Big D v Beantown

Since I've been a little homesick lately I decided to do a side-by-side comparison of Big D, aka Dallas, to Beantown.

Skyline

First, I thought I'd start out easy by comparing the skylines. While Boston has the waterfront along downtown, and the cool distinction of the "Back Bay" area where the city was built on the water, the unique architecture of downtown Dallas and its skyscrapers, along with the ever-changing lights of Reunion Tower make Dallas a winner in the skyline category.

Boston

Transportation

Dallas has miles and miles and miles of open road and highways, with clearly marked exits and street signs. The downside to Dallas is that you drive FOREVER to get across town, and it's no big deal when your commute is 100 miles round trip each day, plus there is almost no public transportation available. Boston, on the other hand, is very small, and has great public transportation - yay T. You can drive around pretty easily IF AND ONLY IF you have a GPS system. Boston is notorious for streets changing names suddenly and WTF is a rotary? And this is just the outskirts I've driven to. Don't even get me started on navigating my way through Beacon Hill and the downtown area. Boston edges out in this category just because of the T.

People

Dallasites win hands-down in this category. While Bostonians aren't nearly as mean as I heard they were, their lack of warmth can't go unmentioned. And while Dallasites are no Midwesterners and sometimes forget that we're southern, for the most part they are warm, welcome and inviting.

And the girls up here are an entirely different breed than Texas women. In Dallas, we care what we look like ALL THE TIME. We are high maintenance and we make no excuses for it. The downside to that is that we carry that maintenance into simple things like going to the grocery store.

In Boston, women up here don't make any excuses for not making an effort. It's all about comfort. I actually had an intern scoff because I don't own a pair of sweat pants! And a lot of women (NOT all - I actually work with a bunch of women who "try") up here don't even make an attempt at looking decent. How do you attract a man when it looks like you don't give a flip about yourself? And apparently this is the norm.

I will say this: being up here and having the luxury to keep my southern traits of making an effort but losing the fuss of it all is actually nice. I like that it's not a tragedy if I go to the grocery store in my snow boots and a t-shirt without any make-up on. I like that I can dress for comfort when I want to. And I REALLY like that people up here don't care what you drive, where you live and how much money you make. New Englanders are practical; there are very few BMWs up here, and if they are around, it's the SUVs because those are practical. Nope, Hondas and Toyotas are the big things up here, and luxury is a Lexus. And most of the people I know who are buying "new" cars, get them used.

Sports

This is a tie. Bostonians love their sports teams up here, and there are plenty to go around. You've got the Patriots, the Red Sox, the Celtics and the Bruins, not to mention tons of decent college teams to watch whenever you want. But I am really disappointed with Bostonians on their lack of enthusiasm for hockey. Boston has one of the original hockey teams EVER, and people up here don't get excited for the Bruins. In Dallas, everyone goes NUTS for the Stars; we LOVE hockey down there. And Dallasites are crazy for the Mav and the Cowboys too. The only team that's not exciting is the Rangers, but people still LOVE going to the Ballpark.

Food

This one is a tie as well. While I can't get enough Tex-Mex and I miss Rosa's and Chuy's and Cuba Libra's mojitos, Boston is notorious for its great seafood, and variety. Since coming to Boston, I've indulged in Tibetan and Argentinian cuisines, and of course I eat some of the freshest seafood as often as possible. Lobster rolls up famous up here, as is the clam chowder. Every restaurant I've been to has been amazing and my pants are actually fitting a little better now that I don't have queso as one of my dietary staples. But still, I haven't found an authentic Mexican restaurant and the Tex-Mex restaurants up here are a joke. I'm actually getting so desperate that even fajitas are starting to sound appetizing.

Overall, I'm coming to appreciate Boston and its many offerings. Let's not forget that this city is rich with history, and I've got the beach to look forward to every weekend in a couple months. Not to mention that we've got Sam Adam's beer up here, and many bars don't even have the Texas staples on tap (Coors Light, Bud Lt. and Miller Lt.) which is fine by me.

The one thing Boston will never have on Dallas is my friends. They are definitely the best part of Dallas (and Austin and Houston and even Albuquerque!) and no one in Boston will ever compare to that!