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Boston's Best City Life 2009

Rocking in the cradle of eccentricity
By BOSTON PHOENIX STAFF  |  April 16, 2009
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Photo by Chris Dempsey 


There’s so much to love about Boston, it’s hard sometimes to know where to start. Traffic? Obnoxious Sox fans? Irritating students? Norway rats? Inflated rents? An inferiority complex unlike any on the Eastern seaboard? Boston, by which we mean Greater Boston, is so many things that it’s difficult to choose just one.

But if you had to, it’s all-encompassing best trait might be “freedom.” Oh sure, we’re the birthplace of American freedom, what with the Sons of Liberty and all. But, unlike more conformist metropolises, Boston’s also managed to sustain a steady strain of political contrariness and cultural eccentricity in the face of centuries of powerful pressure to toe someone else’s line.

Our readers are fine with this. You can tell from their picks for the best aspects of life in our city. The chosen Best Place To Live isn’t some swank high-rise condo complex — it’s reality-checkered Jamaica Plain. The preferred Local Cause isn’t the maintenance of the Public Gardens but Bikes Not Bombs. Our favorite public art is high-end graffiti. And the moderator of our preferred podcast is a ska head.

Go figure. Our readers must know something the rest of the country missed.

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Related: Boston's Best Food and Drink 2009, Boston's Best Arts and Entertainment 2009, Slideshow: Kings of Leon at Agganis Arena, More more >
  Topics: Lifestyle Features , Boston, Boston, Shopping,  More more >
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