Difference in mentality and culture between MA affluent towns (around Boston) and CT affluent towns (near NY) (New Bedford: how much, home)

[V&L]

Hello,

I have to make up my mind whether to move to CT or MA. As a therapist with two small kids, I want to be near affluent towns to be able to establish a new practice and of course, around good public schools. Both CT and MA are gorgeous, they have similar weather... how do they differ, in terms of the people and the overall culture and feel of its towns around the so-called "best" areas (near Boston, like Lexington/Wellesley/Dover in MA and Weston/Wilton/Easton/Redding in CT? (I left our Greenwich, New Canaan and Westport in CT and Weston in CT as I would not be able to afford them). A little about me: I just turned 40, I am recently divorced, I am originally from Europe and have studied art, philosophy and psychology (have degree in all of these). I lived in Budapest, Vienna, London, San Francisco, Manhattan, and currently in Princeton, NJ. I love the outdoors and NEED to live somewhere where there is peace and beautiful nature around me, yet I am relatively close by to some cultural life and good restaurants (within an hour though, it does not need to be next door). Please give me some advice, I am losing my mind over trying to decide where to go. Oh, I also propagate antique roses, so if you are aware of major climate differences between MA and CT, please let me know!

[btownboss4]

North and West burbs of Boston get about twice as much snow as SW CT. (about 25 v 50).
other than that I have heard CT people are more showy about their wealth compared to Massachusetts where people are more modest. I do not know how true that is.

[495neighbor]

CT, better farming, fewer rocks than MA

[V&L]

Originally Posted by 495neighbor

CT, better farming, fewer rocks than MA

Hello,

Would you please elaborate on that a bit? Thank you!

[sfosyd]

An important question is how do you like Princeton? The CT towns will be more similar, the MA towns less so. The people in the MA towns seem less flashy and more outdoorsy. Huge generalization of course.

I do think the weather is similar as long as you stay by the coast in Mass....a little colder and snowier in the winter but not much difference, and the summers are noticeably nicer close to the water in Mass.

How much do you value the vastness of NYC? Boston is a nice, small walkable city with great cultural offerings but can't compare to NYC. Is skiing or access to mountains important? How about beaches? How about an airport? Mass wins on all fronts there. I think in CT, your only real option are the NY airports and it must take a few hours to get to Kennedy or Newark from the places you mention in Connecticut. It is much easier to get to bigger mountains and the cape and islands are close by in Boston as well as the north shore.

Property taxes will be significantly less in Massachusetts. Also, I think people in Massachusetts suburbs take advantage of the city more. NYC can be difficult especially with the expense of parking or metro north. I couldn't believe the lack of traffic getting into Boston from Gloucester on a Saturday and how cheap parking was at the common garage. No tolls either!

As a New Yorker, who loves the city, I'd say Boston suburbs over Connecticut suburbs!

[johngolf]

Overall New Englanders are cheap as in tight fisted with the exceptions being those closer to NYC.

[independent man]

Have you considered either Rhode Island or the south Farm Coast of Mass.? Both provide access to culture, natural beauty and some of the mildest climate conditions in New England. And, compared to most of CT and Boston Metro area are not as expensive with less of a typical suburban feel.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by independent man

Have you considered either Rhode Island or the south Farm Coast of Mass.? Both provide access to culture, natural beauty and some of the mildest climate conditions in New England. And, compared to most of CT and Boston Metro area are not as expensive with less of a typical suburban feel.

This is 1/4 mile from salt water on the Southcoast. My roses were unhappy after last winter with the unusual cold and snow but they came back by the 4th of July.


When I lived in Portsmouth, NH, I had a season subscription to the Boston Symphony. Coming up from the south, I use Boston a lot less. The Southeast Expressway is awful compared to coming in on Route 1 or I-93. Providence has a pulse. There's a bit going on in New Bedford if you can look beyond the decay of the city. You're never going to get New York City culture but you're not going to find affordable places with green space an hour out of Manhattan. The advantage of New York is the public transportation is better. In Boston, the commuter rail and bus service centers on rush hour. When the BSO performance is done, you're not going to be able to get home unless you drive.

[KKay9]

Originally Posted by V&L

Hello,

Would you please elaborate on that a bit? Thank you!

We grow rocks in Massachusetts . If you want to plant anything that requires digging, you will encounter rocks. And they come back! Lots of fun...try to dig a little hole and it's "bang", "ding", get down on your knees and get the big rock loose with your hands and toss it off to the side. You'll get a bed entirely clear of rocks and nice and soft and fluffy...come back in six months later and there will be "new" rocks. They bubble up from the ground, seriously! If you have a good shovel, are reasonably strong and can tolerate some frustration, it's not a big problem for planting something like roses. If you really want to do something with land, you'd want a backhoe, a grader, and a place to put the rocks. Hence all our lovely, antique, stone walls. Our walls keep growing...new rocks on top of rocks folks dug up 200 years ago.

I'm a native here, so I'm used to it. My husband, from the midwest, couldn't believe it when he moved here 30 years ago...now he's used to it too and we plan around rocks . Plan on any job that entails digging taking five times as much time and labor as it would somewhere that wasn't so blessed with granite randomness.

[massnative71]

Just by driving through that area, it seems SW CT is more high strung than the Boston area. More crowded, drivers more aggressive (even compared to Boston).