For everyone looking to move to Boston - read this before you do. (apartment, hotel)

[cityx]

[quote=miu;5602811]About the asthma, I would think that living in any major city would be bad for asthma sufferers. It's not a Boston thing. In fact, one of the wrong areas for asthma sufferers would be in NYC, especially the Bronx. I've read about a lot of non asthmatic adults developing asthma after they moved there.

Honestly, I suffer miserably from seasonal allergies - at least I thought I did until I visited the Boston region. I, unfortunately, live in Sacramento, CA which has some of the worst air quality in the country and is a miserable city to live in for a variety of reasons - one of the biggest reasons is the insanely high pollen count. When I was in Boston, I did not sneeze one time in the 3 weeks I was there. My breathing was clear, I had more energy than I had in years, and felt very healthy because I wasn't weighed down by pollutants and stagnate air. For being a major city, I think the Boston region has very clean air, and from this perspective, it's potentially a much healthier place to live.

[chicken.or.the.nugget]

i think chicago, detroit, minneapolis, milwaukee etc all have worse weather

[cashgiftingcabbie]

Sorry BunnyD, but I had to lol at some of your comments about Boston. I lived in Boston for almost 30 years and now reside close by. The summers are not short in Boston, for Bostonians enjoy equal amounts of each season. The fall and spring showcase this New England jewel. Sure the winter can be harsh, but have you ever sipped a martini in the Ritz Carlton bar, sitting by the window overlooking the Public Gardens at Christmas? Boston winters are not all slush and cold; it's not Green Bay. Year round weather is not horrible. Your statement that Boston has the worst climate in the country is completely false. And mosquitoes in the summer? Give me a break.

The night life in Boston is world class. It's true that most establishments have a two o'clock license, but if you think the action ends at two, then you know little about the nightlife in Boston. One can party, dance, sing, drink, eat, gamble or do whatever one wants into the wee hours of the morning there.

Crime is a problem in all major cities. Boston has an excellent police force and judicial system. Chelsea, Lynn and Revere are not part of Boston. Dorchester is, but you have exagerated the gang problem there. There are many safe areas within Dorchester. Perhaps you were thinking of Mattapan and Roxbury, because these areas along with parts of Dorchester do have a gang/crime problem. But your implication that gangs terrorize Boston and cause multiple murders daily is absolutely not true, not even close. Boston is a very safe city.

BunnyD, your post was misleading, inaccurate, false and completely unfair to a beautiful city, a very special place in America.

[WannaGoHome]

cashgiftingcabbie, salute!

[DaveV]

Ridiculous.. Crime here pales in comparison even to places like Jacksonville, never mind Houston, Chicago etc. Summers are absolutely GLORIOUS, I sat on my patio every night this summer, watched fireflies, listened to the Red Sox, mosquitoes are NOTHING like midwestern places like MNPLS, etc.. I don't even bother with the bedroom AC unit, it sits on the floor except for maybe 1 or 2 nights a year. Cross-vent with the window fan is fine, rarely stays above 70 overnight. Winters can be spotty and gloomy but overall the climate is quite tolerable.

[cashgiftingcabbie]

PoorBunnyD-

She thinks that, just because informed people have pointed out how ridiculously wrong her Boston post was, she's being flamed???? She slanders a great city with her lies and thinks everyone will just agree with her?

It was pointed out by another poster that BunnyD is probably just young and naive. Her post certainly supports that, so let's wish her well in Las Vegas as she heads west on the Mass Pike, hey?

[Rusty_Shackleford]

Boston gets a lot of snow compared to most cities, yes... but Boston's winters are sunnier than almost all of the Northeast (away from the coast) and Midwest. More sunlight hours than even places as south as St Louis and northern Alabama, and just as sunny as most of BOS-WASH. They're also warmer winters than in Detroit or Chicago. Even when factoring the wind chill. (I've been collecting climate stats for different cities lately)

General Climate Information

[Suericio]

guys remember this is coming from someone from REVERE. the revere area isnt all that great and after a few yrs in vegas she will be back on this board begging to come home or ranting on how much he/she misses boston, there will always be negative comments about where ppl reside. but i think its what U make of it. the city doesnt choose things for u to do.

[hwynym]

Gangs like Crips, Bloods, TRG, ETG, Latin Kings, Hells Angels all present all over Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan, Roslindale... I have friends in the law enforcement who work for BPD and I saw a few of their log entries... and EVERY SINGLE DAY SOMEONE'S SHOT... it's mostly gang related tho.

OK - "EVERY SINGLE DAY SOMEONE'S SHOT" is not the same as "Every day a person dies, or even multuple people."

Not everybody who gets shot dies, so what are you worried about?

But seriously -

Yes there are gangs. Yes there are shootings. But I think it's important to look at WHO is getting shot and doing the shooting.

The WHO is, far and away, young black and hispanic males who are usually members of a gang themselves. This is one gang retaliating for a slight by a member of another gang and then the revenge.

I'm a rather large, middle-aged white guy. When I roll up on a group of black teens on my bicycle on Blue Hill Ave or Dorchester Ave., they watch me and go silent until they think I'm past. They think I might be a cop or something. What they're NOT going to do is take the chance of trying to rob me or start trouble with me because they KNOW that it's the best way to encourage a large police presence for weeks. It may sound cynical, but there it is.

So who is in danger? Well, "soft" targets:

- A drunk walking home from a bar at night.
- An unaffiliated young male, no matter his ethnicity - especially at night.
- Young girls alone at night.
- An elderly person alone on an otherwise empty street.

I've lived in Boston for years. I've never been mugged and I walk through some of the worst areas of the city. The worst reaction I get is the one I described above because they think I'm a cop. But I have friends, male and female, black, white, hispanic and asian, who live and work in Mattapan, Roxbury and Dorchester and have never been accosted.

If you look like you EXPECT to be robbed any minute, then there are elements who will pick up on that fear and zero in on you, because they know that your fear will make you part with your money easily. But that's true everywhere you go.

Oh, and Las Vegas compares to Boston as follows:

Las Vegas violent crimes
Population: 478,868
MURDER RAPE ROBBERY ASSAULT
REPORTED TOTAL 131 606 3,732 5,320
RATE PER 1,000 0.27 1.27 7.79 11.11


Boston violent crimes
Population: 589,141
MURDER RAPE ROBBERY ASSAULT
REPORTED TOTAL 61 272 2,436 4,172
RATE PER 1,000 0.10 0.46 4.14 7.08


It's got fewer people and more violent crime...so, good luck with that.

[enpan13]

The city has everything you could ask for....especially the whole 4 seasons thing. Fall right now is beautiful. With regards to the crime rate.....take a look at the stats, there actually suprising. Boston's violent crime rate is actually higher than Houston and Jacksonville's, which a previous poster was reffering to. Its also higher than cities like SF, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Newark, LA, NYC, Pheonix..once again, suprising.