How does Maine not count as East Coast?
Comments on the towns/neighborhoods I know best.
Telemark is correct – most of his list, Rand, comprises Boston’s inner suburbs. You’ve got a few which aren’t (Waltham, Burlington, and Woburn, to name three), yet they’re considered part of the Greater Boston area.
As others have probably said in this thread, where you live depends on what you’re looking for.
The most important thing to come to terms with is that no matter where you settle, you’re going to have commuting issues at some point, whether it’s traffic or distance or weather. Depending on the T (aka mass transit) has its own issues. I’ve dealt with both in my working life, and, well…it’s just one of those things. People around here are very commuting-averse, probably because it’s such a small geographical area. Anything more than a half hour’s drive is considered a road trip. Driving past the 495 belt is considered practically being in another country, even though you’d be in central MA. For some reason that shocks a lot of people :eek:
(this is an example of our “provincialism”, btw)
Rules of thumb:
The closer you are to Boston, the more expensive things area. Scratch that. Make that UBER expensive, probably just below NYC and SF. I know people who have had to move outside the area , including RI, in order to afford to continue living here. The cheaper the rent, the longer the commute.
You may want to check out areas along the commuter rail (aka Purple Line). Most of the lines on it go to outlying suburban areas otherwise not accessible by mass transit. Can’t hurt!
Hey, Quincy isn’t THAT bad. There are three Red Line stations and a slew of bus routes. Usually any issues revolve around breakdowns on the T. It’s also a 8-minute drive straight into downtown barring any traffic (I know because I’ve timed it before ;))
Now that I think of it, taking the Red line to Park and the Green out to BC wouldn’t be the worst commute. But it would be subject to delays.
Yeah, it might be helpful to say what I’m looking for:
2 bedroom
Willing to do a 30-40 mass transit commute.
Would love a yard but OK with an apartment
This is true on the West Coast too. If I say “hi” or “good morning” to someone I usually just get a funny look, so I rarely do. 
Well, there’s actually a somewhat reasonable explanation for that, which is that Boston lies squarely in the middle of all the reasonable North/South routes. Which means that for about four hours every day, the traffic is miserable trying to get from north of the city to south or vice versa. Slightly better than it used to be since the Big Dig. I don’t know about the class divide you’re implying, but the traffic situation is enough to keep me from exploring the area south of Boston on a whim.
As for the “unbroken megalopolis” – ah…not really. There’s a surprising amount of nothing not very far from one of the East Coast’s biggest cities. I know from experience that if you pull off Rte. 2 near Wachusetts looking for dinner or even a cup of coffee, you’ll be doomed to a disappointing drive through a woodsy wilderness 
To be fair, that’s a state park. 
The OP asked about Boston. Several people mentioned New York City. So we’re not talking about Maine.
How do you feel about a 30 minute bike commute?
This is probably true.
It’s dirty and expensive and crowded and everyone jay walks.
Winters are bitter, Springs are muddy (and bitter), Summers are muggy, and Autumns - well, yeah, Autumn is (almost) worth the rest of the year.
The roads are horrible and the drivers are worse.
It’s full of arrogant intellectuals AND the prideful ignorant.
I love it, but am not blind. Still, I do not want to hear how much better it is where you are from in six months or so.
I’d be ok with it were it in Davis. I’m a bit apprehensive about that in Boston.
I’m definitely second guessing this offer. Anything closer than Worcester is obscenely expensive.
The Boston area definitely isn’t for everyone. I moved here against my will and am looking forward to the day that I can get out 10 years from now after my girls are out of high school. I love the immediate area where I live but I had to do tons of research to find it plus some trial and error. Frankly, I look at it exactly like I would a prison sentence but other people see it as utopia. You have to decide for yourself which category you fall into.
In your situation, I know what I would do. I would get a semi-decent apartment in Allston/Brighton or Brookline, get my degree and then get out. It really is the best city for higher education in the world and the other contenders are not even close. If you can make it for a couple of years like most people in your situation do, it would probably be worth it. I would look at it as a temporary situation for advancing your knowledge rather than a long term resettling however. Pro-tip - if you have kids that may be in school while you are too, Brookline is very expensive but the schools are among the absolute best in the U.S. and near the top of the world. It is worth paying a few hundred dollars a month in extra rent to get them into that school district.
Thanks. Eliania is only 1 1/2 right now, but seeing as this is a seven year program, schools will come into play sooner rather than later.
My GF moved from Los Angeles, where she lived most of her life, to the college town in upstate New York where I live.
Her bits of culture shock?
- Green is the dominant color in the landscape, not brown.
- The horizon is visible only from high hilltops or along one of the Great Lakes.
- Snow, heavy rain and thunderstorms.
- Driving in snow and rain.
- Two lane roads lined by deep ditches instead of curbs, and a relative lack of wider roads. Busy city streets in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse are often just two traffic lanes wide, compared to four or six even for minor streets in LA.
- Absence of billboards and sign clutter.
- No traffic or police helicopters.
- Toll roads.
- Nearly nonexistent Mexican-American population. “Hispanic” means Puerto Rican.
- On a related note, lack of day laborers.
- Predominance of old housing that would be considered unlivable in any other part of the country - 7’ ceilings, no closets, tiny rooms, etc.
- HUGE supermarkets (Wegmans and Tops), but no TJ’s or Whole Foods.
- Mediocre malls, dominated by mid-end and local merchants.
- Local standard of “unbearable traffic” being waiting for more than a minute at a traffic light.
Otherwise, she loves it here, and surprisingly, loves the weather.
So did he eventually pass on the offer?