Editing Boston (section)

===Understanding the region of Greater Boston=== 
[[File:Ngf_boston_neighborhoods.png|90px|thumb|left|Areas of Boston]] 

Boston "proper" is quite small, but the city is surrounded on all sides by other, smaller cities, which are also divided into distinct neighborhoods. There is a strong chance that your host might not technically live in Boston itself, but in one of the neighboring cities. When searching for a host in Boston, you may wish to use the "within miles/kilometers" option for this reason. Boston-proper's population is approximately .5 million residents, but the Greater Boston Metropolitan Area is home to about 5.3 million residents. You can impress the locals by understanding that visiting Boston means you are also visiting places like Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline - all independent cities on the subway system. For example, the well-known Harvard University is in Cambridge, with only some of its graduate schools and athletic areas located across the river in Lower Allston (part of Boston, not Cambridge). 

Despite its small size, Boston-proper includes neighborhoods that are also referred to as if they were separate cities, such as Allston, Brighton, Southie, Dorchester, etc. - all of which are valid "cities" when used to send post-mail, and within each neighborhood are often one or more [http://notfortourists.com/Features.aspx?ID=289&city=BO special squares]. Many of the Boston neighborhoods were independent towns before they were incorporated into Boston. These new sections of the city kept their street names, leading to confusion as several main streets shared the same name. A perfect example is Washington Street - there are at least 4 distinct streets with this name, from Charlestown in the northwest, to Brighton in the southwest, neither of which connect with the "main" Washington Street in the South End. For these reasons, '''if you are using GPS  (satnav) or meeting locals, please try to use the name of the neighborhood, rather than simply "Boston", to reduce confusion.'''

When visiting Boston, it can be helpful to know a few local abbreviations. Locals love to shorten the names of neighborhoods, major streets, and even common chain-stores. South Boston (not to be confused with the South End) becomes Southie, while East Boston is shortened to Eastie. Jamaica Plain is usually referred to as JP. Conversely, Allston and Brighton, adjacent sections of Boston incorporated around the same time, are often combined to Allston/Brighton. Massachusetts Avenue is almost always called Mass Ave., while Commonwealth Ave becomes Comm Ave. In the morning, locals may ask you if you want DD - local coffee chain Dunkin' Donuts. If you're confused, just ask. Locals are used to getting lost in their own city, and understand when visitors can't navigate the same maze! '''You might even find someone offering to help you find your destination if you simply open up a map and act as if you are lost.'''