Boston , General info:
9/10

Boston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The city is located in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the entire New England region.[4] The city, which had an estimated population of 590,763 in 2006, lies at the center of the Cambridge–Boston-Quincy metropolitan area—the 10th-largest metropolitan area (5th largest CSA) in the U.S., with a population of 4.5 million.

Boston , Cheap stuff:
9/10

Locals believe that the tacos and burritos at El Pelon Taqueria on Peterborough Street are the city's best cheap eats. If a service charge is not added to the bill, a tip of 15% to 20% is appropriate.

Boston , Different stuff:
9/10

Redbrick townhouses, verdant public gardens and historic landmarks wedged between Italian groceries, obsessed sports fans, some of the country's finest universities and the tastiest white clam chowder

Boston , Don't miss:
9/10

Boston Harbor Tours, The Mary Baker Eddy Library, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston Public Garden, ...

Boston , Food:
9/10

La Galleria 33, Mantra Restaurant, Locke-Ober, G'vanni's Steakhouse Italiano,...

Boston , Hotels:
10/10

Encore Bend and Breakfast

Encore is a Boston bed and breakfast in the historic and trendy South End neighborhood. The ideal alternative to typical hotel lodging, Encore Bed and Breakfast offers 21st-century comfort in a 19th-century town house.

Conveniently situated and beautifully appointed, Encore Bed and Breakfast is the ideal \"home away from home\" for business travel, vacations, honeymoons, and romantic getaways.

Boston , Safety:
9/10

The city has seen a great reduction in violent crime since the early 1990s. Boston's low crime rate in the last years of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first has been credited to its police department's collaboration with neighborhood groups and church parishes to prevent youths from joining gangs, as well as involvement from the United States Attorney and District Attorney's offices. This helped lead in part to what has been touted as the "Boston Miracle." Murders in the city dropped from 152 in 1990 (for a murder rate of 26.5 per 100,000 people) to just 31—not one of them a juvenile—in 1999 (for a murder rate of 5.26 per 100,000). In more recent years, however, the annual murder count has fluctuated by as much as 50% compared to the year before, with 60 murders in 2002, followed by just 39 in 2003, 64 in 2004, and 75 in 2005. Though the figures are nowhere near the high-water mark set in 1990, the aberrations in the murder rate have been unsettling for many Bostonians and have prompted discussion over whether the Boston Police Department should reevaluate its approach to fighting crime.

Oakland , General info:
9/10

Oakland is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Alameda County. Oakland is located in Northern California in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Combined statistical area#Largest CSAs-twelveth-most-populous metropolitan area in the United States. Based on 2006 statistical data, Oakland is the 44th-largest city in the United States.

Rand McNally named Oakland as having the best weather in the United States.

Oakland is a major West Coast port, and is home to several major corporations including Kaiser Permanente and Clorox, as well as corporate headquarters for nationwide businesses like Dreyer's and Cost Plus World Markets.

Oakland , Cheap stuff:
8/10

Like any big city...

Oakland , Different stuff:
9/10

Symbols of Oakland’s arrival as a modern 20th century metropolis -- the Beaux Arts-style City hall and Rotunda Building, the Tribune Tower, and the Art Deco-style Financial Center building

Oakland , Don't miss:
8/10

Dunsmuir House, Grand Lake Theatre, Jack London Square, Lake Merritt, Children's Fairyland, Parkway Theatre, Paramount Theatre, Preservation Park, USS Potomac-National Historic Landmark

Oakland , Food:
9/10

Jack's Bistro, Horatio's, Garibaldi's on College, Citron, ...

Oakland , Hotels:
8/10

Clarion Suites Lake Merritt Restaurant & Hotel, Jack London Square Lodging, Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Oakland Airport, Regency Inn, North Oakland, Executive Inn & Suites Embarcadero Cove, Oakland Marriott

Quality Inn, Imperial Inn, Fairfield Inn by Marriott

Oakland , Safety:
9/10

Not so safe in here ...