Boston or New York City (how much, home, neighborhoods)

[Al Bothwell]

If you had the choice of living in either Boston or New York City, where would you chose. If have to decide between graduate school in Boston or New York. Accommodation is not an issue. Which of the cities is more liveable? I am told that Boston winters can be awlful, any comments?

[NY'er lost in MA]

I think Boston is more geared towards students, but NYC is an experience that shouldn't be passed up.

I've been in both and think NYC offers so much more. You can live a lifetime in NY and experience something new every day!

[LeavingMA]

NYC is my opinion is like no other city in the United States. I think if you want true city living, NYC is it. You can be out at 4 am in the morning and there are tons of people still out and about like it is the middle of the day.

As far as liveable, it depends what you want?

[ogre]

I'm going through the grad school search process myself, so I'm familiar with the issues people consider in that situation. My advice would be to give highest priority to the schools and graduate programs themselves, since this will be your primary focus while you're a student, and the quality of your experience in grad school can affect the opportunities available to you once your years as a student are done. Depending on your field of study, and the need to make professional connections locally, you might want to consider the question of whether you would want to live in either of these cities after grad school. If you were going for an MBA, for example, you'd find people already setting up their networks while still in school. In this case, attending school in the city where you would later be working would give you the distinct advantage of already having some connections when you started your first job.

My guess is that one or two graduate programs you're considering will stand out as those that best suit your needs, and I'd advise going with one of those, whichever city it's in. If you really find that there are grad programs in both these cities that would work equally well for you, I wouldn't avoid Boston because of the winters. On average, they last a little longer than winters in NYC, and Boston winters might average out a few degrees colder, but Boston is not a far-north wasteland, and NYC isn't exactly Tahiti. There's not enough difference in climate for me to make that a consideration.

What kind of activities do you like? What kind of atmosphere? As LostNyer points out, there's more to do in NYC than you could do in a lifetime. Some people love that huge variety of possible activities. Others might see it as overkill, and figure they don't need to put up with NYC's frenetic pace in order to have more options than they could ever take advantage of anyway. By the way, there are quiet neighborhoods in NYC, even in Manhattan, but just about anywhere in NYC you'd go when you're out to do the town is likely to be very crowded. Many people find that for them Boston strikes a good balance, offering plenty to do, while still having less hustle and bustle than a city the size of NYC. Others are excited by the whole idea of NYC and living in one of the world's great metropolises.

In addition to having more interesting and enjoyable activities, NYC also has more of the negatives of urban living, particularly in terms of crowding and noise and a high-pressure pace. Still, you need to be realistic, and understand that Boston is a big city by general American standards, and is far from being completely free of the urban negatives, but these are fewer in Boston than NYC. Both cities are expensive, but NYC is probably moreso. Driving is a pain in both cities, while both have good public transit systems. Depending on your needs, something to consider is that Boston's public transit system shuts down about 1AM, give or take, while the trains run all night in NYC. This difference applies in general to late-night activitiy as well. NYC is, as the song says, "the city that never sleeps," while Boston pretty much closes down after about 1-2AM. There are some all-night convenience stores and small eateries scattered around Boston, so you should be able to take care of the basic practical need for a late-night snack, but the serious activity does not go all night.

Both cities are old by American standards, and therefore have lots of history, and some great classic architecture. Both have a densely populated, urban character, with the attractions of the city concentrated in a central area, unlike the sprawling new cities of the Sun Belt. Both are located near the seashore and beaches, and within day-trip distance of lakes and mountains. With these similarities, deciding which city you'd rather live in probably comes down to a question of how much you desire in the way of city activity, and how many of the drawbacks of urban living you're willing to accept as the price for that activity. Once again, though, I'd advise you to give first priority to the schools and graduate programs themselves. Best of luck with your grad school search, and with your decision on where to pursue your studies and where to live.

[findingmesomeday]

I second what Ogre said. Evaluate the school and program first. Whatever best fits your goals is where you should go.

[badluck]

Short answer...NYC.

[Sophana]

New York is the place to go. I lived in lower Manhattan for over 20 years. That is where I received all my education (New York University) and those were the greatest years of my life. New York is fabulous for a student because there is so much to learn, the best colleges, museums, libraries, exhibitions, people! Why would anyone want to go to Boston?

[smarty]

Originally Posted by Sophana

New York is the place to go. Why would anyone want to go to Boston?

Good question.... Can you ask the 1000s of Boston students from NY and NJ who jammed the highways, planes and trains going home during Thanksgiving?

[Parsec]

I would agree w/most of the comments on here. First priority would be your school program -- if you are accepted to two schools and can't decide, then you should pick the one in NYC just for the experience. The one thing I regret is never having lived in a walkable major city before I started a family, although I've always lived about 15-30 min outside of one. With 4 more years before she starts school, moving to downtown Boston for a couple years will be my last chance!

[Floridagirl08]

Personally I prefer Boston over NYC. NYC can be very overwhelming. Boston is a smaller version on NYC. Depends on what you like. NYC is better for culture, night life, and partying and is pretty much the fashion capitol. Fine place to visit but would not want to live there full time. Boston has a lot of history and is very beautiful. Then again I am partial to Boston.