by WalkWithMe1948

Created on: May 04, 2008   Last Updated: December 09, 2008

Boston - one of my favorite cities and the place where the American Revolution first began, is the capital and largest city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The population in 2006 was almost 591,000. Together with Cambridge and Quincy, this entire metropolitan area is the 5th largest in the United States with a total population of 4.5 million. Boston has a vast and interesting array of industries and commerce.

Boston is the center of higher education and healthcare research in the United States and the economy of this area is based on finance, technology (primarily biotechnology) research and tourism.

Boston's leadership in research and biotechnology is built on the more than 100 colleges and universities in the Boston area. A quarter of a million students are attending college in the Boston and Cambridge area. Boston University alone is the city's fourth largest employer. Boston's colleges and universities have an economic impact on the region not only because they are major employers - but also because they attract high-tech industries to the city, including hardware and software companies as well as biotechnology companies such as the well-known Merck and Co. Because of the biotech companies, Boston receives the highest amount of funding from the National Institute of Health of all cities in the United States.

Boston is also an international center for financial services specifically mutual funds and insurance. The city is also regional leader in major banks including the well known Bank of America. It is also a center of venture capital and probably another main reason so many biotechnology companies are located in this area. And if all of this is not enough, Boston is a center for printing and publishing with a number of well-known publishing companies located in the Boston area.

The Port of Boston is alive and thriving as one of the most modern and efficient container ports in the United States. Currently part of the port is leased to Boston's Autoport for the import and distribution of automobiles. This port handles more than 1.3 million tons of general cargo, 1.5 million tons of non-fuels bulk cargo and 12.8 million tons of bulk fuel cargo yearly.

Cruiseport Boston is now considered the fastest growing high-end cruise market in the country. It is estimated that the Boston Industrial Park will serve over 233,000 cruise passengers this year.

Tourism is also a large part of Boston's economy. Records from 2004 show that tourist spent almost 8 billion dollars

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