How is it in Boston? (live, vacation, tree)

[Miss Hepburn]

Since I escaped Boston my third year...I would not be a good person to answer...
but
boy, was it charming that first year...exciting.
Lots to see and do...almost still a tourist.
That is all I can say.
I deliberately forget the bad stuff...but it's mostly when you are
in your car. Yikes!

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by robr2

It's better than 8:15 AM sunrises...

Nooooo I much much much prefer leaving work and feeling like it's not midnight.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Nooooo I much much much prefer leaving work and feeling like it's not midnight.

Personally I have a hard time getting my sorry butt out of bed in what seems like the middle of the night to me. Also, having kids walking to school or the bus in the dark doesn't make much sense.

[Nobodybody]

Eh, it's good.

[DontFearTheReaper]

I am considering moving to Boston, Massachusetts. I just have a few questions before I think of committing to a move there.

Here are my questions:

; What is the crime like? Is it bad? Is it good? From what I have seen it is ;relatively safe and clean for a large US City.

Overall, I'd say Boston is rather safe. Many of the areas that people around here consider to be rough are still fairly mild.

; What is the public education like? Is it any good, if I have children there later ;on?

I'd say that the K-12 public education system is superior to many parts of the country. Unfortunately, there are so many really good, expensive, private colleges in the area that the UMASS system gets the short end of the stick. Be prepared to spend a fortune if you want your children to have a good college education.

; Is the community good? Are the people nice?

The people can be really hit or miss sometimes. There are some intelligent and kind people around but there are a ton of "M*******s" who can make life miserable sometimes. There are some other people who are decent enough but are really reserved and just seem to have a stick up their butt.

;And how is the weather, I am from the Intermoutain West so I do know cold, but ;from I have heard the east is sort of a "new breed" of cold.

It's quite cold. I think the toughest thing is dealing with the fact that it's generally cold, dark and gloomy from October through May. June, July, August and September are all right, though.

; These are just some thoughts. It looks like a nice and historic city. Great ;downtown too.

It's okay. It's just too overpriced for what it offers. It can really be a struggle sometimes. Still, it's worth a visit. Come by in September and visit New Hampshire, Vermont and Montreal while you're at it. They're all really nice too and it's only a six hour road trip.

[mvpsharky]

;And how is the weather, I am from the Intermoutain West so I do know cold, but ;from I have heard the east is sort of a "new breed" of cold.

It's quite cold. I think the toughest thing is dealing with the fact that it's generally cold, dark and gloomy from October through May. June, July, August and September are all right, though.

I love it when people exaggerate the horrible weather in Boston. They act like its a dark frozen wasteland for half the year.

[Space_League]

Originally Posted by mvpsharky

;And how is the weather, I am from the Intermoutain West so I do know cold, but ;from I have heard the east is sort of a "new breed" of cold.

It's quite cold. I think the toughest thing is dealing with the fact that it's generally cold, dark and gloomy from October through May. June, July, August and September are all right, though.

I love it when people exaggerate the horrible weather in Boston. They act like its a dark frozen wasteland for half the year.

True we are into November now and the weather is still holding up with highs in the upper 60s all week. I think it is all fun and games through the new year. Snow is usually light and/or exciting during the holidays.

January and February are the worst with March close behind them. The rest of the year can be pleasant

[Whatsnext75]

March isnt that bad is it? By the end of March things typically aren't freezing...but still cold. December, Jan and February are THE WORST.

[Space_League]

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

March isnt that bad is it? By the end of March things typically aren't freezing...but still cold. December, Jan and February are THE WORST.

March is a little bit warmer than December by about 3-4 degrees on average. Average snowfall in December is also higher at 9" compared to 7.8" for March.


Psychologically I find March to be a worse month than December. By December I am ready for winter and the snow is a nice change of pace for the first few weeks. I wouldn't want to reach the holidays without a little bit of snow anyway and the snow is clean.

By March I am more than ready for winter to be over. February feels like such a long month and by March 1st I don't want another cold or snowy day for the next 9 months.

However March has more precipitation overall than December despite less snowfall. (March is the wettest month of the year) The combination of muddy trash filled snow/slushbanks and cold rainy days just aggravates me.

Spring never seems to come early enough for me. March SOUNDS like spring but it never really FEELS like spring

[bostonguy1960]

R: weather

Last Christmas Day saw a high of 65 degrees in Boston, am I correct?

NOBODY remembers?

Normal high in December is 37 or so...still unusually warm, right? It's NOT 25, 15 or zero...NO month here is! Same in January and February: ave. high is 35-37. Seems relatively balmy to me, considering many Bostonians would imply the highs are in the single digits most of the winter, with lows well below zero AND a foot or two of snow on the ground.

Most Christmas mornings this generation have NO snow on the ground; in fact the whole week before is often rain, or snow has already melted.

We never see a high of 3 or 5 in the worst of winter like Minnesota or Wisconsin will, for days at a time there, or a low of -10 or -15...not downtown, at least. Although it can be very gusty, so 18 degrees at 6 am is awful, I agree.

A couple years ago, the Pats played a night game at HOME in late December, and a few weeks later in JANUARY had another night game. Both were in the SIXTIES with rain at game time, one game I believe heavy rain.

But again, those poor New Englanders, always freezing...

Often in January and February, there's a stretch for a week or two or longer with no snow on the ground! Some years, we'll have a day or two or three with a high over 55 or 65. Ten years ago or so, it was 73 degrees at 3 am the first week of January...nobody reading this would believe me or remember, but I hate that weather in early January...that's why I remember. And it was in the low 60s a couple overnights earlier that week.


Yes, when it's bad, it's bad, especially last winter, but even then until the first week or so of January, we had had very little snow.

The official Christmas tree lighting on the Common, the first Thursday in December, usually has temps between 45-55 at 8 pm. I'd prefer some seasonal chill in the air for that event. However, one year, two inches of snow, (yes, snow...see, I admit it can snow here in /by early December some years) with snow still falling created a magical tree lighting and concert.

This is not the upper Midwest or Saskatoon, people...or even Syracuse!