Why do you LIKE/DISLIKE the Boston area?

[Nobodybody]

I grew up in a small Midwestern city, and have ended up raising my own family in the MetroWest. So, my responses will draw heavily upon a comparison between these two extremes, which I think (or at least hope!) will benefit others (and I'm going Cons first, because I have less of them):


CONS
1) Cost of living - specifically - housing prices. I'm making more money than I felt I ever would within my field, yet, I can barely afford a house in my town. I look back to towns in the Midwest and realize I could have a brand new McMansion for the price of a starter home out here.
2) The heroin epidimic - I haven't experienced it first hand, but my wife has lost several classmates to this. All parts of the country have drug problems, but this specific drug and the magnitude of this problem are scary.
3) Summer Camps! I've seen one-week programs cost upwards of $600-$800! This was the real sticker-shock item for me.

PROS
1) My first 'pro' is essentially a mitigant to my first 'con'. Although homes are higher priced, once you're in, and affording it, this can be a good thing. You can rest assured that your real estate values and resale value are more stable here than in most parts of the country, especially if you are in a town with a desirable school district and/or commuting location. Plus, in my case, should we choose to move back to the Midwest later in life, chances are that we will have built up enough equity to make a significant down payment or purchase a home outright with the profit.

2) I love the general mentality of the Boston area. Of course there are outliers, but the general 'vibe' of the population contains elements of higher intelligence, passion, loyalty, acceptance and overall substance. This is difficult to put into words, but everything here feels more 'real' compared to the Midwest mentality, which can be judgemental and somewhat shallow. I'm speaking in vague terms, but I would need to write pages in order to elaborate.

3) Education - We are not in the #1 school district in MA, but we are in a district with good rankings and the level of quality of this MA district over our location in the Midwest has been astounding. Teachers are great; I feel many of them have a genuine concern for the well being of my kids, and show passion in their jobs. The curriculum is more intense, my kids are truly challenged as opposed to coasting through the work, and the extracurriculars have opened lots of opportunity for my kids. I can take them to visit Harvard or MIT, I can show them what world class opportunities are out there first hand, and where those opportunities can lead in life. In my Midwestern town, there was a state university a few hours away, but I never truly grasped the concept of what the world has to offer, or what doors various fields may open.

4) Public Transportation - I love being able to walk to a train (and I only have commuter rail access), access the city, have so many options of things to do, and return home without having set foot inside of a car. I never had that growing up, and I think it's great, so I often use the train even in situations where a car may be more efficient, being the deprived nerd that I am.

5) Geographical Location/Opportunity - In the Midwest, visiting any place 'different' (a major city, etc.) Required a 3-4 hour drive. From the Boston area, you have Mountains, Lakes, Oceans, Boston and NYC all within a few hours tops.

6) Diversity - This is a big one for me as a parent. Diversity in the friendships that I, and my children,have developed is something I truly appreciate. The Midwest is so spread out that smaller cities (mine was 30k) are so isolated from the rest of the world that you can sometimes feel cut-off. Racially speaking, my hometown did have some degree of diversity, but mentality-wise, everybody was in the same boat. Culturally, intellectually, economically, people varied only to small degrees - we were all in the same boat. People tend to know each other, or at least about each other, to an uncomfortably personal degree. It was difficult to be your own person. Here, I love being anonymous. Over time, I have made many friends and acquaintances, but overall I'm just another person nobody knows, free to be who I want to be.

The most challenging aspect of this 'geographical relocation' in my life has been leaving my side of the family behind. However, I feel it is outweighed by the higher quality of life I've made available to my children. That aspect aside, I freakin' love this place.

[shiraziman]

I've lived in three other cities in my life and Boston is the best:

1- Diversity
2- Kind people. Yes, really kind people. I've seen people give up their umbrellas to others while rain pouring down...just one example.
3- Lots of job opportunities
4- healthcare
5- hospitals
6- colleges
7- college students
8- great support for entrepreneurs
9- positive attitude of everyone that I've met here
10- The weather! I LOVE snow!
11- Summer are not too hot and muggy like the south
12- Real people, not faked like Los Angeles or other areas
13- Relaxed police: we don't get stopped for stupid traffic stuff. Or at least, I haven't. While in Midwest, I was pulled over for driving at speed limit on cruise control!!!
14- Genuine friendships and straightforward people: they are not being rude, they're being honest
15- Amazing talents and science leaders

Cons:
1- I don't have family members here. It's a bit lonely

2- Not enough housing options. It's hard to find a good house near Boston that is under $500K...but then, you get what you pay for

3- The T system needs an update or upgrade. Not sure why politicians can raise $4 billion for their advertising but can't raise such money for infrastructure.

4- Segregation and racism are very subtle in Boston. I'm optimistic that this will be fixed within next few decades as new generations take over.

[luvthatmouse]

Pros:
-Weather from the end of May until the end of October/beginning of November
-Better paying jobs with good benefits in the NE
-Close to oceans and mountains
-Several airports close
-Farms/farm stands/farmers markets
-Culture (museums, history, architecture, decent theater, Pops, Tanglewood, etc)
-Close to Maine (Acadia), Canada, NYC, the White Mountains, etc.
-Good hospitals/doctors
-Good schools/educated people
-Pretty good drivers compared to other places we have visited/lived
-Pretty Liberal
-Great libraries
-Great seafood

Cons:
-Winter and Spring (wet, cold, muddy)
-EXPENSIVE, old housing
-$$$ for gas/oil in the winter
-Provincial (most people we know never go in to Boston, have never been to NYC and never travel)
-Sports crazy

[AtkinsonDan]

Originally Posted by luvthatmouse

-Provincial (most people we know never go in to Boston, have never been to NYC and never travel)

That is not how I would define provincial. Provincialism is a strong bias towards one's hometown/home region where the positive attributes of other places are disputed (without good reason) or outright ignored. Provincialism has nothing to do with lack of travel. People can be worldly by utilizing education and other resources to understand the greater world.

FYI, provincialism exists in Boston and NYC and I would argue it is stronger in those places because people never have to leave to survive there.

[Daisy Grey]

History: I grew up in WNY (Buffalo) ; Lived in Rochester for many years ; Transplanted to the Boston burbs (Norwood) when I married my husband. Spent 4 years until DH (now DXH) found a job in CTin 1990.

I love Boston because it's a "big" small city. It's got a hometown vibe I like. I've traveled to both NYC and Boston and prefer Boston. And I find the "accent" charming as well.

PROS:
only 1.5 hrs. from Hartford
lots of small venue clubs that feature my favorite indy rock bands
for the most part dining out is cheaper than NYC
Picturesque walkable city full of history
Great art scene--galleries, artist cooperatives, etc. and museums
People really have your back when you're in trouble and are willing to get involved and help (I have a looong story about this that I won't go into here)
great public transportation
Who doesn't love a Duck Boat Tour??

CONS:
Northeast winters (not any better in CT!)
Traffic, traffic, TRAFFIC!!! (this is where you'll see the rudeness come out)
Crazy city layout for driving (forgiven, as it being one of our oldest cities "evolved" rather than was planned)
Parking is EXPENSIVE!! I once went to a concert in Cambridge and the parking was more expensive than the ticket for the event!
COL--my nephew works in Needham but was forced to move to Framingham because he couldn't find affordable housing