Any former CA natives moved to New England and loved/hated it? (Boston: hardwood floors, low crime)

[ab1222]

I think Kritterz is unhappy for all legitimate reasons. You can tell that the one who responded and is always posting the statistics is from here though...know it all attitude and making lists with no human feeling to it. I find MA to be extremely hostile, rude, dirty, loud, arogant, very weird people, among other things. I am not big on New England however I do like New Hampshire. As I've posted before I have been through most of the U.S. and MA is the worst place I've been. I know no matter where you go that is new to you takes adjusting and getting used to....I've done it many times; but this is one state that I will never get used to. I guess I just appreciate quiet, intelligent, clean, friendly places.

[findingmesomeday]

1) I agree with those who see the SF BART like the Boston commuter rail. BART is good for getting into the city from far away (ex-Danville, CA), but useless for getting around the city. In contrast, the Boston subway (the T) is great for getting around Boston and Cambridge and parts of Brookline and Newton, but not a long distance carrier. True, BART is more plush than the T.

As others have pointed out, BART is really a commuter rail system. MUNI is the in-city transportation--busses and streetcars.

I'd compare BART to the DC Metro system.

As far as other comments listed here:

SF vs Boston vs Raleigh: I've lived in SF and Boston--am hoping to relocate to Raleigh. Not sure I'd like Raleigh as much if we didn't have the kid/family thing going but check out the NC forum. There are lots of people there w/o kids who absolutely love it.

I lived in SF in 1989 (the Loma Prieta earthquake) and I'm still here to tell the story :-) Earthquakes can be scary because there is no warning but I'd rather be in a quake in CA than just about anywhere else because at least there the buildings are specifically constructed to withstand some severe tremors. The city would have looked a LOT worse if it had been constructed by Boston standards.

Boston was a great place to be a college student and it's been a nice place to raise my kids. But cost of living and the weather is driving me out.

[MovingForward]

I'm from Texas--spent the first 25 years of my life there. Have since lived in Portland, OR, Chicago, and Vermont. Have spent the last 22 years in Boston. I LOVE Boston--and all of New England, for that matter. I wouldn't move back to Texas if someone paid me to. Every time I go "home" to visit family, I am appalled by the highways littered with billboards, no apparent concern for conservation, conservative backwater politics, etc. And the "friendliness" I can do without: I much prefer to come to know someone over time, rather than have to experience in-your-face "friendliness" from the second you meet someone. As for people in Massachusetts being "extremely hostile, rude, dirty, loud, arogant, very weird people, among other things," I very much disagree. If somebody is pissed at me, I'd rather have it straight on, than sugar-coated in that southern way. The driving is horrible, though--this is true.

Mexican restaurants: Ole in Inman Square or Zocalo in Arlington. Authentic Mexican.

[findingmesomeday]

The only two Mexican restaurants I've found here were the Border Cafe in Harvard Sq. (crowded, a bit pricey and just ok), a great restaurant in Quincy but I can't remember the name (!) and The Alamo (I think) in Franklin.

[ab1222]

I COMPLETELY relate to Deedle's post. I am originally from CA and I don't care how much the 'mass holes' in 'Assachusetts' brag, the bottom line is: they are rude, hostile, ignorant, arogant, unfriendly, self-centered, think they know it all (which is a huge joke), have filthy mouths, the state is dirty, it smells, they refuse to see that there is actually a world outside of this discusting state where people are normal, live clean, are educated, and live in the real modern world. They are obsessed with donuts, fluff, smoking, and should give some real consideration to making english as a second language manditory in the schools considering they can barely pronounce anything correctly. I am leaving this insane place in nine days and it can't come fast enough. I have never been around so many stupid, fat, lazy people in my life. It's like there is some mutant gene here. Perhaps all the natural gas leaks in this state that you can smell all over the place, (not to mention all the other strange and unidentifiable smells) have been inhaled for so many generations it has caused the bizarre people who inhabit this place. I don't blame you for wanting to get out.

[kritterz78]

I agree 110% with ab1222!!! MA is rude, filthy, over priced, over rated, and far behind the times!!! I am used to friendly, outgoing, clean, honest, hard working, helpful, and curtious people from where I come from. Not only are the people here in MA rude, strange, and self centered, their way of living is not normal. The strange things that happen here are like something out of a Steven King novel. The electric company out here has a HUGE problem with live wires and dozens of innocent dogs are electricuted and killed on the streets while being walked by their owners. There are so many gas leaks out here it is out of control....houses suddenly explode out of nowhere!!! The people out here brag about the medical care.......I spent 7 months in the hospital for cancer in CA and recieved the best most state of the art care possible. When I moved here I was told that Dana Farber was such a great hospital.....that's a joke!!! My so called oncologist was not only rude and unprofessional, but I seriously question his ability to practice medicine. He had never even heard of the type of chemo I had been treated with. Recently there was a story on the news about a great new procedure where you swallow a camera pill in order to look for cancer or abnomalities here in Boston.....NEWS FLASH....that's been around for 10 years in CA!!!!!!! It is illeagal to not have lealth insurance here......health insurance here is extremely overpriced. You have to pay excise tax just to drive you car in MA. Where does excise tax go??? Certainly not to the roads!!! The pot holes are a foot deep, cars blow tires left and right and spin out on 128. MA pays their state troopers and police officers to stand for HOURS on end drinking dunkin donuts coffee and staring into space at road construction sites. The weather here is horrible.....we have months on end of feet upon feet of snow, no spring, hot, sticky, and discusting summers and a whole couple weeks of fall. Pedestrians can not read the don't walk signs and think it funny to "dare" drivers to hit them by running in front of moving cars to cross the streets. NOBODY out here can properly pronounce anything. The people here have the filthiest mouths of anywhere I've been, they all smoke and eat extremely unhealthy. I am moving out of here too......can't wait.....good luck to you ab1222 and congrads on getting out of this toilet of a state!!!

[skytrekker]

I would rather have the choice of living in a pleasant New England town, with real people. California seems to have become a playground for the very rich (along the coast) There are sadly to say many mediocre to bad areas. The weather is flawless along the coast-no doubt about that- but if you want to play -you got to pay. As much as I will always love the Golden state- the many problems it is facing are overwhelming.

Once you drive drive out of the 'desired' gated and upscale communities from my experiences, you encounter graffiti, gangs, bad schools etc- It seems now in San Diego, Orange County, L.A County and most of the San Francisco area one must pay close to 800K - 1 Million dollars for a home in a nice area. The state is beautiful- no doubt about that, but its not the 'Golden Mecca' of 40 years ago.

Massachusetts ranks # 2 by Forbes magazine as having one of the highest quality of life factors in the nation ( California ranks 26th)

From the National Association of realtor's; housing prices
Median price; single family home first quarter 2007

Los Angeles 593K
San Jose-Santa Clara 788k
Orange county 697K
Boston 387K
San Diego 595K
San Francisco 748K
Riverside San Bernardino 397K
Sacramento 365K
Worcester Mass. 270K
Springfield Mass 207K

Seems that Massachusetts is alot cheaper place to buy a house then California- just my 2 cents

[kritterz78]

As far as skytrekkar's reply....I go by personal experience not by statistics. CA may be expensive in areas but so is MA. At least in CA the people are friendly, helpful, curtious, clean, and can speak proper english! I have been to many states and nothing is as filthy and rude as MA. I have heard a lot of people complain about NY....are they kidding??? Everyone I know from NY is nice, friendly, and educated. I would rather pay more to live in an area that is modern and clean. When I lived in CA I payed on average of $800.00 a month for a 2 bedroom townhouse with parking, yard, patio, modern appliances and central air and heat. I lived in a great area that was clean! Here in MA you can't even find a studio for under $1,000 and even then it is in a slum of a neighborhood. Back Bay is supposed to be such a great area, it is infested with rats the size of small dogs, the buildings are so old they are about to crumble, they smell from being heated with oil, if you are one of the lucky one's that have an elevator chances are it was the frist one ever built and it does not work properly. If you go into Dedham, Roslindale, West Rox, and the surrounding areas it is filthy, littered, over priced and ugly! In all of the states I have been in and lived in I have NEVER heard of electric companies having live wires in the streets that electricute and kill peoples dogs while they are being walked. There are a rediculous number of natural gas leaks out here....houses suddenly explode. The taxes are out of control, the road conditions and traffic is horrible. The weather is discusting. I have been to other parts of the East Coast including NY, CT, RI, NH. In my opinion NH is the most beautiful! MA has not one thing going for it! There may be bad areas in all states but overall MA is by far the scumiest place I have ever seen. What MA considers "upscale" is a slum in CA!!!

[skytrekker]

I am in Connecticut-not that far away.

Been to California many times- lived there- actually there is no comparison-Massachusetts is a far cleaner state with Air, water, and more, compared to California.

I do believe the stats from the NAR are correct- housing prices in California are vastly more expensive. Boston housing prices compare with smoggy gang infested areas like Riverside, and Sacramento. Boston area home prices are not bad when you consider the high quality of life compared to those areas.

If you want to live in a 'decent' area of San Francisco, L.A or San Diego, you have to pay twice what you do in Boston.

Taxes? California has a higher sales tax the Massachusetts, it has a higher income tax, it also has higher local taxes. Real estate taxes are higher in Massachusetts - but they pay for a higher level of quality services then in California-including schools, highways, libraries, services for the elderly and more. California rates near the bottom in education for all the 50 states. Massachusetts schools rate in the top 10 states.

You know one can spin it all you want- I can drive through even an average Boston area suburb of Boston and see; less debris, less litter, less graffiti, and NO gangs, no smog and a much higher quality of life. And public schools that compare to private schools in California.

Beyond Boston, the rest of New England makes California look like even a poorer choice, economically, and socially.

East Palo Alto -single family home is 500K very bad area-
Compton Ca- very bad area single family home is close to the median home price in Boston
these two cities have perhaps the worse reputations in California- and the entire nation saying that 'here may be bad areas in all states but overall MA is by far the scummiest place I have ever seen. What MA considers "upscale" is a slum in CA!!! is totally false, as the previous information I provided proves- would I pay $350K for a crime invested crack neighborhood in Compton? Hardly- please present facts- not emotion. A comparable home in California, on a large lot, in a very good town with excellent schools will cost double in California as it does in Massachusetts.

And lastly- I present facts-not insults about California or its people. Sorry it seems some do otherwise.

[ab1222]

I agree with the last post by Kritterz. CA still has a lot of beautiful areas, and what you pay out there you get a big, beautiful, modern home with a large yard on smooth, clean streets that are wide enough for cars to pass each other without having to pull over to let someone pass. In MA everything is so crowded it is unsafe and an emergency vehicle can hardly get through in a timely manner when needed. In MA you get an old, oil heated (usually), house that has not been truly up-dated. Not to mention in MA the insane multi family housing with countless families living in it on top of each other, where everyone has to share one yard....(great for those family get togethers on holiday's or for birthday's when the battle over which family living in one big house gets to use the yard), the narrow old stairs to climb to bring in groceries, laundry, furnature and boxes when moving in, or carry a baby, and Heaven help you if you are allowed to have a dog that has to be taken out several times a day. There may be some areas in CA (like everywhere you go today) that are not desireable anymore, but I know where I lived most of my life was and still is very up-scale, clean, quiet, with homes that put anything in MA to shame. And there are no people like described by Skytrekker where I come from. They are very down to earth, caring, quiet, educated, and have manners which is something you do not find in MA. So as far as quality of living, I guess it depends on what you consider quality; and what is considered quality to the people in MA is considered low-life in CA where the people from the areas I know are. How can MA with its dirty areas with people who are loud, rude, ignorant, hostile, living in houses that are not kept up including the yards on pot-holed streets who are paying way above what it is really worth be considered quality living? Sorry, I just don't get that low-quality mentality.