Talk to me about moving to the East Coast.

[Maserschmidt]

@RandMcnally

I just received a really good package to go to graduate school in Boston. So, I’m dragging my family across the country.

I went and visited the school a couple of months ago and it was like I was in a completely different country (what’s the deal with tolls?). I was born and raised in California. When I was stationed outside of California while in the military I was mostly in New Mexico and Nevada.

So yeah, this will be an adventure.

A few things, speaking as a Texan transplanted to the Boston area. First, get used to commuting when there’s 6 to 12 inches of snow on the ground; that will slow things up, but it won’t shut things down.

Second, make sure wherever you settle that you’re okay with the length of the commute. My train ride into the city is about 45 minutes, and after 15 years here I’m okay with that. But I know people who moved say 75 minutes away because it was cheaper and grew to regret it.

Let’s see, what else. Drivers here are more polite than Texas (not sure about CA), don’t let 'me tell you any different. Half the time you put on a lane change signal they’ll actually let you in.

It gets cold here. I know it’s been mentioned, but it bears repeating.

Finally, a LOT of the area around New England is woods and hills, it’s fairly surprising. And along those lines, two hours of driving in any direction will get you somewhere scenic. ETA: though due East might be a bit traumatic.

[elfkin477]

@Skywatcher

Our relatives were in East Taunton, actually.

They seemed to like it just fine.

The Weir? That’s like saying Haverhill isn’t so bad when you’re really talking about Bradford. Of course the richest areas that rename themselves are nicest part of town.

[Telemark]

@Maserschmidt

Finally, a LOT of the area around New England is woods and hills, it’s fairly surprising. And along those lines, two hours of driving in any direction will get you somewhere scenic. ETA: though due East might be a bit traumatic.

I live within walking distance of Harvard Square and I go hiking or skiing or mountain biking every weekend. It does require a car and the willingness to drive a bit, but there’s lots of fun activity close to Boston.

[delsina363]

Hi fellow posters:

Boston girl here. Lived here all my life. Different areas of the city, including East Boston, South Boston, Malden, Winthrop, and currently Dorchester.

The city is beautiful, this is true. I was lucky to grow up in such a great place. We have beaches, lakes, history, etc. Also, you are so close to Maine, New Hampshire, and New York. My favorite place is the White Mountains in New Hampshire, just breathtaking, if you do move, you should visit New Hampshire.

The people ARE rude. I am sorry, but they really, really are. When I started to travel around the country, I was shocked, honest to God, that people can be so nice. When I took my girls to Texas last summer, they too could not believe the difference in attitude. There are times, like the bombings last year, were we will all actually come together, but do not count on any kindness on a daily basis.

The cost of living here is outrageous. I cannot imagine any place more expensive, other than New York, and maybe cities in CA and HI.

I am really debating now moving out to Texas to be near family there. I have a good job here, but it is always a struggle. I can only afford a 2 bedroom townhouse in the city, and it is pretty cramped.

Just one more thing, the whole state of MA shuts down at between 1:00 - 2:00 a.m. You are lucky if you can find a Store 24 open.

Good luck, and if you are moving here, and are looking to buy a townhouse right in the city, look me up

[msmith537]

Dress warm.

@robert_columbia

One thing to be aware of is that the east coast has what has been called the “megalopolis” - a gigantic piece of urban and suburban sprawl that stretches all the way from Boston to DC and also includes Hartford, CT, NYC, Newark, NJ, all of the NJ Turnpike, Camden, NJ, Philly, Wilmington, DE, and Baltimore. Few rural areas remain in this area. You can walk all the way from the White House in DC to the Inner Harbor of Baltimore through city streets and suburban-sprawl neighborhoods (miles of fast food, car dealerships, strip malls, and random crap). There are no farms.

This is also not entirely true. I mean unless you plan to walk down I-95 or the Boston Post Road. It’s not Buttfuck, Iowa, but there are plenty of small farms and quaint rural areas in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Upstate New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. My wife’s family lives in NJ and they get fucking bears in their yard.

In fact, living in Boston, you are only a few hours from places like Cape Code, Newport RI, Martha’s Vineyard, Acadia National Park in Maine, Killington, VT; Mystic, CT. Also, there are seasons. Plenty of places to go antiquing and apple picking if you’re into that shit.

I will second that Boston people are a bit standoffish. Perhaps New England in general. People there do seem strongly rooted in the towns they grew up in. So it can feel hard to break into social circles if you didn’t go to high school in Quincy or Malden.

Culturally, Boston can feel like a cross between pretentious, preppy Old Money and wicked reta’ded blue collar.

Note that North Station and South Station don’t connect directly. And neither are particularly convenient for connecting to the western suburbs. So just be mindful of that if you are going to school at BU and decide to live in the South Shore.

Oh, also driving in Boston sucks. Even compared to New York. At least Manhattan has a grid and 6 lane avenues. Boston’s just some incomprehensible spider web of one way streets and five way intersections you often have to share with a (T) light rail train. Of course the only thing worse than driving in Boston is taking the (T), which shuts down at midnight.

[Telemark]

@msmith537

Of course the only thing worse than driving in Boston is taking the (T), which shuts down at midnight.

The T shuts down at 1:00 normally, and on weekends now parts of it run until 3:00. Not 24/7 but it’s a start.

[edwards_beard]

@Skywatcher

Our relatives were in East Taunton, actually.

They seemed to like it just fine.

Taunton is currently going through a heroin epidemic. I’d stay clear. Same goes for Weymouth.

[Kiros]

Yeah, the only places the T kind of stinks is on the western Green Line extensions. Especially the B line. Because BU really needs six stops inside of about two-thirds of a mile.

[protoboard]

Is Richmond, Virginia a nice place to live?

[tonyfop]

Okay, first the credentials. I grew up in NY, then joined the Navy. I was stationed all over the place, including California and Maine. While in Maine we took frequent weekend trips to Boston.

I liked California (Ventura County) much better. Beach all year, but if you wanted snow, Big Bear was two hours away. Then you could go back to the beach.
You will listen to what everyone says about the seasons, but your brain will not be able to parse how long they really are. Especially winter in New England. Just when it starts to warm up, you will get another 3 inches of snow for good measure.

But, the closeness of everything on the East Coast is hard to imagine, also. Train ride to NY, Philly, DC? No problem. Do it! Drive up to Maine in the Autumn to see the leaves. Go up to Mt. Washington in the summer so that you can get a dumb sticker. There is so much to see and do, take advantage of it, because when the white stuff starts to fall, you ain’t going anywhere.

Oh, and Boston is a really good sized city. It has everything that New York has, only less of it. NYC can be overwhelming if you are not with someone who knows their way around. Boston fealt just right, except for the spider-web like streets that have been mentioned. I was trying to get to a B&B near Fenway one time, and I kept getting to the same 5 way intersection next to the ballpark, but I could not make a right turn. So I tried like different ways until i finally found where I was going.

[John_Mace]

If you’re used to driving in the left lane at any old speed you desire (like so many idiot drivers in CA do), be prepared for some guy to come racing up behind you and getting agro on your ass. As it should be!

[Telemark]

@tonyfop

Oh, and Boston is a really good sized city. It has everything that New York has, only less of it.

I live in Boston and love it, but NYC really does offer things than can’t be found in Boston. There are so many cultures that have critical mass in NYC and thriving communities that Boston doesn’t. And the arts scene in Boston is good but it’s an order of magnitude less than what you can find in NYC.

But NYC is an easy weekend (or very long day) trip away, and you don’t have to put up with the immense size of NYC the rest of the time. You can get all those things when you need them, and for the other 95% of the time you have what you need in Boston.

[madmonk28]

I’m an east coast guy and I like it, but I could see how some people don’t. I think it can be kind of intense and aggressive. What I like about DC is that people talk about some pretty interesting things: a lot of people are doing some pretty interesting work and you can get in the deep end of a conversation pretty quick. My visits to the west coast were nice, but people just didn’t seem as sharp, I couldn’t live there, but that’s because I’m from here. The one rule to remember when living in a new culture is that it’s not better or worse, just different.

[TriPolar]

@madmonk28

The one rule to remember when living in a new culture is that it’s not better or worse, just different.

This exactly. Except that the east coast is better than the west coast. But otherwise, this.

[Quercus]

@even_sven

Invest in a serious winter coat. It took me four years to finally pony up a few hundred bucks for some serious down, but it was a world of difference when I did. And remember the hat and gloves are not decorative accessories like they are back home. They are key parts of your cold strategy, and you will hate life if you walk out without them.

I tend to disagree on the winter coat thing. Sure, can’t hurt, but what’s more important is to get out of the idea that you wear a shirt, one fleece or sweater, and a heavy coat. Having grown up in a milder climate, I was much happier once I got comfortable with wearing one fleece as part of your normal indoor attire, then adding another fleece over it when you go out. Or whatever mix and match combination of layers works for you. But, especially if you’re going to do any walking, hiking or anything else outside, go for layers (including a hat) not a single giant coat. FWIW, I go through the winter wearing generally just an uninsulated Gore-tex raincoat as my winter coat; I get insulation from a fleece underneath it.

@even_sven

The Mexican food sucks. Oh my god does the Mexican food suck. Maybe Boston is better, but DC is the worst.

Yeah, there are lots of Latin Americans in Boston, but not that many actually from Mexico. So don’t expect a great Cal-Mexican food, look for Cubano sandwiches, or maduros, or papusas, or whatever the little place in your neighborhood does.

@msmith537

In fact, living in Boston, you are only a few hours from places like Cape Code, Newport RI, Martha’s Vineyard, Acadia National Park in Maine, Killington, VT; Mystic, CT.

Everything is close here in miles (not always in time, at rush hour…). If you’re from anywhere but LA/SF/Seattle, you will be surprised at how people think going 50 miles is a major expedition (Oregonian: “Hey, we’d drive 50 miles to get lunch!”). But remember that in Eastern Massachusetts you won’t be going those 50 miles at 85 mph, and that there’s a heck of a lot more within 10 miles than there was within 10 miles of Nowhere, OR.

And make sure you know the public transit options before settling into a living place. The vast majority of people working in Boston/Cambridge do NOT drive; they take the T, commuter rail, or walk/bike or something.
If you think New Englanders are rude, the best way to think about it is that they assume you have worthwhile, important, things to do with your time, and that they think it would be impolite to waste that valluable time by chattering on at your for ten minutes instead of just giving your your coffee when you might be running late for giving a lecture, or making an opening statement in court, or doing brain surgery or whatever.
Also, you really don’t want to hang outside and chat in zero degree weather, even if you don’t have to be anywhere in particular.

[Telemark]

@Quercus

If you’re from anywhere but LA/SF/Seattle, you will be surprised at how people think going 50 miles is a major expedition (Oregonian: “Hey, we’d drive 50 miles to get lunch!”).

In my experience this isn’t true for any group in New England *except *for folks from Rhode Island. It’s a major expedition for them if they have to cross any bridge, and living in RI pretty much ensures a bridge within 10 miles of your house.

[TriPolar]

@Telemark

In my experience this isn’t true for any group in New England *except *for folks from Rhode Island. It’s a major expedition for them if they have to cross any bridge, and living in RI pretty much ensures a bridge within 10 miles of your house.

That’s only due to the unusual properties of the space-time continuum within the state borders. Cranston is too far to bother driving to, but anyone will hop in the car and drive to Maine for the weekend.

[Maserschmidt]

@Telemark

In my experience this isn’t true for any group in New England *except *for folks from Rhode Island. It’s a major expedition for them if they have to cross any bridge, and living in RI pretty much ensures a bridge within 10 miles of your house.

Well hang on now, there’s another exception, which is “Shore crossing”. People who grew up North Shore think that driving to south of Boston is a long trek AND should be accompanied by banjo music. People who grew up South Shore wonder why anyone would ever, ever drive north of Boston, unless it’s a vacation trip that enters another state. Or perhaps to rob one of those snooty mansions.

[Telemark]

@Maserschmidt

Well hang on now, there’s another exception, which is “Shore crossing”. People who grew up North Shore think that driving to south of Boston is a long trek AND should be accompanied by banjo music. People who grew up South Shore wonder why anyone would ever, ever drive north of Boston, unless it’s a vacation trip that enters another state. Or perhaps to rob one of those snooty mansions.

See, I grew up in MetroWest, wondering why they were building all those lanes for 495. Who was going to drive out there in the fields? We were fine driving north or south, the mountains and the Cape were no problems. But going into the city, well, that required planning and provisions.

[Skywatcher]

@edwards_beard

Taunton is currently going through a heroin epidemic. I’d stay clear.

I was not aware of this. It would explain the disparaging remarks upthread.