Hub snubbers

Phil Hunt never goes into Boston. He owns a house in Rockland, has a job in Quincy, and works part time at his father's gun shop in Weymouth. When he's not working, he enjoys playing sports -- he bowls at Timber Lanes in Abington, plays pickup basketball at Weymouth High School, and flag football in Brockton.

But go to Boston, the so-called Hub of the Universe? Hunt says no way -- it's too much of a hassle. Who wants to wait around for a train or bus, or drive on traffic-clogged roads?

``And parking is too expensive," said Hunt, 29. ``It's easier hanging around here."

For some people who live south of Boston, the pros of visiting the Hub -- for restaurants, theaters, museums, Fenway Park -- are outweighed by the cons of traffic, parking, and distance. So they snub the Hub, and only go into the big city when it's absolutely necessary -- for a business meeting, a medical appointment, or to pick up someone from Logan International Airport.

``Boston is center of cultural and civic life in the state. But it's not the only center," said Michael Goodman, director of economic and public policy research at the University of Massachusetts' Donahue Institute.

The explosive growth in Southeastern Massachusetts has brought with it more people, more development, and more things to do. Plymouth now has its own film festival, in addition to its historical attractions. Brockton has the Fuller Craft Museum, a new convention center, sports stadium, and its own professional baseball team. Stoughton in November became home to the state's first IKEA store, the Swedish furniture chain that is now a mecca for bargain-hunters from all over New England. And Quincy, the old city of presidents, these days draws many young people to its revitalized downtown area and its increasingly diverse shops and neighborhoods.

Will Holton, a sociology professor at Northeastern University, has met plenty of Hub snubbers: people who live close to Boston but avoid going there.

``There are people who travel halfway around the world to visit Boston, but they don't. It's kind of interesting," he said. ``If they don't work in Boston, they don't have to go . . . and they're very busy. They might know the cities they travel to. . . . New York, Washington, D.C. . . . better than they know Boston. For many adults, their knowledge of Boston is limited to memories of field trips when they were in school, because they have not done any sightseeing since."

Holton said it used to be that department stores and specialty shops were found only in big cities, and many Bay Staters had to do their shopping on Washington Street downtown or Newbury Street in the Back Bay. ``And that was it, if you wanted to be fashionable," he said. ``Certainly that's a big change. Now you can get it all where you live, or nearby, or pick up the telephone, or go online."

Gwen Fernandes, 52, hasn't been to Boston in years. Her last trip to the Hub was 11 years ago, when her daughter was attending Lasell College in Newton. For the past 28 years she's lived in the Assonet section of Freetown, a cozy community of 8,475 people. Boston is a 37-mile drive. Fernandes used to work as a secretary in a real estate company in New Bedford, only a 10-minute commute from her house. She gets her groceries in New Bedford and Taunton, and sometimes drives to her hometown of Dartmouth to shop at Wal-Mart and A.C. Moore.

``I wouldn't attempt to drive to Boston," she said. ``I certainly wouldn't be able to drive in that traffic."

And she's not alone. Fernandes is the membership chairwoman for the Freetown Lions Club, and she estimates that about 80 percent of the club's members don't venture into Boston much, if at all.

Amy Cortright, 29, also doesn't travel to Boston much. She never lived there, but the city used to be the hub of her activities. Now, she says she's just too busy caring for her 8-month-old, and can find everything she needs close to her home in Kingston. She drives to Hanover to shop at Trader Joe's and Good Health Natural Foods, and occasionally picks up groceries at the Stop & Shop in Kingston.

``For leisure activities, a lot of times I'll just stay in with my husband and new baby," she said. ``But even before the baby came, it was mostly local stuff."

She and her husband dine at local restaurants, such as the Sun Tavern in Duxbury, the British Beer Company in Pembroke, Tosca in Hingham, and Mount Blue in Norwell.

``We're both really into good food, but one of the best Indian places around -- including Boston is a little restaurant called Namasté in Plymouth," she said. ``And nothing beats Persy's Place in Plymouth for brunch on a weekend."

Indeed, the dining options in this region have improved, says Kevin Long, executive chef at Tosca. Tosca is one of 25 restaurants south of Boston featured in the 2006-2007 Zagat Survey of Boston restaurants. (Back in 1988, only nine area restaurants made the survey). Today, the list includes Bistro 712, Bon Caldo, and Byblos in Norwood; Coriander Bistro in Sharon; Caffe Bella in Randolph; Saporito's in Hull; Mount Blue in Norwell; Papa Razzi in Hanover; and Square Cafe and Rustic Kitchen in Hingham .

Tosca's stylish decor features exposed brick walls, thick wooden beams, imported tiles, and mahogany woods. Since it opened in 1993, customers have been flocking to Hingham to nibble on Tosca's Italian-inspired cuisine. The menu includes entrees such as baby ravioli stuffed with handmade ricotta, wood oven-fired pizza, or beef tenderloin on a bed of wild mushrooms, with crisped Yukon potato gnocchi, topped with green olive ``Gremolata" and ``Più Quattro Gusti."

``It's a beautiful restaurant, prime space with high ceilings," said Long, who lives in Rockland. ``You're almost getting a Boston dining experience, and then a little bit more. Why drive 35 to 40 minutes? We have people who walk to the restaurant for dinner."

Long also counts many Bostonians among Tosca's regular customers. It even has customers from the North Shore. ``They'll drive right through [Boston] to come here," said Long, who himself does visit Boston once in a while.

So, given the growing competition, how do Boston tourism honchos lure suburbanites into the city?

Pat Moscaritolo, CEO of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, has a strategy -- but then, he also has quite an insight into the Hub-snubbing phenomenon.

``I have two sisters who fall into that category," he says. For the record, they live north of Boston, in Marblehead and Swampscott.

Moscaritolo said his organization is working on a fall campaign, tentatively called ``Be a Tourist in your Hometown," that would be aimed at empty-nesters in the suburbs with disposable income. Part of the push includes plans to blunt the high cost of parking by asking garage owners who also own retail space to offer discounted parking for customers who visit their shops. He said bureau surveys indicate that many suburbanites have recently been scared off by news of Big Dig tunnel closures.

``Visitors are coming from Florida, from San Diego, and from New York," he said. ``This `Be a Tourist in your Hometown' is a way of letting regional visitors know Boston is still open and there's lots of things to do."

Another way Boston tourism types are trying to lure suburbanites: Boston Restaurant Week. All this week, participating Hub restaurants are offering three-course meals at discounted prices. (For information, visit www.bostonusa.com.)

No one has solid data on the number of Hub snubbers south of Boston. But Larry Meehan, director of public relations and tourism for the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, said he expects many of them to change their ways once the MBTA gets the Greenbush commuter rail line up and running next year.

``I know that there are a lot of folks in Scituate, Hingham, and Cohasset who are unhappy with this intrusion into the South Shore," said Meehan. ``But I guarantee that, in the long run, there will be a lot of South Shore residents who will begin to take the train into Boston, and it's going to change their lifestyle. It's going to be so convenient."

Boston's population has been declining for some time now, dropping from 801,000 in 1950 to 559,034 in 2005. But over the same period, many area communities have grown rapidly. Plymouth, for example, has seen its population swell from 13,608 in 1950 to 54,923 in 2005.

The population in Norton, 30 miles southwest of Boston and 15 miles north of Providence, has shot to 19,169. ``When I was growing up, there were 8,000 people here," said Norton Police Chief Bruce R. Finch Jr., a fourth-generation resident. ``We've certainly come a long way."

Finch travels into Boston occasionally, but says he has found Providence to be more accessible.

``My wife and I go to Federal Hill for the restaurants, instead of the North End, because we can be in and out of Providence in 30 minutes. From what I can tell, it's not that Boston's a bad place or dangerous," he said. ``It's just that Providence is close and convenient . . . and not a dump. It's nice."

Finch said the city offers a good selection of restaurants, gondola rides along the river, and the WaterFire Providence art sculpture that illuminates the city's downtown area. And T.F. Green Airport in nearby Warwick provides a good alternative to Logan.

Jim Dinsel, executive director of Norton's Council on Aging, said many local seniors do have to travel into Boston for medical care. But they dread the trip.

``I get calls from seniors looking for transportation for medical appointments in Boston," Dinsel said. ``They don't want to drive in and deal with the hassle of traffic and parking."

Ellis Flint, 67, of Freetown hasn't been to Boston in well over a decade. Earlier this summer, he settled into a lounge chair at Hathaway Park by the Assonet River, to watch his town's fireworks display with friends and neighbors.

A retired truck driver, Flint said he would rather attend such local Fourth of July festivities than trek into Boston for the concert on the Esplanade and fireworks on the Charles River. He said he had no plans to go into the Hub anytime soon.

``I have no reason to go there," he said. ``There's nothing there that interests me. If it was the only place in the world with a Home Depot, then I'd have a reason for going there."

Kay Lazar of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe.com.

What do you think?

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