“NBC and the RNC both had a concern about Boca Raton because it sounded snooty, was not a real city, like holding a debate in Beverly Hills.” This quote refers to the nationally televised presidential debates that will take place in January on the FAU campus, but could have been about anything taking place in Boca Raton. The city is perpetually stereotyped and maligned in both local and national media and I don’t know about you, but I am tired of it.

How dare anyone say that we are not a real city? We have a strong city government that works to appropriately manage growth, lots of hardworking local businesses, flourishing schools, a vibrant cultural community, and active charitable organizations. We might have more than our per capita share of restaurants and plastic surgeons, but we are still a true society of concerned and active citizens.

Boca Raton is by no means the most affluent city in South Florida yet it gets a bad rap as being full of rich snobs. Sure there are lots of wealthy folks here, but there are just as many if not more in places like Palm Beach and Jupiter Island. More importantly, there is a broad spectrum of individuals living in Boca. There are soccer moms, retirees scraping by on Social Security, working professionals, families on welfare, college students, Democrats, Republicans, people of all religious faiths – in short, a true community of people who chose to make their home here.

I would like to use this blog to highlight the amazing things that make Boca a real city and intend to feature organizations, events and people who contribute to making our town special. Of course, I’ll be starting from my own experiences but if you have someone or something that you think is noteworthy, please let me know by responding to this blog. I’d also like to start keeping track of movies, books, magazines, and news articles that refer to Boca and checking them for derogatory connotations. Let me hear from you so that we can combat the Boca Raton character assassination!

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