Just How crazy is St. Pattys day? ( and the week before) (Boston: spring break, real estate)

[BK4FL]

Alright I hear the town goes crazy, but the week of the 14-21st is my spring break during that time I will be visiting to research a job, the area, and city as a whole and there isnt any other time for me to do it I find out in Jan if I will be staying with a friend or if I will have to get a hotel... is that too late to be able to get a hotel if plans fall through? I am uncertian if its more of a local thing or if tons of people needing hotels will flood the city..I guess it sucks and is cool at the same time hopefully I can keep focused on the task at hand..

[litlux]

Oh it's just a local event that is held in South Boston, and other than "Kiss me, I'm Irish buttons", a few rowdy drinkers, and the wearin' of the green, it is not a big deal is most of the city. Actually, it is sort of sad. Most of us try to avoid it. Back when Billy Bulger hosted the St. Patricks Day breakfast, at least it had some humor and grace. Boston's mayor, "mumbles" Menino and the new bunch of pols who go to it often put me to sleep.

You should have no problem getting hotel rooms, via Priceline if you want, and appointments for job interviews.

Now, Patriots Day, and the running of the Boston Marathon, that is different. The whole town and all those along the 23 mile route go all out for that event, and there is hardly a hotel room or downtown office operating that weekend. That's the real Boston holiday. It is in April.

[BK4FL]

Thanks.. I read some where that over 600,000 people came in town for it... So I started getting nervous

[ogre]

It's Boston's Mardi Gras, Beantown's own answer to Carnival! Every street jam-packed with boisterous, drunken celebrants all day long and late into the night, hotels all booked up a decade in advance . . .

And if you believe that, I have a real estate deal I'd like to interest you in. Truth is, LitLux described it exactly right. Except for the parade, any celebration is confined to St. Patty's Day itself, not the whole week around it. It's a big deal in some neighborhoods that are big Irish-American enclaves. I'm guessing that a job you're travelling from out of town to interview for probably is not in one of those neighborhoods. If not, then aside from the possibility that you MIGHT notice an unusual number of people wearing green, and if you stop into a bar in the afternoon it might be unusually busy, be playing Irish music, or be serving green beer, you really might not even know anything is going on. Just everyday life in an American city.

[LeavingMA]

I've heard the Savannah, GA is the place for St. Patty's Day. They dye the river green and I guess it gets pretty crazy.

[BK4FL]

Savannah gets like that.. all the hotel rooms booked in advance.. better to be safe then sorry... and no Im not intrestred in buying any property. something I would research if I had questions long in advance. St. Patrick's Day in Boston - Celebrate St. Patrick's Day Holiday - Parade Music Exhibits Corned Beef in Boston, America's Irish City

[litlux]

That estimate of 600,000 people attending the Boston St. Patrick's Day parade is all over the internet, but I could not find any reliable verificaton. Having been to several of them over the years, it might get as high as 100,000 but even that is a bit of a stretch.

I think whoever came up with these figures must have kissed the Blarney Stone.

In fact, I suspect they spent the night with it.

[eevee]

I'll be the first to admit that I never really know what day St. Patrick's day even is! I used to work in Quincy Market and it wasn't until I saw the crazy long line for the Purple Shamrock and all the people wearing green that I summed up it was St. Paddy's day. Don't know how rowdy it gets in Southie (I always made it a habit of avoiding Southie out of mostly unfounded fears), but for the rest of the city, it's business as usual, unless you're a bar. I used to look forward to Mickey D's Shamrock Shakes, but I don't think they sell these anymore, so for me, nothing to look forward to (then again, I'm not Irish). I don't think anyone really comes into Boston just to attend the parade, unless they're coming in from nearby 'burbs; surely no one flies in and stays at a hotel