I’ve visited Boston a few times for conferences, etc. and as a result, have generally parked in garages or campus lots. But many people tell me that driving and parking in Boston is the most difficult of any city in the U.S. Here’s an article to support that position from the Boston Herald:

To park or not to park may seem like an easy decision, but with too many parking signs on some Boston streets and too few on others, many Hub motorists are left confused and angrily calling for fines to be tossed out. . . Some complained signs were placed too high on poles or faced the wrong direction, while others called for tickets to be overturned because they couldn’t decifer which of the multiple signs near their car applied. . .

Boston Transportation Department spokesman James Mansfield acknowledged the city “tends to oversign'’ and that markers aren’t always perfect. . . The Herald review also found scores of complaints about broken meters, meter maids allegedly making mistakes on times and dates and claims that streets weren’t cleared of snow. . . “We sometimes make mistakes, and we’re not infallible,'’ Mansfield said. “There’s always room for improvement and we rely on the general public.”

Having lived in New York City for about a year and a half, I can vouch that parking there isn’t a whole lot of fun either. But at least most of the streets in Manhattan are arranged in a square grid so it’s a little easier to find your way around (presuming you know which streets are only one-way). But my experience is that it’s much easier to get lost in Boston than NYC.

Like the cliche goes, Boston is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.