Love It or Hate It???? (Boston, Revere: sales, new home, transfer to)

[puffle]

Originally Posted by starzfalldown

Puffle,

I am a die hard New Englander type. But fortunately I think I can be at least somewhat objective. I lived in the South(Atlanta) for 7 years and absolutely missed Massachusetts and New England every day. Not because we're perfect- we're not. We're old, dirty, quirky, not as friendly as other people, and just plain its not always an easy life here. But we have alot of great things going for us. I tend to agree with the concept that you know what youre getting and you know where you stand here.
We're actually one of the most solid real estate markets in the country at the moment. Most Mass folks have owned their house along time, multiple generations even. We have a TON of equity compared to the growth states.... So we're for the most part not worried if the house we paid 20k for 30 years ago gives back 50k today... after all it often is still worth 400-500k in the current market. People call us racist, by and large we're not. If anything we're classist- we expect people to be smart and have a desire to succeed. Even if that's a little unrealistic every society has its idealism. So we'll also defend our idea of social safety net. But mean people are everywhere.
We're actually pretty darn committed to the original American ideals, after all- we contributed quite a bit to that and take our place in history quite seriously. I'm a straight man proud of my state's stand on gay marriage. We believe in equality for all. We have several cities that are notoriously gay. Provincetown, Northampton. We like to go there for dinner and to see something different. Some people say we're segregated. We're not. We have ethnic neighborhoods. This isnt forced on anyone, but alot of people like to be with their own kind, especially when they are recent immigrants. Wouldnt you if you up and moved to another country? Maybe wanna live in Americatown, before you ventured out into your new land? Besides... it makes for great cultural experience for the rest of us. I know where to go for REAL Italian, Chinese, Polish, Russian, Irish, or Viet Namese food and culture.

And quite frankly I think Boston is kicking ass at the moment. We arent a growth state, we're a Renaiissance state. All across the region our old run down houses and towns are being transformed and renovated into new, charming, vibrant places.... with all that new equity we've gained. We're staring to change our tune on new development, though it has to be on our terms. Our medical and biotech sectors are thriving. Our manufacturing is starting to uptick, and all of our finance(especially private equity) is BOOMING.
Tourism is doing pretty well, and our soon to be built casinos will likely help that out quite a bit.
Yes its expensive. But I live in a state, by the grace of God, where my mother had a stroke and the state paid the entire medical bill. Literally.... she walked away alive and healthy and not burdened by debt. I thank God and will be greatful to the Commonwealth til the last breathe be gone. I live in a state with a massive road infrastructure, doesnt come cheap ya know.... we're only about 6 million people. We are a state committed to the environment, equality, and a just foreign policy.
And... We have 5 really great friends. Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. We are indeed a country within a country.
We have so much interstate cooperation in New England. We may soon even give eachother in state rates on education, merge medical systems...

The coming years will be interesting. While the states that grew to fast suffer with the need for huge infrastructural developments and therefore are forced to raise taxes, we'll be cutting taxes. And that means new business and new jobs. New England, even if not Mass, is exactly where I wanna be. But in all honesty... Maine has really captured my soul recently. And its sooo much cheaper, has some great growth pockets and BIG potential. Such a beautiful natural beauty. Very much an entrepreneur's kind of place.... Oh man. Dont even get me started on Maine.

Cheers!

Ahhh, I feel like I can take a breath now. Thanks for the viewpoint from the other side. Just your one post has helpled me breath a sigh of relief and renew my mission to move.!!

[LeavingMA]

The coming years will be interesting. While the states that grew to fast suffer with the need for huge infrastructural developments and therefore are forced to raise taxes, we'll be cutting taxes. And that means new business and new jobs. New England, even if not Mass, is exactly where I wanna be. But in all honesty... Maine has really captured my soul recently. And its sooo much cheaper, has some great growth pockets and BIG potential. Such a beautiful natural beauty. Very much an entrepreneur's kind of place.... Oh man. Dont even get me started on Maine.

MA cutting taxes, i don't think you will see that. They already have problems with many departments and the MBTA is severe debt. There are too many greedy politicians for taxes to be cut here. Plus, if your losing jobs and corporate revenue they are going to have to get the money from somewhere else. The casino will bring in more money, but politicians here will find a way to spend it. Remember the mass pike tolls were supposed to be phased out and the tax rate was supposed to go back to 5%, but it hasn't.

I do agree that Maine is a nice state. I enjoy it a lot in the summer, but too cold in the winter.

[scf79]

Originally Posted by rnc76

MA doesn't have 4 seasons. States like Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky... they have 4 nice, almost equally divided seasons. 5 months of winter, 3 months of mud and rain, 2 months of summer and 2 months of fall is what you get in MA. Spring is non-existent and the most miserable time of the year in my opinion in MA because you are coming off a hard winter hoping for better weather and it doesn't show up until June.

True enough, but hey, at least we don't have "black fly season" down here like New Hampshire does (trust me, I grew up in a really small town there) ... It always coincides with "mud season," and my mom always jokes that the black fly should be the state bird.

[katzenfreund]

Originally Posted by rnc76

MA doesn't have 4 seasons. States like Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky... they have 4 nice, almost equally divided seasons. 5 months of winter, 3 months of mud and rain, 2 months of summer and 2 months of fall is what you get in MA. Spring is non-existent and the most miserable time of the year in my opinion in MA because you are coming off a hard winter hoping for better weather and it doesn't show up until June.

4 equally divided seasons in MD or VA? I spent 15 years in MD and finally escaped this year. Winters were not too cold, but usually cold from November through March, sometimes VERY cold, of course some mild days in between. That was the good part. But often I would turn off the heat in April, only to turn on the AC 4 weeks later and not turn it off until September. Then in late October the heat came back on, so that means we only had about 2 months with no heat or AC. Here I have the heat on from mid-October through the end of April, but no AC. The heat and humidity were unbearable and often we had "code red" days, terrible air quality. The upper 90's were nothing unusual and the nights were hot and muggy as well. We have not had to turn AC on here, a fan was all that we needed so far. The nights are nice and cool and even if the days are hot, the temps drop a lot at night. So even though the winters are LONGER and COLDER, I would gladly exchange that for the cooler summers.

So far I am VERY glad to have left Maryland and even though it is not perfect here, where is it perfect?

[kritterz78]

I HATE IT and am leaving in 2 weeks!!! I have lived here for nearly 5 years and it is filthy, rude, very expensive, high crime, and WAY over rated! The weather is terrible....summer is hot, humid, sticky, and filled with bugs, winter is feet of snow that takes days to dig out form, fall is pretty for about a week, and there is no spring here. I have been to a lot of places throughout the US and MA is the absolute WORST place to visit or live!

Good luck to you!

[waccamatt]

I have to counter the last comment. Massachusetts is an absolutely wonderful place to visit and it is the only state I could legally get married in. If you don't know how much that means to gay people all over the country; trust me, it does. I love visiting Massachusetts; especially Boston, Salem and Provincetown. If real estate wasn't so expensive there I would consider moving. I especially love Massachusetts and all of New England in the fall; it is such a beautiful time of year. I can't wait to come back for another visit.

[im2005]

I definitely think it's a love it or hate it kind of place. A lot of people love it. I have lived all over...the nearely 2 years I spent in MA were miserable. I finally escaped with a huge sigh of relief.

I really didn't like the weather. Four seasons? Try a very long, dark winter...followed by a couple months of rain for "spring". Then a decent summer and a 1 month (but yes, very nice) fall.

Bostonians like to rave about all the cultural benefits. But any city is going to have museums, ethnic restaurants, and diversity. As for Boston, it's just slightly more cosmopolitan than the rest of New England. Those who extoll that benefit should venture out to the other 47 states for a change...

And, like anywhere, your experience depends on the people you meet. Unfortunately for me, 90% of the people I met were provincial, unwelcoming, and downright caustic. I do think it's true that they are "great, loyal friends" once they accept you...but it wasn't worth it to me to invest years trying for that.

[ab1222]

To comment on the person who loves Massachusetts because they allow gay marriage, it is true that this is the only state that does so if you consider that something good about a state then that's about it. I am not gay so that does not matter to me. Dirty, loud, rude, arogant, hostile, self-centered, amoung other things are what I can't stand about it. They consider about three weeks out of an entire year fall because the trees turn colors and that still is not enough to make it worth living in.

[smarty]

People love it... if you have money...

Hate it .... if you don't...........

[FrozenAngel]

Originally Posted by NChomesomeday

It's such a personal point of view, Puffle that it would be hard to answer that one. What you love about NE might be what I hate about it and vice-versa. But with that said, here's my take:

1. I love the way the Boston area is laid out. There's very little suburban/urban "sprawl". Most of the suburban towns are self-contained, self governed quaint villages with town centers, etc.
2. Boston is such a great city. It's walkable and has all the advantages of a larger city like NY, Philly, etc, in terms of culture but none of the disadvantages. It's relatively clean, the public transportation system functions pretty well and is safe and the city is walkable with lots going on. I originally came here to attend college (a LOT of years ago) and loved being a student here. Almost 20 years later, my experiences as a suburban Mom are different, but not altogether terrible.
3. I hate the cost of living here.
4. I have mixed feelings about the people. My town is relatively affluent and the "haves" have made it recently and think their you-know-what doesn't stink. They're all so busy trying to impress eachother they get quite obnoxious. But generally they stay out of my way and I stay out of theirs and there are enough down to earth people here for me to not really give them much thought. However, people are very reserved here and it's not easy to make friends. The other side of that is that with young kids, you tend to meet a lot of parents.
5. I'm not going to sugar coat this one. I can't stand the weather. Fall is gorgeous but the other 3 seasons are terrible. Winte is long, dark, and bitter cold. It runs into a very wet and rainy spring (also known as "mud season") which is unique to New England because of weather patterns and the ocean effect. Summers are ok but there are enough hot and humid days to get on your nerves because New Englanders have this thing about air conditioning---they think they don't need it, which makes days like today (90 degrees, 90% humidity) very uncomfortable.

These are my opinions. YMMV

My God, I can't disagree with one thing here on this post! Talk about hitting the nail on the head! WOW! Should I move to NC?