If you lined up 50 people who go to Boston regularly, and asked them why they go, you may get 50 different answers. One would go to higher education. One would go to shop. One would go for medical treatment, at what I believe is the No. 1 medical community of our country.

Some folks go for sports, some for theater, some for nightlife, some for the history. And all this is just scratching the surface. I have one friend who only goes to Cambridge and Harvard Square, just across the St. Charles River and easily accessible by the subway system, the “T.”

I go because it is one of my two favorite cities in the USA, and I just love being there. I’ve been a connoisseur of cities ever since I went alone to New York City in my early 20s and fell in love with what a city has to offer. Then a few years ago, my husband and I had a chance to really compare Boston and NYC. We were going to NYC to be with my son, who lives there, for Christmas. We planned to drive to Boston, stay a couple of days, park at a guesthouse, take the train to NYC, stay a couple of days, then repeat the process coming home.

Reading, regal

I found I much prefer Boston! Boston is more beautiful, cleaner, safer and far more user-friendly. I love not only the look of the city, but the look of the people in the city. They all seem like college students or professors, always reading on the subways with their horn-rimmed glasses. The women have the loveliest hair, professionally cut, shiny, and when they go out in their long wool coats, they all look like Vogue models.

I would be happy living in Boston, or in the handful of other U.S. cities I consider great. I can live in a pleasant town near a great city and be happy, too, as I do now. I’ve rejected some towns because they were near a city I didn’t care for, or because they weren’t near anything at all.

It took me a while to warm up to Boston because I had come from large cities that were not user-friendly, and the rural nature of Maine was what I was seeking. But little by little, I ventured into Boston and found it to be picturesque, classy and with a vibe I definitely tuned into.

Leave the car behind

When I met my husband, we found a very satisfying system for going. I discovered some guesthouses in Brookline at Coolidge Corner. We would drive there directly, park, leave the car and take the subway everywhere.

We usually start by going downtown to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. Faneuil Hall was built in 1742 and has been called “the Cradle of Liberty” in honor of the speeches for freedom made inside its walls during our Revolutionary times.

Quincy Market was an open-air market, then buildings were added around 1826. But all this was declining into ruins until the 1960s when James Rouse, a city visionary, brought it back and made it the delight it is today.

Then we like to walk through Boston Common, down through Boston Gardens, cross the street and walk down Newbury Street. This street has shops, boutiques, restaurants and inns that are the trendiest in town, all in classic brownstone buildings.

We cut over to the shops at the Prudential and Copley Square, walk all the modern alleyways, marveling at the high-end shops and their prices. And if I’ve timed it right, we’ll eat at Legal Seafood; my favorite dish is baked salmon.

Another day we would start again at Quincy Market, then walk over to the spectacular wharf area around the Aquarium and IMAX, this area recently opened up and landscaped since the Big Dig took the highway underground. If my husband times it right, we end up in the Italian Section for dinner; his favorite dish is anything Italian.

Another day would be the Science Museum, only it takes all day.

We often end up in our Coolidge Corner neighborhood for shopping and dinner since we’ve found an excellent ethnic cafe and a Mexican restaurant. There’s a great neighborhood park that my husband found one spring when he was taking an early walk.

We love the trolley tours, going during holidays, finding something new each time, just too much to covered here! Hmmm, I think I’ll go right now and call for reservations.

Dianne Russell Kidder is a writer, consultant and social worker, who is based in Lisbon. She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].