Living in Beacon Hill

 

Sydney Drummond

 

I was on my way to talk to an Emerson College student who lives in the neighborhood Beacon Hill in Boston, MA. I spent some time to observe the area while I walked to my friend’s apartment. The second I walked across the street from The Boston Common into Beacon Hill, the environment changed instantaneously. All the noise from traffic and people yelling was gone. At first the quiet was comforting and reminded me of where I grew up. As I walked further into Beacon Hill, I realized it was nothing like where I have ever lived, and I did not really enjoy it. The brick sidewalks were littered with white people in dark colored North Face jackets and women in tall boots that exactly matched their purses. I noticed a lot of women were wearing heels and they had to walk in the street to avoid the terribly uneven sidewalks. I started down Charles St. where most of the shops in the neighborhood are located. All the stores had the same look on the outside and gold fonts on their signs. Most of the shops were specialty stores with windows filled with expensive items. The clothing shops were filled with dresses that looked like something the First Lady would wear, though if Michelle Obama were shopping there she would be the only person of color in any of the stores. There were no signs about sales or any items that I could see that looked like they would be a reasonable price. The people walking around were either alone or with someone who appeared to be their significant other, and all of them were adults past their twenties. Every once in a while I would see a mother with her child. The kids were all less than five years old and bundled up in coats nicer than anything my mom would have bought me at that age because I would have ruined it in a week. When I got deeper into the neighborhood, it turned into all brick buildings with iron fences and handrails. Most of the buildings had steps up to the main door, which were normally shorter than the average height of a doorway. When I was walking around I felt like I was walking uphill the whole time. That mixed with the very thin, bumpy sidewalks makes it a difficult area to walk around. There were some runners and they were mostly dressed in matching Nike gear from head to toe. Then there were the dogs. Since it was sunny out, there were people walking dogs on every street. There were even two dog walkers who passed me and had to have at least eight dogs each. Some of the smaller dogs had jackets and sometimes shoes. I began to near my destination when I noticed how many people were on their phones. I see that pretty much everywhere now, but usually not when a mother is walking their child across a street or when a man is holding onto five dog leashes. All the cars would let people on their phones walk across first and no one was driving fast. No one looked frantic to get anywhere, but they were still walking with purpose. Everyone seemed to be heading some place important.

 

When I got to the right building I met up with my friend who lives in the neighborhood, Marissa Noblie. She is a twenty-one year old second semester senior at Emerson College studying documentary filmmaking with a history and psychology minor. Marissa and I met through our mutual friend Sierra because they both play on the Emerson women’s basketball team and I regularly attend their home games. She and her roommate have lived on Revere St for the past two years and will be moving out at the end of May. Since Marissa and Macy are young college students, they do not fit in with most of Beacon Hill’s residents.

 

When I got to her apartment she came to the front door and let me in. We walked up three flights of stairs to apartment number eight. Walking inside we entered the living room that included the kitchen and a little dining table. Marissa has long light brown hair and dark brown eyes, but the first thing you notice about her is her beauty mark on the left of her top lip.

 

“Sorry for the mess,” Marissa smiled and cleared off some of the clothes on the couch so we could sit down. The living room was filled with clean clothes from doing laundry and the kitchen counter was covered in empty beer cans from the night before. I started off asking easy questions about her major, age, and time as a student at Emerson. Then I began to ask about the neighborhood.

 

“My parents wanted me to live in Beacon Hill because it is a safe area. Compared to many of the areas in Boston it’s a very quiet neighborhood and I don’t hear of a lot of crime in the area.” She paused. “I also don’t have to take the train from here which is nice, cause I don’t have to waste money on it.”

 

Beacon Hill is considered one of the safest areas of Boston. It has a very low crime rate and there are very few occurrences when the police need to be called. Walking around the neighborhood, I did not see any graffiti or hear any sirens going off. I also did not see any homeless people in the area. I took what she had said about the safety of the area and asked if she had ever had any issues with crime and the police.

 

“Well,” she laughed and looked around, “There have been a few times when the cops were called on us for noise complaints, so I don’t think the neighbors like us too much.” She chuckled then began to discuss her neighbors and the types of people who live in the area.

 

“They’re all young professionals and people with children and stuff. So it can be kind of awkward because they are all very quiet and structured. Really not a lot of college kids in the area. It’s a lot of families with really young kids and people who work at places like the state house or I guess downtown.”

 

“So all adults really?” I asked.

 

“Yeah it makes it harder because I don’t know most of the people in the building or really anyone in the neighborhood.” She paused to think before saying, “It’s not bad though because I get really busy with stuff so I fit in well with the whole structured aspect of the neighborhood.” I assumed she was talking about how most people in the area lived very structured work lives and since she is an athlete and has an internship to work while attending school, her days are on a strict schedule as well.

 

We talked about the absurd amount of dogs in the area and how one of her neighbors is actually a dog walker for some people in the area. “I think they’re all adorable and I find it amusing how most people here don’t have time for their dogs. I mean to walk them on their own, because they pay someone to do it for them.”

 

The interview continued with us discussing our pets and how she missed home. After that the conversation was very casual and I could tell she was a lot more certain of the answers she was giving. She talked about how she enjoyed the quietness of the area and how she will miss her apartment even though it was very tiny.

 

After I finished the interview and I began my walk home I saw a well-dressed mother with a bundled up little girl crossing the street. I could not help but think, “I wish I could be her.” Then a realization hit me; I would hate living in Beacon Hill. I started to see the negatives of the area, from the lack of diversity to the unfriendly neighbors. Being in an area that is not welcoming to people of all ages and backgrounds is not the kind of place I would want to live in.

 

This historic neighborhood is filled with people who match the stereotypes assumed by those who live in other Boston neighborhoods. Once I moved to Boston my friends from Massachusetts tried to explain to me the different areas of Boston. They tried told me Beacon Hill was the rich snobby neighborhood filled with white people and good coffee. When I went there the first time late at night I felt very safe while walking down the streets but then a woman in a big fur coat walked by and glared at me and suddenly I no longer felt comfortable. It is not an inviting area to live in and I have always lived in places where the neighbors are welcoming and want to be my friend. Beacon’s snobby outlook on outsiders would make befriending anyone in the area difficult.

 

Marissa had to deal with these issues while living in Beacon Hill. Going to the neighborhood and really looking around made me see that it is not a good area for college students to live in. There is an obvious generational gap from Marissa’s age to the adults in the area. There are even articles in the Boston Globe about how Beacon Hill has a big “digital divide” from this gap and how it is keeping the area from changing. It is cut off from the hustle and bustle of downtown Boston and takes away the youth and diversity that is what going to college in a city is all about. Beacon Hill is a beautiful area with a rich history, but I would not recommended living there to anyone who wants to live in a welcoming community.

 

A bit about Sydney 

 

Sydney Drummond is a VMA major focusing on Post Production with a minor in Psychology. She is from Tulsa, Oklahoma, but hopes to move to California after graduation to persue her passion for film editing. She enjoys writing of all sorts but mostly focuses on short fiction stories.