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I am thinking of moving to Bosotn from Chicago. I decided Boston because it's still close to home but far away from home that I can get a new experience. Also, I always wanted to live on the East coast.
What are some good places to live?
Also, how is the nightlife for the 30plus year old Blacks?
How's the jazz scene?
I have an online business that generates my income so I am not concerned about work..........for now.
How easy is it to get to Philly and NYC from Bosotn?
I need to check cost of living compared to Chicago but to give you an idea: I am paying $600/month for studio. How are the rental costs in Boston?
How are the summers, are there events going on outside?
I am thinking of moving to Bosotn from Chicago. I decided Boston because it's still close to home but far away from home that I can get a new experience. Also, I always wanted to live on the East coast.
What are some good places to live?
Also, how is the nightlife for the 30plus year old Blacks?
How's the jazz scene?
In the city of Boston, AA folks tend to live in Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan. In the suburbs, Randolph, Milton, Lynn, and a few other towns. And there are plenty of diverse neighborhoods such as the South End and JP, South End being the best of the lot. The jazz scene here has become rather lackluster. The South End and Roxbury was home to many great jazz venues that hosted all the greats. Now there is only really one - Wally's. Bob the Chef's closed last year and Slade's is still open but changed hands and has become more pop and Latin than Jazz. I'll bet CHI blows BOS away for jazz. Unless you're a college student, Boston is probably not the best town for nightlife. It's known for history and has nice oceanfront access.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChicagoRon
How easy is it to get to Philly and NYC from Bosotn?
I need to check cost of living compared to Chicago but to give you an idea: I am paying $600/month for studio. How are the rental costs in Boston?
How are the summers, are there events going on outside?
Philly is a little far removed - a helluva lot of traffic in between here and there. Sometimes they have a cheap airfare special for like 60 bucks o/w. NYC couldn't be easier. We have buses that leave twice an hour for $15.
In the South End and other parts of Downtown you're looking at about at least $900 for a studio. Roxbury and more outlying neighborhoods are cheaper. Generally BOS is about 40% more expensive that CHI.
Summers are great just like in CHI. Both summers and winters are a little milder here than CHI. We have riverfests, sweet ocean towns, parades, parties, festivals, and the fourth of July is awesome.
To generally compare BOS to CHI, I would say this. BOS is smaller, the people are less friendly, the driving here is more aggressive. BOS has less to offer than CHI. BOS beats CHI for the ocean, the history. BOS is more refined than CHI. BOS is much safer the CHI, far lower crime rate. We are more pedestrian, it's more energetic here, though smaller. BOS is trashier but the buildings are cleaner. Boston removed all the unsightly elevated railways and put them underground - that's definitely and improvement. While Bostonians are less open and friendly with strangers, we are also less intrusive. The street grid is spaghetti but Bostonians love to give directions. And like all East Coast cities, Boston is a fast paced society.
Generally Ron, I'd say you'll find Boston to be upscale, modest, demure and sophisticated, but smaller, more limited, and more provincial that CHI. Frankly my best advice to you is to choose NYC. It's got everything BOS has in its back pocket and then 10 time more. And then you could visit BOS fwiw whenever you like with easier access to PHL and of course DC which also has a lot to offer.
Last edited by xS☺B☺s; 06-14-2008 at 12:07 AM..
Reason: grammar
What are some good places to live?
Boston's transportation is radial. Just a reminder that car insurance can easily be $1000+/yr depending on your age, where you live, .... etc. Monthly Parking in downtown Boston garage is $400/mo. It is not easy to get from here to there using public transportation. This is the Boston public transportation website MBTA.com > Official Website for Greater Boston's Public Transportation System
how is the nightlife for the 30plus year old Blacks?
No idea about night life... Although city of Boston has 25% Black(2000 census), just keep in mind that MA's black population is 6.9% (2006 estimate). Based on what I see, I think that percentage is shrinking as the Universities, hospitals, Developers are taking over.... affordable housing... is reducing... I see more and more luxury condos going up.. old buildings converting to medical buildings and classrooms.
How's the jazz scene?
As previous poster says... very small...check out Cambridge, MA.
check cost of living compared to Chicago
Go to cnn money, I'm sure they have a cost of living calculator. In general... 20% more...
Groceries will cost: 8% more
Housing will cost: 28% more
Utilities will cost: 15% more
Transportation will cost: 1% less
Healthcare will cost: 19% more
I am thinking of moving to Bosotn from Chicago. I decided Boston because it's still close to home but far away from home that I can get a new experience. Also, I always wanted to live on the East coast.
What are some good places to live?
Also, how is the nightlife for the 30plus year old Blacks?
How's the jazz scene?
I have an online business that generates my income so I am not concerned about work..........for now.
How easy is it to get to Philly and NYC from Bosotn?
I need to check cost of living compared to Chicago but to give you an idea: I am paying $600/month for studio. How are the rental costs in Boston?
How are the summers, are there events going on outside?
Thanks for all the answers
P.s.-I will be visiting in the fall/2008
cr~
I grew up in Chicago (and Chicago area) and spent the last nine years in Boston. They have a very comparable feel in terms of the people-- northern industrial town, pretty friendly, pretty straightforward.
As far as where to live, do yourself a favor and live near the T. Driving in Boston is expensive and no fun (crazy, non-grid roads and an every-man-for-himself driving style). You can do very well with no car or with a ZipCar subscription (shared cars that are kept around the city).
I lived in Jamaica Plain, which is about as progressive and diverse an area as I've ever seen. Right now, I wouldn't recommend Mattapan, because they seem to have a disproportionate number of shootings going on. Another area to stay away from is Charlestown-- a cabbie described it to me as having problems with bigotry. Before I could comment on how terrible racism is, he followed up with, "They really don't want you there if you're not Irish." I'm sure that's softened a bit, but not enough to risk it.
Can't speak at all to nightlife for 30+ blacks. Keep in mind Boston is a HUGE college town. There are something like 130,000 college students in the Boston area. So much of the nightlife is geared toward that set. The upside of this is that most of them leave in summer, so when the weather is great, you can get parking spaces, dinner reservations, drive around more quickly, etc.
Jazz-- it's not Chicago. Wally's is good on Mass Ave. The Regattabar in Cambridge is a big jazz venue-- although I thought it was small and incredibly noisy (ice machines clattering and waiters talking during ultra-quiet piano solos, etc.) Berkeley School of Music occasionally hosts some good performers. It's not as much randomly out in the clubs, though.
Cost of living is STEEP. With all those students, you're competing big time for rentals and the landlords know it. When I moved in 9 years ago, the only thing I could find for $500 bucks was a single room in a (didn't know it was illegal) rooming house with 1 bathroom, 6 cats, 2 dogs and 5 people. Luckily I only had to stay there 6 months.
The mayor has clued in a bit since then and forced lots of the colleges to build student housing, but it's still pretty bad. Be prepared for a shock and a roommate. FYI Jamaica Plain is one of the most vocal and active communities about affordable housing-- don't know if you'd qualify, but keep it in mind.
As far as stuff to do, the entire East Coast is your oyster. If you're used to driving midwestern distances to get places, you'll find the East Coast loaded with interesting destinations. Chicago is an amazing town, but once you leave the metropolitan area, the vast proportion of what you're looking at is cornfields. Out East, you'll hit another historic/scenic/well-known area every 40 minutes or so. I wouldn't advise driving into NYC unless you've got the patience of a saint and the nerves of a Marine, though.
Agree w/ advice offered so far. People left out the Amtrak train, though, which runs from Boston to New Haven, NYC, Philly, and D.C. Also, north to Portland, Maine. or south to Providence, R.I. It's a pretty good way to travel the northeast corridor.
Great answer. I expect to read that review of the 2 cities in the travel section of a newspaper. It was well written.
I did consider NYC as well. I figured If I am going to do it, I may as well go all the way east coast.
Thanks again B,
cr
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bostonian08
In the city of Boston, AA folks tend to live in Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan. In the suburbs, Randolph, Milton, Lynn, and a few other towns. And there are plenty of diverse neighborhoods such as the South End and JP, South End being the best of the lot. The jazz scene here has become rather lackluster. The South End and Roxbury was home to many great jazz venues that hosted all the greats. Now there is only really one - Wally's. Bob the Chef's closed last year and Slade's is still open but changed hands and has become more pop and Latin than Jazz. I'll bet CHI blows BOS away for jazz. Unless you're a college student, Boston is probably not the best town for nightlife. It's known for history and has nice oceanfront access.
Philly is a little far removed - a helluva lot of traffic in between here and there. Sometimes they have a cheap airfare special for like 60 bucks o/w. NYC couldn't be easier. We have buses that leave twice an hour for $15.
In the South End and other parts of Downtown you're looking at about at least $900 for a studio. Roxbury and more outlying neighborhoods are cheaper. Generally BOS is about 40% more expensive that CHI.
Summers are great just like in CHI. Both summers and winters are a little milder here than CHI. We have riverfests, sweet ocean towns, parades, parties, festivals, and the fourth of July is awesome.
To generally compare BOS to CHI, I would say this. BOS is smaller, the people are less friendly, the driving here is more aggressive. BOS has less to offer than CHI. BOS beats CHI for the ocean, the history. BOS is more refined than CHI. BOS is much safer the CHI, far lower crime rate. We are more pedestrian, it's more energetic here, though smaller. BOS is trashier but the buildings are cleaner. Boston removed all the unsightly elevated railways and put them underground - that's definitely and improvement. While Bostonians are less open and friendly with strangers, we are also less intrusive. The street grid is spaghetti but Bostonians love to give directions. And like all East Coast cities, Boston is a fast paced society.
Generally Ron, I'd say you'll find Boston to be upscale, modest, demure and sophisticated, but smaller, more limited, and more provincial that CHI. Frankly my best advice to you is to choose NYC. It's got everything BOS has in its back pocket and then 10 time more. And then you could visit BOS fwiw whenever you like with easier access to PHL and of course DC which also has a lot to offer.
It ain't over!
While what everybody has said about the lackluster jazz scene here is true, no one has mentioned two hot clubs that keep the faith: The Beehive (South End) and Ryles (Cambridge.) Scullers in Brighton, in the Doubletree Suites, draws some great acts and has awesome river views but the room is "space challenged" by numerous support columns and the acoustics are crappy.
There are all sorts of summer concerts and events going on all the time - ever hear of Newport? (lol) We Bostonians have both a waterfront "pavilion" and a outdoor venue in the town of Mansfield to catch lots of gigs at.
Boston's AA community is a mini-microcosm of Chicago's West and South Sides and southern suburbs. There are "ghetto" areas and middle-class neighborhoods woven into the city's three, adjoining, "traditionally" Black sections. A fourth section, Hyde Park, doesn't resemble its Chitown namesake much - no prestigious university within its boundaries, predominantly blue-collar except in the Fairmount vicinity. That part of town initially saw a good bit of violence as the invisible racial boundary with next-door Mattapan gave way, shades of the Windy City, but nowadays most of the community is safe and quiet. Demographic transition is ongoing but far more gradual than was the case in the '80s. Roslindale and Jamaica Plain are far and away the most comfortably diverse city neighborhoods.
Greater Boston's upper-middle-class and well-to-do Blacks are a discreet lot. Within the city limits, they can be found in enclaves such as Mt Bowdoin and Jones Hill and Codman Hill (Dorchester), "H Block" (Homestead and Harold Sts, and Humboldt Ave) and Elm Hill Park and Fort Hill/Highland Park (Roxbury), and between Almont Park and Cummins Hwy as well as along and around West Selden St (Mattapan.) Another "nicer" locale surrounds the borderline between Dorchester's Lower Mills and Mattapan, adjacent to Codman Hill. Housing styles run the gamut from sprawling Victorian to newly-constructed rowhouse condo.
Even in the most crime-ridden corners of Boston, a $600/month studio would be hard to come by at best. Double that rent, and possibilities exist.
I live near Cambridge's Central Square, and love how just about every conceivable kind and size and shape and color and age of person alights from the subway with me at the neighborhood station. A native New Yorker, AA it should be added, who I was friends with during college used to make special trips over my way not just to hang out but to "get a taste of home" (NYC's Washington Hts.) Much of Cambridge is like this, race-neutral with all the advantages of urban living. But finding a place to hang your hat that's within your range of affordability would be a challenge.
IMPORTANT: Try, if you can, to plan your upcoming visit around Saturday, 9/27. There will be a par-TAY goin' on that day - the Beantown Jazz Festival. One of the South End's principal traffic arteries, Columbus Ave, is blocked off completely for the duration. Three sound stages are set up well apart from one another. Local and national acts show their stuff while vendors show theirs. It's like a Black Family Reunion with Whites invited, lol. My pale self is always on hand for the good times.
IMPORTANT: Try, if you can, to plan your upcoming visit around Saturday, 9/27. There will be a par-TAY goin' on that day - the Beantown Jazz Festival. One of the South End's principal traffic arteries, Columbus Ave, is blocked off completely for the duration. Three sound stages are set up well apart from one another. Local and national acts show their stuff while vendors show theirs. It's like a Black Family Reunion with Whites invited, lol. My pale self is always on hand for the good times.
Even though I think BOS's jazz is small potatoes by CHI standards, gg is right, the jazz fest is nice. However it's main sponsor went under, so check to see if it actually is going to happen before booking a room.
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I'm sure that's softened a bit, but not enough to risk it.
