How about some good news?

-even though the T makes us all crazy, it's so much better than living in a large city without a decent public transportation system.

-spring, summer, fall, and even early winter are beautiful.

-we legalized, and kept legal, gay marriage.

-beaches and skiing can be day trips. You can even take the T to both!

-baseball

My brother isn't going to go to jail with murderers and rapists because he likes to smoke a joint once in a while.

1) The fact that we have a public transportation system at all.

2) I know people complain about people not being friendly here, but I think the people here are great. I've made friends more easily here than anywhere else I've lived.

3) The chowdah and the lobstah.

4) Lots of stuff to do. I'm really rarely bored.

5) Walkability of Greater Boston.

6) The ice cream!

7) The fact that within close proximity of Boston there's the culture of urban life, beaches, woods and hiking, etc.

8) The quaint New England coastal towns and lighthouses.

Hell, I love it here. I really would just like to see some better public transportation.

Actually, someone who is not a dope but who is economically trapped might well live someplace they hate.

But on the love tip:

People reading books in public; some of the country's richest history; old/new architectural mix; gorgeous nature and wild spaces; strong public library; fascinating programs of scores of colleges; outstanding medical care; rail-based public transit; the pedestrian scale of the city; the mix of feeling very urban and very small-town/neighborhood-y at the same time.

Also, same-sex marriage, pot freedom, no executions.

Only major hate-able: obscene real estate prices/rents. General rudeness and lengthy winters also bad. Otherwise, I make few complaints.

...being happy that we at least have a public transit system that can get you most places you need to go, if not always efficiently. Also the fact that you can take public transit to many beaches.

Love the Arboretum and all the parks in general. Love walking down Beacon St. in Brookline and seeing a wild turkey half a block from Starbucks. The spring and fall weather. The Christmas tree on the Common. The fact that every movie I'd possibly want to see comes here eventually.

Running along the Charles River with the sailboats on the water, the red line rolling over the Longfellow Bridge, the smell of the North End, the bustle of the Financial District during the work day, the smell of the public gardens during the spring and fall, the smell of beer from the bars at Fanuiel, accidentally following the red painted line of the Freedom Trail, fresh seafood, the green line from Lechmere into the city, Lucky's, Newbury Street, Boylston Street, walking up Charles Street, just sitting outside in the summer, drinking beer at the Barking Crab in the sun, the first ice coffee from Dunks of the season, the smell of Fenway when the Sox are at home, riding the commuter rail to the 'burbs, South Station, Park Street, the dude who plays the clarenet and can really bust out a tune, spare change guy... oh, man, I could go on forever... thanks.

They are one of the things I love best about Boston. Love that much cleaner water.

I used to live in the Fenway and now commute from the South Shore by ferry. I still don't need a car!

The ferries are the T the way you might dream about it - hot coffee in the morning and a full bar on the way home. When I have to fly somewhere, the folks help me get my luggage on and off. They are the loveliest, friendliest people.

I sit, knit, sip and keep my carbon footprint at size 7.5.

And I truly love our neighborhood activists. A fearless, vocal crowd who really can influence outcomes.

What I love about this area:

A) Most importantly, it's home to me, overall I've lived here in the Bay State all my life, and I love it. Having lived roughly half my life here in the city, I love it even more, and, although I grew up in an idyllic suburb 20 miles due northwest of Boston, I wouldn't look back, much less move back there, or to any of those suburbs, because they no longer hold anything for me. Just my opinion.

B) Love the Coolidge, Brattle and Somerville theatres that play wonderful movies that most other theatres won't play.

C) Love the fact that I'm within walking/bicycling distance to downtown Boston, Coolidge Corner and Harvard Square, and the fact that, although the MBTA station is a ten-minute walk from my house, I have good access to it. If I want to go to a special event, or I need to get to an appointment or whatever, I can hoof it to the MBTA station, even at night ( though I'm careful to go through residential areas to get to the station when I go at night.) , which I've done a number of times before. Not long ago, when the weather was rather awful (snowstorm), I hoofed it ( walked) to Harvard Square from my house for a screening of the classic film, "Dr. Zhivago". It took 45 minutes exactly. I took the Lechmere square bus home

D) Love this area's colorful and interesting history.

E) Love having my living/working studio space that has a view of the town.

F) Evening concerts on the Charles River Esplanade and City Hall Plaza for free. I've attended a number of good ones over the years.

G) Movies by Moonlight in the summertimes, at the Harbor Hotel, by Rowes Wharf.

H.) Seafood; We've got the best

I) No death penalty, very few bible-thumpers, feel relatively safe here, even though I'm careful when I go out at night. Having said all of the above, I believe that there's a certain, unnamed and unidentified poster who owes me an apology for leveling a stupid, uncalled for accusation at me of never leaving my house, because, whether this poster knows it, or cares to know it or not , she's WRONG on all counts.

My close friends and family are in Boston.
What bothers me:

A) Public transportation here in this area, though I appreciate having it, isn't always so efficient here in this city. I still remember being almost an hour late to a dentist appointment because it took the MBTA a half hour or more to push a disabled train in the Lechmere trainyard out of the way. To add insult to injury, the MBTA train was extremely slow! Fortunately, having my cellphone with me saved the day: I called my dentist's office to tell them what was happening, even before we started out, because I knew I was going to be late. Although they were very understanding, I periodically kept in touch with them by cellphone to notify them of my progress of the trip. I finally arrived at a bit after eleven a. m. (my appointment had been scheduled for 10:20 that morning), they took me in, and my appointment went without a hitch. Calling gets some of the pressure off.

B) Traffic jams can be rather intense in this area at times, at least in part due to poorly-designed intersections and corners. Allowing more time if I have to drive somewhere and be there at a certain time, and calling if I'm going to be late takes a good bit of stress and pressure off.

C) Here's a bit of a rant, which I know you won't want to hear, but here goes: Although I largely enjoy posting on this blog, I have noticed that there's not a great deal of acceptance of other people's foibles and differences. Being mocked and made fun of when I occasionally talk about stuff that gives me a great deal of enjoyment, have differences of opinion, and my somewhat different style of posting and communicating is rather nasty, and ruffles my feathers...a lot.

However, while I can agree to a large degree to the idea that "only a dope would live somewhere that s/he hates", it is unfortunately true that, not everybody has a choice as to where they can and do live. While I'm certainly and thankfully not in that situation myself, I've come in contact with people who are.

Two facts that make me happy:

President Obama reversed the idiot Bush's ban on stem cell research;

And the number of Catholics in the New England area is falling rapidly.

We are becoming a sane, secular society!

I love everything, the good and the bad. After living in the South for five years, I've come to appreciate the fact that Bostonians are bred to stand up for that they believe is right, even if they are doing it alone. Not like in NC, where the rule rules over everyone and no one is willing to step up and say, "This isn't right" out of fear that they will be judged as being a troublemaker. To hell with that! It's a shame and I can't wait to come back home to my beloved Beantown in a few months!