd.

> but people outside it do think of Boston as a baby NYC.

Who? Outside of where? The nyc metro? The mid atlantic? The entire northeast? I've heard people saying chicago as being similar to NYC or even toronto and I can see the resemblance. But boston?

> It has similar architecture, people, weather, etc.

Boston has similar architecture? People? Huh? We have the same accents too?

> It’s just… less than NYC. Less food choice, less cultural options, smaller, less transit, less jobs, less people, etc.

That's every city in the country. Is SF NYC-lite? Is New Orleans NYC-lite?

It seems like people are cavalierly using 'NYC-lite' as another word for small city? Then I guess everything is a mini-NYC or NYC-lite.

To me, growing up, NYC, boston, SF, new orleans, LA, etc were viewed as unique type of cities.

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