New York City is my all time favorite city outside of my own (Miami). I have already been accepted to a school in NYC (NYU). However, I have 2 upcoming interviews in Boston (BU, Tufts). I'm not sure whether it's worth going? I can't say that I would never choose Boston over NYC since I have never been there. Can anyone give me some honest opinions on the similarities & differences/pros & cons between the two cities, as well as what you think of those schools in comparison to each other? Thanks!
Boston vs. New York City
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If you've never been to Boston and have the extra coin, I'd attend at least one of the interviews. I've never been to Boston either, but I have some friends who absolutely love it there.
Congratulations on your acceptance to NYU and good luck with your decision!
Congratulations on your acceptance to NYU and good luck with your decision!
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First and foremost, Boston is a lot smaller than NYC. Walking across Manhattan would take forever, where as Boston can be reasonably traversed on foot. That being said, the cultures of the cities are derived from the sizes. NYC has everything going on in terms of ethnicity of people, industries represented etc. Boston has a definite young, intellectual feel to it. I mean, half the city seems like its comprised of students. It brings its advantages and disadvantages. There are tons of cultural events, an active nightlife with interesting, well educated people. The downside being that the size and composition gets old sometimes, and you may find yourself looking for some socioeconomic diversity.
All this being said, I too have been accepted to places in NYC and Boston. I'm choosing Boston purely on preference. NYC seems too big for me and in my opinion, its a pretty lonely place. Especially in medical school when a support system is pretty important, a sense of community seemed most important too me. Both are awesome cities though. Congratulations on your acceptance🙂
All this being said, I too have been accepted to places in NYC and Boston. I'm choosing Boston purely on preference. NYC seems too big for me and in my opinion, its a pretty lonely place. Especially in medical school when a support system is pretty important, a sense of community seemed most important too me. Both are awesome cities though. Congratulations on your acceptance🙂
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I'm from NY and I did my undergrad in Boston. I loved living in Boston but it is definitely different from NYC (worlds apart). I guess it will depend on what you are looking for in a location if it is worth it to travel to Boston. Like others have said, if you have the money I would go to at least one of your interviews and see if you fall in love with Boston. If you already have your heart set on NYC and the Manhattan lifestyle then you already made your choice 😀 congrats!
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i think this says it all. by all means go visit it. but if you love something, why not stick with it?
Boston is cleaner, friendlier, and prettier. Public transit in Boston is also better than in NYC. Take a visit, you may love it, or hate it. Id pick Boston over NYC in a heartbeat. NYC is great to visit, Boston is an easier city to live in.
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Pshhhh, have you ever taken the B line?!?!?!!! I love Boston, don't get me wrong, but our public transportation leaves something to be desired.
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The green line and all its ridiculous letters is a terrible exception. I would say that the T is cleaner and less likely to be too crowded for you to get on, but the NYC subway runs all night long so you never have to take a taxi.
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i don't know anything about the boston subway but don't you have to wait for like an hour at night in ny
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Ughhhh and the MBTA stopping at 12:30 at night...wtf.
Can you tell you've hit on my biggest beef with Boston?
But really OP, Boston is great. And even if you decide to go with NYC, Boston is a relatively short 4 hour (cheap) bus ride away. Great for a long weekend trip.
Boston is a pretty expensive place to live, but NYC is even more expensive. Not necessarily the first thing to consider, but since you'll be paying out your butt for tuition anyway, it helps to cut down on other costs.
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Ok I like the T, don't get me wrong, but lets be real it's not the best in the world. It is definitely a bit cleaner than most of the NYC subways BUT it isn't nearly as comprehensive. If I wanted to go from Boston College to Northeastern (which is probably no more than 20 minutes by car) it would take me an hour on the T. I'd have to go all the way into Boston to catch the E line! Plus, the T closes at like 12! what the heck is that about! I still <3 Boston but running to try and catch the last train at midnight definitely made me miss NYC some nights.
If you are taking simple trips, ie going into Boston, then the T is great. But it would have been amazing if there were a few more T lines to connect all the dots and make it easier to go to places other than Boston.
If you are taking simple trips, ie going into Boston, then the T is great. But it would have been amazing if there were a few more T lines to connect all the dots and make it easier to go to places other than Boston.
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this is something else I forgot to mention. Housing in Boston is f'in expensive. They are having a huge affordable housing crisis over there. It's no better in NYC but I know many of the NYC med schools have subsidized housing for their students. Not sure about the Boston schools. It's expensive to live in both.
True but the Manhattan schools have subsidized student housing (NYU's is about $650 a month). I don't know about Tufts, but BU doesn't have student housing and rent in Boston is often really expensive. Also you for sure won't need a car for your entire time at NYU. When I interviewed at BU they said that it's really helpful to have one for 3rd and 4th year.
Just because NYC is a more expensive city doesn't necessarily mean it would cost more to go to school there.
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Boston College is not actually in Boston, but in the 'burbs so you can't really fault the system for that 😉
i'm the inverse/reciprocal/enantiomer of DRLyss-- i'm from boston and did my undergrad in NYC. i am hoping and praying that i am so lucky as to be torn between these two cities around this time next year. anyway, i find the public transportation in boston less-than-amazing... mostly because of everything that's been said: all the green lines are SUPER old and slow; it stops running at 12:30 at night; and there is simply less of it. but the less part is not such a big deal because the city is very walkable.
one of the main differences i find is that in new york, EVERYTHING is accessible by mass transit. in boston, there are probably places you'll want to go where it would be really helpful to have a car. also, boston proper is VERY small, so a lot of what we consider to be in boston is actually on the outskirts/inner ring suburbs. but still, it's a beautiful city, lovely to walk in and filled with young people.
i do heart NY, though. as much as i love boston, nothing can top this city! i feel so energized and independent here. although i do hear you on the support system thing-- if i hadn't been here as an undergrad and already made a home for myself, i'd be mildly concerned about that as well. but, it is what you make of it, i suppose.
congrats on the acceptances/interviews and good luck!
one of the main differences i find is that in new york, EVERYTHING is accessible by mass transit. in boston, there are probably places you'll want to go where it would be really helpful to have a car. also, boston proper is VERY small, so a lot of what we consider to be in boston is actually on the outskirts/inner ring suburbs. but still, it's a beautiful city, lovely to walk in and filled with young people.
i do heart NY, though. as much as i love boston, nothing can top this city! i feel so energized and independent here. although i do hear you on the support system thing-- if i hadn't been here as an undergrad and already made a home for myself, i'd be mildly concerned about that as well. but, it is what you make of it, i suppose.
congrats on the acceptances/interviews and good luck!
ooooh, yeah. can't believe i forgot to mention this. new york is set up so logically, what with the grid and all. and even when you're "off the grid" towards the bottom of the island... it still makes loads more sense than boston could ever hope to 🙂
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I like Boston very much but I would never call Boston "friendlier" than New York. New Yorkers are a breed apart but Bostonians can be downright rude. No city can move people like New York City. They clear Times Square every New Year's in an instant. The NYC subway is awesome for experiencing city life at it's best and worst though it was unnerving to be looking at "earth" while inching along on the "T".
I love both cities and would have a difficult time choosing one over the other in terms of living. New York is way more expensive than Boston but neither is cheap. I would let the school pick the city as both cities are pretty comparable. There is so much to do in New York all the time but how much free time are you going to have with school. Boston is always damp and drafty.
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haha very true very true. But the hospitals in Boston are mostly in the burbs as well so you'll still deal with it.
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this is SO true. Maybe if every other street didn't have the same name it would be a bit easier but I have been lost more times than I would like to count in Boston that I gave up on driving. To be fair once you leave Manhattan & the grid I get lost in NY too haha. Maybe it's me...
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😕Tufts, BU, and HMS are all in Boston proper...I mean there are nonacademic hospitals in the burbs...but it is true that at least 2 of the 3 are on the infamous and sucky Green Line.
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True story. Your life would revolve around the E green line and the orange line.
I'm a Boston transplant... I grew up in the west. To be honest, I like NYC better, but Boston has it's charm. The streets are confusing, the rent is outrageous, if you don't care about the red sox you'll never hear the end of it, but it's still a good city, easy to get around, pretty in both summer and winter, nice atmosphere. It's a great place to live and go to school.
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As much as I would love to advocate New York for med school I have to say that it isnt the ideal place to be a student. Don't get me wrong you can enjoy it but I don't think you will feel like you are getting as much out if it as you could. Go to Boston where you will actually experience a larger part of the city and know it better than you would in New York as a med student.
Boston is THE students city and way more tuned toward that age group and def provides more in that respect. New York, however great, will somehow feel distant and possibly unattainable unless 1 you have a lot of money and 2 youve got a lot of free time. I don't think either of those things are happening for NYC students. But good luck on your choice.
Boston is THE students city and way more tuned toward that age group and def provides more in that respect. New York, however great, will somehow feel distant and possibly unattainable unless 1 you have a lot of money and 2 youve got a lot of free time. I don't think either of those things are happening for NYC students. But good luck on your choice.
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I would never pick Boston over NYC. I love NYC, and IMO there's no other city in this country than can compare to it. Boston, on the other hand, can be compared to other cities...such as Philadelphia. I really don't like Boston's weather...it's way too cold for me personally. Also, housing in Boston is superexpensive... At the same time, Boston is definitely not the worst city to spend four years of med school...but if I had an option of attending school in NYC I would go for it without thinking twice.
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I went to school in Boston and I live in NYC
The T=shuts down at twelve
NYC MTA=24 hours
How the heck is Boston better?
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if boston proper is a smaller place, there is no need for a 24 hour subway system when cabs will suffice, correct?
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Fair enough, cabbing around does not cost that much especially when you have friends to split with. But still it's nice to have public transit. With cabs you have to rely on other people to be with you to split it, and if you live in different directions or only go out with one friend, then those extra dollars suck to cough up and can add up.
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If I had more money, I would love to take a cab in New York even if I have an unlimited MTA card. Trust, the journey underground after 2 AM is exhausting.
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plus getting a cab in Boston after 1 am can be difficult (on the weekends). Since everything closes at 2 am a flood of people come out looking for cabs and you can wait hours for a cab (and you can't call for one).
Last time I was in Boston I left a place at 1:30 with friends and we ended up waiting 1.5 hours outside in the rain for a cab. It was beyond horrible - and that wasn't the first time 🙁 If you plan accordingly it wouldn't happen but it would have been great to just jump on the T and go home.
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oh crap you better stay in new york that sucks. 🙂
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I haven't read through the responses, so I apologize if this has aleady been stated. I've spent lots of time in NYC, i've been to Boston but only once.
Boston isn't so much the 24/7 city that NYC is. More stuff is closed in the late night/early morning, for example the subway (which is a bit annoying).
Both cities are very expensive. Boston is the less expensive of the two, but it's still very expensive.
NYC is bigger, more crowed, has more stuff to do, the downside to this is it's less clean than Boston. From my limited experience with Boston, I got the impression that the folks in Boston have a greater sense of community.
Despite being smaller I found Boston's roads to be an impossible maze. Although this may have been from lack of familiarity.
Boston isn't so much the 24/7 city that NYC is. More stuff is closed in the late night/early morning, for example the subway (which is a bit annoying).
Both cities are very expensive. Boston is the less expensive of the two, but it's still very expensive.
NYC is bigger, more crowed, has more stuff to do, the downside to this is it's less clean than Boston. From my limited experience with Boston, I got the impression that the folks in Boston have a greater sense of community.
Despite being smaller I found Boston's roads to be an impossible maze. Although this may have been from lack of familiarity.
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I really love New York as a city to live in but not to go to school in. You are right about community. Everyone in New York identifies with themselves as a New Yorker but not as part of New York the way folks in smaller cities do. Look at the way Chicago and Boston and Philly people are vs New Yorkers. Its the community that I appreciate for the short period of time while I am in school - but no way am I going to live anywhere else but New York once I have a job and an income. I would love to even work in a New York hospital for my residency, but not the heavy book learning and classes life that I depend on other people and proximity for.
Sure Boston is still a city and all... but that is the only other option here that the OP gave us, lol. Personally I'd like to go to Med school in a place where there is a huge student life or little outside distraction ie - New York. I like close knit and I think Boston will give you more of that.
Sure Boston is still a city and all... but that is the only other option here that the OP gave us, lol. Personally I'd like to go to Med school in a place where there is a huge student life or little outside distraction ie - New York. I like close knit and I think Boston will give you more of that.
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hey op! i am in a similar position except I did my boston interviews first. I love NYC and have ultimately decided that I cannot live somewhere else, especially if i dont have to. NYC is friendly, alive, and you can do anything you want or desire here. No where else (IMO) will you get the variety of people, places, and experiences that you can in NYC...
even though I am waiting on some more decisions, NYU is my top choice for its location and i am 99.99% sure I will be attending.
even though I am waiting on some more decisions, NYU is my top choice for its location and i am 99.99% sure I will be attending.
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I went to school both in NY and in Boston (in Boston now). In your position as a student, I would choose Boston, because it really caters to the student population. That said, I LOVE nyc but realized that I wouldn't want to live there until I'm done with all my schooling and could actually afford things, and have time to enjoy the city. Besides, NYC is a bus ride away from Boston...I go a couple times a year just to get my NY fix and then can go back to the comfort of Boston and study my bum off.
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