Tags: 
Nixon Street, Dorchester MA. Image via Google Maps
— Quincy Massachusetts News by Quincy Quarry News – News, Opinion and Commentary
Mayor annoyed
An old Facebook image
US News and World Reports just rolled out its top 150 cities to reside in the United States list.
Surely much to Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch’s chagrin, Quincy did not make the cut.
Granted, such best lists — especially those pimped by the Koch Maladministration — are often open to criticism, US News is one of the relatively few remaining longtime consequential national news media as well as has a long and for the most part at least begrudgingly accepted history of credibly enough ranking cities, states, colleges and universities, and the like.
Even so, this year’s list of best places to live per US News has some surprises as regards Massachusetts cities.
For example, while Boston made the list, it was somewhat surprising that the self-proclaimed Hub of the Universe came in at but a modest 88th on the list.
And for a couple of even bigger surprises, Worcester and Springfield made the list at 136 and 138, respectively.
Worcester, home of Turtle Boy!
Image via Atlas Obscura
Then again, consider the amenities in Worcester: they include a perfectly lovely art museum, a delightful combination zoo and ecology science museum, a total of eight well-regarded colleges and universities, the Boston Red Sox’s Triple A Woosox affiliate and its state of the art modern ballpark, and a handful of hospitals including a well-regarded research and teaching hospital.
None of which Quincy has by the way nor even merely but a movie theater for that matter.
And as for Springfield, its amenities include the Dr, Seuss Museum within the Springfield Museums complex, an MGM Casino, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as well as both a Smith & Wesson factory store and a service facility — two things alone that at least some Quincy locals can only dream of having.
Also, nearby by Springfield are The Big E and a SIx Flags amusement park, neither of which Quincy has anything even remotely similar.
Gone but not forgotten
Image via Cinema Treasures
Further, Springfield has two cineplexes with a total of 22 screens between them as well as several hospitals whereas Quincy has none of either.
In short, as well as in all fairness, one can see why Quincy did not make US News’ list of the top 150 cities to live in the United States.
.
But, but, but, Quincy has higher taxes, a soon to be grossly overpaid Lord Mayor and a fancy new bridge that is rarely used. And, and, and, lots of happy developers. It’s also a contender for illegal U-turn capital of Massachusetts with traffic patterns that would confuse an expert in chaos theory.
Mayor proposes to give City councillors a raise and the city councilors give the mayor a pay raise. Just imagine how much larger these pay raies would be if Quincy was on USs News and World Report list of 150 most livable cities in the US.
Isn’t my hackarama circle of life, well, you know.
Well, isn’t this just the cherry on top of Quincy’s cake? Boston, Springfield, and Worcester – cities with their own unique charms – are rated more livable than Quincy. Bravo, Quincy! It’s quite an achievement to be outshone by places known for their own struggles. I guess the local leadership has really outdone themselves in making sure Quincy stays in the shadows. Maybe our esteemed Mayor Koch can take a break from planning his next pay hike and focus on making Quincy a place people actually want to live in. Or perhaps he’s aiming for a different list altogether – “Top Cities for Political Comedy Gold.”