For Lack of a Better World

Revere Beach has been basecamp for us while we’ve been in Boston and I’m not sure I could’ve stumbled upon a more ideal location.

We haven’t made much use of the area as a destination beyond provisions and other basic needs. But it has served that purpose wonderfully.

It has also been our jumping-off point into Boston proper nearly every day from either the Beachmont, Revere Beach, or Wonderland train stations. Again, perfect.

And it has been a nice, safe, relatively quiet, relatively clean place to call home this month with plenty of pedestrian spaces to make use of, grocery stores, late night food options, and friendly people.

It has generally taken me upwards of a week to feel settled in a new location and confident that I’ve scouted out the best places to situate ourselves while visiting an unfamiliar city, but this has been the first time ever that the first place I looked was the only place looked.

There’s an adage that goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression,” and aside from everything else that I could rave about Boston for, finding an ideal place so quickly and not needing to invest valuable time scouting out other areas has earned Boston a special place in my heart.

In addition to the comfortable neighborhood though, this city has been exquisite by almost every metric that matters to me. The neighborhoods are distinct and each enjoyable in their own right, the public transportation has made driving practically unthinkable, and the people have all been genuine and kind to us.

On top of that, Boston is full of stuff to do for people like me who aren’t really looking to do much of anything, which is to say there is plenty to accomplish by simply walking around and being an observer.

This city has been on my list for a long time. I’m grateful to have had the means and good fortune to have finally visited and to have spent a good amount of time exploring. It is dynamic, compact, and very pedestrian — and at least in September, that has made it undeniably enjoyable.

I’m also extremely grateful that Revere Beach was able to provide such an ideal site for us to launch our daily expeditions from.

Greetings to you from Boston — and Revere Beach. Wish you were here.