Where in Boston should you live
Boston.com recently posted a quick and easy survey that supposedly identifies the Boston neighborhood which suits your personality best. Are you a Boston resident? Contemplating a move to Boston? Or have you never visited and curious what part of town to book your hotel? Take this survey; it is all in good fun.
Thanks to blogger / friend Julian for telling me about this.
The new scott james store in Boston recently moved to new digs at 173 Newbury Street, and to celebrate the store will distribute Fashion Night Out (FNO) Survival Kits on Thursday to men who visit their store while supplies last.
Each kit includes SWAG from Billy Jealousy, Emerge Salon Men’s Club, Skincando, Cape Crabbers, Dillon’s Restaurant, Taza Chocolate and scott james. Select kits include scott james gift cards valued up to $250 and one lucky guy will win a free night stay at the coveted Revere Hotel.
FNO Boston is later this week on Thursday, September 6th. I’ll be stopping by the new scott james store and plan on attending their party at the Revere Hotel’s Emerald Lounge later that evening.
Plan on stopping by their new store at 173 Newbury Street to find out more about the party, or if you cannot join – follow my Tweets on Thursday evening.
Due to the large student population in Boston, many rental properties have a 9/1 lease. Since so many move on the same day in Boston, one must be prepared so I’ve included a few tips to share for those packing today.
1. Find a parking spot near your new apartment and get your car/ van / truck there ASAP. By the time this post publishes people will be double-parked along the main streets of Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway and Kenmore, Allston, Brighton and through out Cambridge.
2. Call your friends and bribe them heavily to help you move. You’ll need all the help you can get so plan on buying a lot of beer and pizza.
3. If you have not already, call your utility company to schedule hook-ups for services like internet. If you wait until you are already moved in you might be left waiting a lot longer than you expect as half the city calls Comcast and Verizon.
Best of luck
Boston Magazine has posted a flow chart of several reality shows scheduled to appear on three different networks starting this fall.
select image to enlarge
Guide by Kevin Alexander – Illustration by Jason Ford
Posted in Art & Film, Boston, Pop Culture
Tagged BosGuy, Boston, Boston Guy, Pop Culture
Hotel rates in Boston often run $300 – $500 a night for a standard room at a chain hotel. However, travelling became a bit cheaper in Boston this summer when the city’s new 480 bed hostel opened in June 2012.
This new property offers those backpacker-friendly group rooms for $29 a night as well as private rooms for $120 – $150. The rooms are spartan as compared to four and five star hotels, but they are comfortable and a good option for the right traveler. Earlier this summer The Boston Globe included a series of photos showcasing the property which you may see here.
Conveniently located in Boston’s Theater District this state of the art building is steps to all the downtown neighborhoods of Boston. While Boston’s hostel may not be for everyone – this beautiful new building provides options to those on a budget.
Want to find out more? Check out their website bostonhostel.org.
In 1770 a wealthy merchant who would become a famous patriot in the American Revolution purchased this home in Boston’s North End neighborhood. Can you name this famous man?
A recent Boston Globe story about the rising cost of Taxi Medallions (which is essentially a license that allows drivers to operate taxi cabs), caught my attention when it shared this little tid bit – Boston has capped the number of taxis at 1,825.
Although I’m the first to clamor for more oversight and regulation, I am also more than willing to admit that not all regulation makes sense. For example, having less than 2,000 cabs in a city like Boston seems asinine. The result of these limitations has two immediate consequences for consumers.
1) The ratio of cabs to consumers in Boston is 1 to 340 (in D.C. it is 1 to 90). This makes it virtually impossible to get a cab if there is a large convention, bad weather or if you don’t live on a busy downtown street.
2) The industry is increasingly less profitable for new businesses. A Medallion license in Boston now runs $400,000 (you need one medallion for each taxi cab). So now the system really only serves to protect the interests of a few taxi companies rather than the citizens those taxis were intended to serve.
I wish Boston would shun this system and find a better way to regulate taxis in the city or at a minimum help the city and its residents by doubling the number of taxi medallions to bring down the cost and add more cabs to the streets of Boston.
Source: Red Bull
The 2012 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series returns to Boston Harbor today. As they did last year, Red Bull Cliff Divers will climb to the top of the Institute of Contemporary Art building on Fan Pier and dive from a 92′ platform into Boston Harbor.
Todday, August 25th from 4PM – 7PM @ICA in the Seaport
This is a free event that is well worth checking out. Here is a 2-minute clip from last year to show you what you can expect to see later today.
Rumor has it that The Boston Phoenix, which dates back to 1966, may be closing and / or merging with its sister publication, Stuff@Night.
Are the days really numbered for The Boston Phoenix?
Earlier this year the Phoenix Media/Communications Group (the paper’s parent company) made headlines when it sold their radio station WFNX 101.7 to Clear Channel Communications. Could there be credibility to the rumor the paper the media group is named after may disappear all together or merge into one publication with its sister publication Stuff@Night?
On Sunday while taking the high speed ferry from Provincetown back to Boston we were treated to watching the USS Constitution (a.k.a. Old Iron Sides) sailing through Boston Harbor. Here is a quick photo I hastily snapped.
The sail was held to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the ship’s victory over HMS Guerriere in the War of 1812 and it drew thousands of spectators on land and sea.
More about the USS Constitution here.
Thanks to @kenjimallon on Twitter for sharing this cool image created by StoneBrown Design. This creative display of how long it takes to get from point A to B using Boston’s public transportation system can be viewed on the firm’s website. They’ve also created similar maps which you can buy for Washington DC’s Metro and Seattle’s Metro system.
Earlier this week The BostonInno blog had this interesting infographic in an article regarding the benefits of urban farming based on a recent report conducted by the Conservation Law Foundation (CFL). That report had his to say about urban agriculture in Boston.
Boston is ideally positioned to play a lead role in coordinating with the Massachusetts Food Policy Council, other New England states, and cities around the region to build a vision for a New England regional food system and make it happen. Boston is emerging as a national leader in urban agriculture innovation, and can be a voice for the benefits of urban agriculture and as one of the region’s largest consumers, help to build the market for regionally grown food.
Seems like an interesting conversation to have. Are you familiar with other urban agriculture projects here in the US or abroad? I love the idea of supporting locally grown fruit and vegetables.
The full article is here.
Rents and housing prices will never compete with those in New York City or even San Francisco, but sadly Boston does have a well deserved reputation for being a very expensive place to live.
An article that appeared in The Boston Globe on Tuesday about the unusually tight rental market in Boston points to a large influx of empty-nesters who are buying and renting properties as fast as they become available.
The Boston Globe story found that rent for a two-bedroom apartment ranges between an average of $1,237 per month in Dorchester to $2,857 per month in Back Bay. Let’s hope that more properties will be built and quickly so the market doesn’t add any more stress on young professional, couples and families who want to remain in Boston but are priced out of the market.
Source: The Boston Globe
There has been a bit of controversy raging among the world of foodies in Boston due to comments made by Dave Andelman from the Phantom Gourmet. Last week Andelman told BostonInno all food trucks should be 1,000′ from brick and mortar restaurants. He has since said 500′ would be sufficient, but I find his entire argument inane.
The basis of Andelman’s argument (as I understand it) is that the less costly business model for food trucks puts traditional restaurants at a disadvantage so food trucks may charge a lower price. While this is true, I wonder if Andelman has lost his mind entirely since he is essentially saying dining from a food truck is the equivalent of dining at a restaurant, which last time I checked came with perks like: tables, chairs, climate control, wait staff, bathrooms, etc… Never mind the fact that when the mercury has risen (or more likely in the months to come plummets) food trucks in Boston are at a distinct disadvantage.
Whoever handles The Phantom Gourmet’s PR should be fired for allowing this discussion to take place and Andelman should be muzzled.
BosGuy 