"The Right Mix of American History and High-Tech"

Yes, the title of this post is actually a quote. It is a very interesting one, though, in that it comes from a video game designer working on a new AAA production set in the city of Boston. When asked why the upcoming Fallout 4 would be set in Boston, Todd Howard replied that the city had "the right mix of American history and high-tech" (reported by Gamespot).i

It raises an interesting point. American history surrounds us, particularly for those of us zipping around Government Center and Beacon Hill. But just how "techy" is Boston?

Pretty techy.

Well, let's clarify. The most sweeping statistic comes from the March 13 "State of Technology" report by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council: the tech industry supports 20% of the state's workforce (reported by the Boston Globe).ii If that number doesn't shock you outright, imagine it went away -- that would be a doubling of double-digit unemployment. This industry (how very broad that term is) is hallowed ground for Massachusetts.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the vast majority of these jobs are centered, more or less, in Boston and Cambridge. The largest frequencies show up in the Boston-Cambridge-Nashua and Boston-Cambridge-Newton corridors.iii

More importantly, though, tech is here to stay. A 2013 article from the Boston Business Journal reports that the tech sector in Boston is one of the highest growing in the country. In that year, tech employees in this area saw a salary jump of 7% to an average of $94,742iv - close to three times my salary. I'd take it.

It's not just the salaries, though, that will keep technology rooted in the Boston area. It's the education and the housing, too. The Boston Redevelopment Authority recently released a report investigating whether or not there is a "brain drain" in the city. Citing a 2013 Northeastern University study (among many other universities around the world), "Talent Magnets - Cities and Universities Building the Workforce for the Knowledge Economy," the BRA found that Boston retains just under fifty-percent of its college graduates.iv For a city with as many colleges and universities as Boston, fifty-percent sounds good enough, but it does not match other cities that contributed to the report. Case in point, Barcelona retains seventy-percent of its graduates. However, the BRA found that among American cities, Boston has the fourth-highest population of people ages 20-34 with college degreesv, despite a quick web search (Wiki, naturally) revealing that Boston is only the 24th largest U.S. city.

In summary, then, the Boston-Cambridge region is home to a proportionately  large concentration of college-educated 20-34 year-olds, many of them in a still-growing technology industry that (already!) represents about a fifth of the Massachusetts workforce.

Housing, a perennial issue here, is at play, too. Rising rental prices have effectively priced-out many Bostonians, but it is true that an income of $94,742 could make even the one-bedrooms offered by the Viridian for $2,900 in Fenway work; the astronomical $3,325 for a one-bedroom at the Van Ness in Fenway might require a second income. It's not that simple, I know, particularly with the taxes paid in the state, but the numbers do seem to make it work.

So, is Boston really as techy as Fallout 4's developer says? Yes, it is. Will it remain that way? Yes, it certainly seems it will. Through a combination of rising tech salaries, a field that represents 20% of the state's workforce centered largely in the area, a 50% retention rate of college grads, and a housing market geared towards the salaries commanded by the industry, Boston seems as if it will remain a tech city for years to come.

Of course, I should add that this is all speculative. Yes, it is based on numbers from reasonable and trustworthy sources, but it doesn't speak at all towards lived experience. Ask a recent grad about his or her life in the tech industry and perhaps it's full of all the foibles and shenanigans the rest of us face, too.

Til next time!



i Makuch, Eddie. "Why Fallout 4 Is Set in Boston." GameSpot. CBS Interactive Inc, 17 June 2015. Web. 22 June 2015.
ii Adams, Dan. "Report: Mass. Tech Sector Flourishing, but Challenges Ahead." BostonGlobe.com. Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC, 13 Mar. 2015. Web. 22 June 2015.
iii "Boston Area Employment - January 2015 : New England Information Office : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 6 Apr. 2015. Web. 22 June 2015.
iv Resende, Patricia. "Boston Tech Salaries Get 7 Percent Boost - Boston Business Journal." Boston Business Journal. American City Business Journals, 23 Jan. 2013. Web. 22 June 2015.
v Lima, Alvaro, et al. Retaining Recent College Grads in Boston: Is There a Brain Drain? Rep. Boston: Boston Redevelopment Authority/Research Division, 2014. <http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/getattachment/170db5fb-ad3b-4fbb-a143-82f7d7f4539e/>

Portraits of Statues

Once again, it is the Instagram account that has been receiving the bulk of my attention lately. What with all of this wedding planning, it has become so easy to slip into a photo-taking pattern and out of a post-writing one. Perhaps I'll wander my way back soon. (Only 40 days to go!) 

Onto the photos, then! Today's theme: portraits at the museum.

Til next time!

Looking Up

If you are so inclined, enjoy these dispatches from the Instagram account. Feel free to follow @dontlookdownbeantown on Instagram to get regular updates. In the meantime, here are some pics that are looking up.

Til next time!

The House that Blues Built

Sometimes I forget how important music is. Besides a commute, it can be difficult to find the time for it. And despite the fact that it makes things like doing dishes, folding laundry, and cleaning the apartment more pleasant, I forget to put it on. All. The. Time.

But honestly, is there anything that Ray Charles, Amy Winehouse, and B.B. King can't make easier? No, there really isn't. Like the powers granted to super heroes through such bizarre instances as being bitten by a radioactive spider or getting trapped in a gamma explosion, good music can make light work of anything. Put on an excellent playlist and run a marathon. Play Taylor Swift and get over a breakup. See what I mean? Super powers. Of course there is more to it than that, but finding the right inspiration -- and one that can get stuck in your head and help you battle back against any obstacles, at that -- is an excellent first step.

So where is the best place to get this experience in Boston? The House of Blues, of course. Even in a packed house with a standing room only ticket, everyone gets a great view. Actually, standing room only is, to me, a richer experience than sitting in this particular venue. And though I am not an expert in anything acoustical, I think the House of Blues sounds good from every location I have stood in. Maybe this just means it's loud, but in all locations and in all ways, I have always been very pleased by the sound.

Last week, my fiancee and I saw Matt Kearney at the House of Blues. On tour to promote the release of his new album Just Kids, Kearney's show was a sell-out. It was also spectacular -- drawing on the right balance of known hits and newer releases. If you are a fan of his, I would recommend his new CD, and if you haven't heard of him, why not give it a try?

The building itself, though, is a mainstay of Landsdowne Street. Clearly the street's primary and most well-known occupant is Fenway Park, but it is a testament to the House of Blues that Landsdowne would be greatly lessened in character and culture if ever B.B. King's venture were to move. The decorations, details, and adornments within create the same sense of cultural mix and clash that the venue experiences weekly with the variety of music and sound it hosts. In the same way that Fenway Park brings everyone together in one Red Sox uniform, the House of Blues hosts people whose love falls under the banner term of music, but it is a venue wholly without uniform. Fenway and the House of Blues are two sides of the same coin. And, not coincidentally, they are the two sides of Landsdowne. 

Til next time!

Much Adieu About Really Important Things

Much has been said about the recent anniversary of the Isabella Stewart Gardner heist. Trimming all of the developments, investigations, and news stories down into one skeleton of a sentence is not an easy thing to do, but here is the gist: Twenty-five years ago, in 1990, thieves disguised as police officers entered the museum, bound the guards, and stole works by some of The Greats: Manet, Rembrandt, and Degas. And they still haven't been returned.

Art such as the pieces housed in museums -- the Isabella Stewart Gardner chief among them -- are cultural property. What would a lesson on the Renaissance be without its artists? What would the world's history look like before the invention of the camera? And, most importantly, if our shared experience of time and place isn't safe behind the thick, stone walls of a museum, then where is it safe?

In The Judgement of Paris, Ross King makes a compelling argument that the history of a European middle class cannot be separated from the rise of Impressionism. And a recent exhibit on Impressionism at the Museum of Fine Arts made it clear that the city of Boston was deeply moved by the rise of the Impressionist art movement. That pieces have been stolen from the Gardner Museum and not seen again is a crime against more people than just the museum's management.

But all of this has been said before, and all of it has been stated more skillfully by better writers. So allow me to direct you to them; I will even arrange it all by cost of entry.

For free, you can read about the anniversary of the theft in this retrospective from The New York Times. Written by Tom Mashburg, a former investigator on the case, it is a good summary of events, but also a genuine reflection on the search for the missing art. Also, the museum itself has put together a great website in partnership with Google Art Project that is very informative. Find it here.

For under ten dollars (on Kindle or the Kindle App), you can read The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft by Ulrich Boser. Or, if you prefer a fictionalized account, you can read The Art Forger: A Novel by B. A. Shapiro.

If you would prefer the latest release, Stephen Kurkjian recently wrote Master Thieves: The Boston Gangsters Who Pulled off the World's Greatest Art Heist. It has a list price of $26, and is even available as a signed copy at the Harvard Book Store in Harvard Square, Cambridge.

And, of course, you could just visit the museum itself. Find all of the necessary information on their website.

Til next time!

Another Set of Panoramas

Well... as described. Have a look-see at another set of Boston panoramas.

Commonwealth Avenue

Public Garden

Til next time!

Panoramas

Truth be told, I was seriously considering titling this post with some kind of pun about the song "Paradise City" by Guns'n'Roses. That is, until I realized that "Panorama City" is, in all likelihood, a joke that has been made countless times in photography circles. And -- add it to the list, I guess -- I don't even like that song.

Without further adieu, here are the aforementioned not-associated-with-Guns'n'Roses pictures of Panorama City. Or, in this case, Boston.

Til next time!