Very Expensive and unwelcoming.
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7/20/2006
I lived in Boston and the greater Boston area for about 10 years; I went to university in the city and I also spent a long time working there after I graduated. There are plenty of things to do in the city: Historical tours, museums, live music, great breweries, great food, dance clubs, and plenty of professional sports teams to cheer on. One of my favorite neighborhoods is the North End due to the great food and mom and pop storefronts.
The winters can be bitterly cold and could also bring a fair amount of snow. Shoveling the snow off of your car to get it out its parking spot after a winter storm is not romantic. I hated summers there. The temperature would go into the high 80’s and the humidity would make you feel like you were in the Amazon: Hot, hazy, and humid…horrible. The fall is simply fantastic: The leaves on the trees turn beautiful colors and the humidity goes away.
It is very difficult to make friends in Boston. Bostonians seem to become easily irritable over trifles and even tend to be generally on the cusp of being very rude and ill-mannered: Not a friendly, laid back or approachable population. I lived there for 10 years and most of my friends were from out of state. As a minority, I was often surprised and baffled at how comfortable and casual the locals (not an overwhelming amount of people…just enough to make you concerned) were at making derogatory racial comments: In a so-called liberal city no less.
The cost of living (especially housing) is not to be easily scoffed at: it is very expensive to live in Boston especially if you have children. A one bedroom, one bath condo can easily cost over half a million dollars.
Driving in Boston is a sheer nightmare. Most of the streets are not grids (the Back Bay is though) like in New York City or Washington, D.C. The city streets are always heavily congested and parking is difficult. The “Big Dig” hasn’t helped matters either. Overall, I don’t regret living in Boston. However, I am very happy I don’t live in Boston anymore.
Wil | Middleboro, MA