Moving to Boston? (apartment, rental, low crime)

[aapaaapa14]

Hi. I am wondering what winters are like in Boston? Are they comparable to Iowa? Does Boston have a low crime rate? And finally, would you recommend a move there. I've been thinking about it for quite a long time now for when I finish college. Thank you for your help.

[ogre]

Winter: Exactly how things would compare would depend on what part of IA and what part of the Boston metro area you were comparing, but generally you could expect that Boston would have more snow and be a bit less cold than most of IA.

Something that some people find difficult about Boston's weather is that the kind of mixed bag of weather that is characteristic of early spring in four-seasons climates lasts very far into the spring in Boston. My guess is that proximity to the ocean and its cold water has something to do with this, but whatever the reason, Boston can, and often does, continue to get days, or brief spells, of gray, dank, raw, chilly weather all through April, sometimes even well into May, and in rare years even in early June. Of course these will be mixed in with pleasantly cool and pleasantly warm days as well. The Midwestern area I'm most familiar with is central Ohio, where I found that once you got past early April, pleasant weather seemed to happen more consistently than it does during the spring in Boston. It depends on the person whether this fluctuating weather lasting well into springtime in Boston is a problem. Some appreciate the fact that overall the season is milder than winter, while others feel some angst each year as they wait and wait for the nice weather to settle in once and for all.

Crime: Statistics show that Boston is one of the safer big cities in the U.S., but any city will have its bad neighborhoods and will have enough crime so that even in the nicer areas it's prudent to take safety precautions, such as being aware of what's going on around you, and not taking shortcuts through isolated spots at night. If there happens to be a city you're familiar with, maybe you could name that city, so anyone here familiar with both that city and Boston could compare the two in terms of safety.

Recommend moving here (or not): This depends on you and what you want in a place to live. What attracts you to Boston? If you could provide some details on the answer to that question, then people on the board here would have some basis for determining whether Boston would be a good fit for you.

One consideration about whether you'd do well in Boston is what field you expect to work in after college. The number of jobs in your field that any city has will have a lot of bearing on whether you can live comfortably in that city. Another point to consider is that Boston is one of the more expensive cities in the U.S. to live in. If you were in the typical situation of a new college graduate starting out, you'd likely have to settle for a small apartment, and/or find a roommate (or several, depending on the rental property) in order to afford to live here. And, jobs in your field and cost of living are just two considerations. What are you looking for in a place to live? People will need an answer to that question in some detail in order to have any idea whether Boston (or any location) would work for you.

[susanewood]

Congratulations on almost finishing college! The world is yours! Have you visited Boston yet?