Any former CA natives moved to New England and loved/hated it? (Boston: luxury)

[b_alt]

Originally Posted by puffle

Very well put. If you want to see rich/vs poor try California and look at the natives that no longer can afford to live in their home state. Hordes of people are leaving here as well, but it is overshadowed by the large amount of immigrants that are coming in to make up the difference. Boston is still less expensive to live than California. As an example, we have lousey health care for the poor or financially challenged, gas prices are $3.55 and up, the freeways are so clogged that you can't even escape on the weekends and who wants to with gas prices, I couldn't rebuy a home I sold six years ago or even 8 years ago. Other than the weather, which I find redondent, or you are a surfer, or forced to move here for a job, hopefully a really well paying job, I don't see the point of coming here. So to me, Boston is not the cheapest choice but the cheapest choice is not where I would want to live and raise my family, would you?

I completely agree. In fact, I moved from Menlo Park, CA to Boston several years ago. Out there, a house in a suburban ghetto (East Palo Alto) was around $500,000 and 35 miles from San Francisco. Here, a nice condo in a great school district (Brookline) that is a walk to the heart of Boston is similar or less money. I even prefer the weather here, and barely use my car. Dollar for dollar, there is no comparison in terms of quality of life. At least for me.

And if you must have a house to go with your good school district, there are lots of decent choices within 20 miles of Boston, and all of them are far cheaper than in the Bay Area, in terms of what you get for the money.

That being said, old time residents are also getting pushed out here. It is the relative change that matters, not the absolute price. At least the ones who bought long ago are set for retirement somewhere less expensive.

As for the poor and the newcomers who don't have fabulous jobs, I think both places are difficult. I'm not sure how people manage in the Bay Area. Unlike Boston, there seem to be no cheap alternatives there. Here there are still a few inexpensive places (with poorer school districts).

[rockyroad]

Hi,
We moved from London u.k to No. California a few years ago and are terribly missing being able to walk to places, museums , pubs etc. I have been researching Boston and it is tempting however the one thing that puts me off is snow. I have never lived anywhere where I had to drive in the snow (not even in london) so how is it...can you still take the public transportation?

I am thinking of Belmont since I have 2 toddlers I want somewhere with good schools. Please advise.

[b_alt]

Originally Posted by rockyroad

Hi,
We moved from London u.k to No. California a few years ago and are terribly missing being able to walk to places, museums , pubs etc. I have been researching Boston and it is tempting however the one thing that puts me off is snow. I have never lived anywhere where I had to drive in the snow (not even in london) so how is it...can you still take the public transportation?

I am thinking of Belmont since I have 2 toddlers I want somewhere with good schools. Please advise.

Belmont would be a good choice. Arlington (which is next door) is also OK. Newton and Brookline have better city access via the subway, but they are more expensive. Newton is suburban with small villages and one subway line. Brookline is more of a suburban/urban mix with several subway lines. I live in Brookline and routinely walk into downtown Boston, about 2 miles away. Lots of pubs and restaurants in Coolidge Corner too, which is essentially downtown Brookline.

As for snow, it will be an adjustment. The closer to Boston the less you will have to deal with it, because the ocean keeps the coastline warmer and the city melts the snow faster. Personally, I love having four seasons and wouldn't want to live without it. But others would certainly disagree. At least in Boston the winter has plenty of sunshine, so it does not feel too dreary even if it gets quite cold. As for driving, a four-wheel drive vehicle helps but is not essential. They clear the roads pretty fast here. Of the suburbs I mentioned, only Brookline would allow you to easily live without a car and work in Boston. The subway is (generally) unaffected by snow, but it can get crowded. There are also other good suburbs, but they are farther out which would defeat your desire to be able to walk to museums, pubs, etc.

If you like London, then Boston is a very good choice for the US. Similar in many ways, but much smaller. Fortunately, NYC is 3 1/2 hours away by car, and $30 round trip by bus. Plenty of cultural opportunites in the Northeast. And lots of cute towns and villages in New England, similar to the UK but not as old. They don't call it New England for nothing.

Good Luck.

[rockyroad]

thank you for your useful info.

[skytrekker]

Rocky

Northern California has a mild climate- as does London; London more resembles Seattle-

Boston has a winter with snow- although this past winter snow was sparse. Winters will be colder then Northern California.

California Culture is based on the Auto- although San Francisco is 'walkable' with bars, pubs restaurants and culture relatively close by.

[Teerich]

Originally Posted by nooneknowsmyname

We both hate BART. Too expensive, not convenient, not enough scheduled trips, too many different transit systems with no coordination among them. Not a real public transit system. BART is more like a commuter rail which is proably why you prefer the commuter rail (the purple line) But I guess it's all what one is used to and what one expects public transportation is supposed to be.

I will agree with you on the expense factor of BART. Especially when you add on the parking fees, too. Absolutely out of hand. But I had no problem with the timing of BART. Plenty of trains. Just need to learn the different color lines and where to transfer. No different from the T. Except that BART is plusher, larger and much cleaner than the T. I wish both BART AND the T ran 24 hours, but for the T it hardly matters since most places out here seem to shut down at 9 pm anyway (except Borders and Barnes & Noble, of course).

[Teerich]

Originally Posted by rockyroad

Hi,
I have been researching Boston and it is tempting however the one thing that puts me off is snow. I have never lived anywhere where I had to drive in the snow (not even in london) so how is it...can you still take the public transportation?

Having grown up in the Bay Area and only "went" to the snow less than a handful of times while growing up, I, too, was nervous about the snow prospect here in the Boston area. I have to drive to work from the South Shore and I found that most people slowed down considerably when we had a bad storm. For driving purposes you just slow down and drive carefully. For walking just make sure you lift your feet. I have a tendency to shuffle, so I just pay more attention to walking. Also, I got a great pair of snow boots at Target. I spent about $25 and they were fantastic, so no need to spend $$$ on winter footwear.

[beantown2]

London to CA to Beantown? Welcome aboard! Boston is a TINY city. Like many other cities, it has neighborhoods or districts (pick your word) each with its own characteristic "feel." Cambridge, although separated from Beantown by the Charles River, is a whole 'nuther world! MIT and Harvard are in a race to the middle. Beacon Hill/Back Bay are the areas most visitors liken to parts of London. Re your concerns:
1) Winter can be a pain. Just slow down. February--April=nasty: go south for a week; lift your spirits. My daffs weren't even up three weeks ago, and now it looks like June, but still a bit chilly--a very late spring after a truly dreary winter. This is tough even for locals.
2) Public transportation actually works. The MTA (aka the "T" and busses get you to most places--maybe not fast, but reliably), which includes commuter rails to outlying towns, is better and better. I live on the North Shore, and can easily take the train and T to wherever I need to go. But as I know my way around the two cities, from where I live, I usually drive--I'm now only an occasional city visitor, although I lived in Boston/Cambridge for twelve years (and am a Boston native to boot: not too many of us oldies left!!!).
3) There are lovely towns up and down the coast from Boston (ten towns North=the North Shore; ten towns south=the South Shore). Surrounding Boston are two concentric highways, Routes 128 (inner) and 495 (outer ring), with "spokes" of smaller highways connecting to the two ring roads. Many beautiful areas thus easily accesible by car or public transportation. It is still possible to buy a house here. The market crashed and hasn't recovered, so it's definitely a buyer's market.
4) Just don't come here without a job or VERY good prospects for one: the entire state economy tanked post 9/11 and hasn't recovered--we're in a major population drain. The brain trust in high tech and banking left or is going fast; now the blue collars are going too. That's the bad news. The good news is that if you are employable and plan to stay awhile, you are in a buy-low/maybe sell high prospect. The last time things were this hard in the state no one thought we'd climb out. We did--it took about ten years, but we did.
5) Re safety/crime. In the twenty years I have lived in my neighborhood, I have never locked my doors or car unless it's for a week away. In the city, I locked everything all the time. Crime can be anywhere, but as with nearly every other part of the country, it tends to exist mainly in pockets. If you have friends in an area, talk to them. This forum is great.

Most natives have a real love-hate relationship with this region if they tell the whole truth. Four seasons sound great, but only three of them are really beautiful. The fourth, winter, can really get on your nerves. When I was a kid, it was my favorite season: because I could PLAY. For an adult, shoveling out and heading off to the horrible commute is a true battle. So either get a job that gives you summers off (academics), or gives you a generous vacation package: time for a break in winter, and real relaxation in summer. Then go explore! Good luck!

[b_alt]

Rockyroad,

I thought I would give my view on some of the previous comments vis a vis Boston:

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.

2) Boston is not tiny (except perhaps in comparison to London). It is the 11th most populated metro area in the US with over 4 million inhabitants. But downtown Boston is very compact, and the rest is woodsy suburban with scattered small villages. Imagine taking all of the areas in San Francisco proper that are worth going to, and putting them right next to each other. Boston is more like that, albeit somewhat smaller. This is why many people walk all over Boston. There are no large dead spots in the city center.

3) Many Boston suburbs are indeed lovely. But the housing slump is out there, and not in Boston proper. I think this has less to do with jobs, and more to do with a massive in-migration that is occurring in places like Boston, NYC and Washington DC. Suburban housing is flat or down because people are moving to the city itself. Last year MA housing prices were down 5%, and Boston condo prices were up 7%.

4) The job market in defense and biotech are good, banking is OK (I think), but it is true that manufacturing is having difficulty. It is simply too expensive to do less skilled work here. What is happening is that the lower income people are cashing out their homes and leaving, and they are being replaced by smaller numbers of higher-income people, many of whom are choosing to live in the city. People are leaving the area, but the average income and city housing prices are going up. If you could see how upscale Boston has become relative to 10 years ago, you would be amazed. Places like the South End, which were very poor 20 years ago, are now only for the wealthiest young couples and empty nesters (and the gays and others who bought in early, and the poor in subsidized housing). London and SF are undergoing similar transformations.

I would say that, in addition to Beacon Hill and Back Bay which were already mentioned, the South End is the most evocative of London. It is the largest Victorian residential district in the US.

5) Winter. Here I think the view from the suburbs is very different than it is from the city. The suburbs remain lovely in winter, but are more difficult for commuting and somewhat desolate without the lush green of spring/summer, or the beauty of fall. In contrast, Boston remains vibrant with museums, colleges, shopping, movies, plays, symphony, opera, ballet, bookstores, restaurants, fancy hotels, pubs, etc, etc, etc. One really doesn't notice the long winters so much in the city, except that the sidewalk cafe tables are gone and nobody is sunbathing on the Esplanade. Even the tourists seem to be coming in wintertime now, albeit in smaller numbers. The late-night scene is also improving. Meile at the new Intercontinental Hotel serves filet mignon, amongst other things, 24/7. It almost doesn't seem like the same old Boston.

Anyway, that's my take.

[smarty]

Boston gets about 40 inches of snow a year. But, snow is usually not a problem until they turn into ice. That quarter inch of ice is much worst than 3 inches of snow.

Snowfall (average in inches)
Jan 12
Feb 11.3
Mar 7.9
Apr 0.9
May 0
Jun 0
July 0
Aug 0
Sep 0
Oct 0
Nov 1.3
Dec 7.5

If there is nothing to complaint about, everyone will move here.... many will not be able to afford living here.