I learned to scull on the Charles 15 years ago, shortly after moving back to Boston, and I now row out of a boathouse on the Boston-Cambridge line, just past the Boston University Bridge. On mornings when the water is particularly still and glassy, I like to row downstream, heading toward the Museum of Science with the Back Bay skyline to my left, MIT to my right. This is pure bliss to me, the ideal blend of solitude and city life. I lose myself in the rhythm of the stroke, in the steady whoosh of oars against water. On either side of the river, rush-hour traffic is likely to be grinding to its morning halt.
Car horns start to blare, brakes squeal, the city begins to stir.
And I ease along past all of it. In a way that's so particular to Boston, that reflects both its quiet dignity and its vitality, I'm in heaven. Better yet, I'm home. Although housing is expensive, those who can afford to live here enjoy one of the best climates in the country as well as access to redwood forests and the beautiful California coast. Although each has a distinctive character, all three cities share affordability and a comparatively mild climate that make them attractive to refugees from the North.