Love It or Hate It???? (Boston, Natick: appointed, big house, neighborhood)

[puffle]

Do most of the people that live in Massachusetts dislike it (rather not use the word hate) and only stay for work and family, or too uneasy about leaving in general? Or is it simply one extreme or the other??? I am working my *** off to get there while I read so much negativety from those that have been living there. I currently live in California and if you have read the threads there you will see the love it or hate it attitude...not much of a grey area. But in my opinion, as a life long Ca. native, California pales in comparison to the beauty of New England and the genuine quality of the people who live there, good or bad. You know what you are getting. Am I just being naive here?

[findingmesomeday]

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

[LeavingMA]

I think a majority of people are mixed on the state. There are certain things they really like and it is their home state, but lots of issues that are making them dislike the state.

I know just talking to people cost-of-living and politics are two things people can really dislike. Also, the weather, it appears many are tired of the long winters, basically no spring, and short summers.

For me this will always be where i grew up and most of my family is in the area (although many are moving away and spreading out), but i just don't know if i'll end up staying here and continuing my life around here.

I don't think these boards help too much with how people feel about their state or area because many of the posts can appear completely positive or negative.

[CaseyB]

LeavingMa, you summed it up very well!

[GreenMachine]

I love having four real seasons. Summer is wonderful but just when it starts to wear on you, guess what? It's autumn. I love the fall. The days slowly get shorter. You wake up in the morning and there is frost on the lawn! Everywhere, pumpkin stands. The leaves begin to change and everything takes your breath away. Then the world goes gray. You wait for that first snow fall. It comes at twilight. You can see the snow falling in the moonlight, underneath the streetlights. You go to bed and when you wake up the world is a magic place, everywhere is covered with fresh fallen, white snow. You can see the footprints of deer in the snow. Of course, winter can be long and gray. The cold gets you down in February and March. Everyone looks pale and puts on weight, but then it's April and suddenly tulips are pushing up out of the ground. You can see those first green buds on the trees -- the leaves are growing back! And it all begins again.

greeny

[findingmesomeday]

I like four seasons too. That's why I wouldn't want to live in FL or CA. But...

2 months of winter is preferable to 4 or 5 and I'd really like to have an honest to goodness spring. I don't mind summer--even the hot, humid days, though they can wear on ya after a while.

[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.

[surfingatwork]

Originally Posted by GreenMachine

I love having four real seasons. Summer is wonderful but just when it starts to wear on you, guess what? It's autumn. I love the fall. The days slowly get shorter. You wake up in the morning and there is frost on the lawn! Everywhere, pumpkin stands. The leaves begin to change and everything takes your breath away. Then the world goes gray. You wait for that first snow fall. It comes at twilight. You can see the snow falling in the moonlight, underneath the streetlights. You go to bed and when you wake up the world is a magic place, everywhere is covered with fresh fallen, white snow. You can see the footprints of deer in the snow. Of course, winter can be long and gray. The cold gets you down in February and March. Everyone looks pale and puts on weight, but then it's April and suddenly tulips are pushing up out of the ground. You can see those first green buds on the trees -- the leaves are growing back! And it all begins again.

greeny

and may rolls around and we have freak snow storms. you make mass sound like a magical place. i'm not putting it down it's just i read your description and think wow what a wonderful place but we both know it's not as wonderful as your post.

[surfingatwork]

for me it's a love/hate relationship. I do enjoy the 4 seasons I just wish it wasn't so extreme here. some years spring and winter blur together or we have/get no real true fall. Personally if it's gonna be 10 below i want snow on the ground (something to show for it) but unfortunately what we get most of the time is grey, drab and cold. fall is beautiful. spring is wonderful as well except when the frost kills all those tulips and pretty flowers popping up. i love the heat but it's so short here.

traffic is a mess and my favorite is right after memorial day construction starts on all the major highways leading to the cape. oh yes now that's smart.

I'm one of those new englanders who doesn't need a/c. why because i spend 5 months looking forward to summer and what happens come summer everyone who has been winning all winter long runs into the first air conditioned building they can find the minute the temp hits 80 degrees. i'll take the heat over freezing cold anyday.

[sapphire_starss]

I grew up in Massachusetts right outside of Boston (Natick/Wellesley area). I now live in NH and am looking to move South (NC probably). When i was younger (high school/college) MA was great bc there are SOOO many things to do. We lived right near a huge mall, tons of restaurants, great hospitals, and had easy accessibility to Boston. It is an exciting place with an energy all its own.

However, once I really started buckling down with a career, relationship, and starting a family, my perception changed. I felt like i was working like a dog to make ends meet and didn't really enjoy all of those things around me because i didn't have time. Almost every suburban town is overrun with people "keepin' up with the jones'". BIG houses, luxury cars, moms driving their kids to a million activities.

I am in the Boston area about 2-3x a month right now and sometimes i feel like i want to move right back. But then i look around, and compared to where i am now, all anyone does for recreation is shop, go out to eat, shop, drive here-there-and-everywhere...It's just not at all relaxing.

Most everyone on these threads is looking for a change of pace. I don't think you'd be disappointed with MA. It's just that i have come to appreciate NOT being right on top of my neighbors, that where i live now 6 cars at a stop light is considered traffic, and that i don't have people zooming through my neighborhood at 40 miles an hour. The only things i miss are the amenities-you just have so many options in MA-especially if you have kids in school. If it weren't for the cost of living and the weather, i'd be back there in a heartbeat.

Good Luck with you move.