First-hand experience: South Shore in winter (Boston, Worcester: house, living, moving to)

[Avondale15]

With this awful weather so far this summer, we keep coming back to the idea of moving to the South Shore (OK, maybe also to the North Shore). Presumably, there is some refreshing breeze somewhat relieving the stifling days. Plus, I've always dreamed about living on the ocean or at least within a walking distance from it.

My question is: What about winter? Is there now a nasty wind that blows right through you? Icy roads? Any other negatives? First-hand experience would be preferred.

[msRB311]

I think it really depends how far south you go. I can remember when it's May for example, it would be 70 in Boston and 60 on the cape. It tends to be 5-6 degrees cooler on the cape (mid cape for me) than it would be in Boston. But I've been on the cape and had some pretty stifling hot days. They do seem to get less snow than in Boston. I've mainly heard that the cape is boring in the winter and people tend to feel isolated.

[P Larsen]

I'd distinguish Cape Cod from the South Shore. That said, the Gulf of Maine (which is a very separate sea of the Atlantic Ocean, with which it only has two deep channel connections; the Gulf of Maine is more influenced by the cold Labrador Current than the warm Gulf Stream) is cooler than prevailing land air temperatures in (roughly) spring and summer, and vice versa in (roughly) autumn and winter: spring is more frustrating (very much more so on the Capes - and, vice versa, autumn is often the loveliest season on the Capes) in that regard than winter. BUT, because of the water vapor and consequent higher dew points and milder temperature the closer one is to the ocean, ocean-effect storms can dump a lot of heavy wet snow in SE Massachusetts - it just tends to melt faster than in the interior. When Worcester gets, say, 12-15" of powder, Plymouth might well get 6-8" of liquid cement or a combination of precip types.

Winds from the east - which are unusual in the summer here, but common in early-to-mid spring - can bring in cool air from off the Gulf of Maine and produce fog. Winds from the south, which are more common in summer here, only cool land that is proximate to the southern coastline (the South Shore is east-facing, not south-facing). So the Capes and the South Coast along Buzzards Bay can get some relief in the summer while everyone else just bakes. There's a reason New Englanders love the coast of Maine in the summer: lots of southerly exposure to the air coming in off the cool waters of the Gulf of Maine.

[Iced_Coffee]

Speaking for the Cape specifically, but this may also apply to the southern parts of the South Shore: In my experience, the Cape is better in winter and summer than say the Metrowest suburbs (just using them as an example). Winter is not as cold, and summer temps tend to be a bit more mild. However, fall and spring are up for debate. Spring on the Cape is cooler and sometimes you have those mid-spring days elsewhere that are nice and 65-70 degrees, where it's still in the 50s and breezy on the Cape. Same with fall, although maybe to a lesser degree. September and October are fantastic there, but most of the state is pretty glorious that time of year as well.

All told, I would absolutely trade the weather where I live (suburb along 128) for the weather on the Cape. I prefer cooler temperatures in general. But my dad, who lives on the Cape from spring until mid-fall, does not care for the cold so he spends all of April/May complaining.

[ben young]

Originally Posted by P Larsen

I'd distinguish Cape Cod from the South Shore. That said, the Gulf of Maine (which is a very separate sea of the Atlantic Ocean, with which it only has two deep channel connections; the Gulf of Maine is more influenced by the cold Labrador Current than the warm Gulf Stream) is cooler than prevailing land air temperatures in (roughly) spring and summer, and vice versa in (roughly) autumn and winter: spring is more frustrating (very much more so on the Capes - and, vice versa, autumn is often the loveliest season on the Capes) in that regard than winter. BUT, because of the water vapor and consequent higher dew points and milder temperature the closer one is to the ocean, ocean-effect storms can dump a lot of heavy wet snow in SE Massachusetts - it just tends to melt faster than in the interior. When Worcester gets, say, 12-15" of powder, Plymouth might well get 6-8" of liquid cement or a combination of precip types.

Winds from the east - which are unusual in the summer here, but common in early-to-mid spring - can bring in cool air from off the Gulf of Maine and produce fog. Winds from the south, which are more common in summer here, only cool land that is proximate to the southern coastline (the South Shore is east-facing, not south-facing). So the Capes and the South Coast along Buzzards Bay can get some relief in the summer while everyone else just bakes. There's a reason New Englanders love the coast of Maine in the summer: lots of southerly exposure to the air coming in off the cool waters of the Gulf of Maine.

Good Job .,, Ben

[Southshorebound]

I think it also depends on where you live on the south shore. We live across the street from a salt pond separated from the ocean by a barrier island. My house gets little in the way of snow; even other areas of town further inland receive a couple of inches. My in-laws live three miles away from us in Hingham and routinely get snow when we get rain. Additionally, our flowers take longer to bloom than the same species growing further inland. That being said, the last few days have been stifling, with little in the way of the ocean breeze that is usually present.

I am from Austin originally, and the novelty of living near the ocean has never worn off on me. For me, nothing beats starting your day with a walk down to the beach or ending your day with a post-work swim. There are some tradeoffs, traffic into Boston being the main one, but if you value living near the ocean while still within commuting distance to the city, the south shore is hard to beat.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by P Larsen

I'd distinguish Cape Cod from the South Shore. That said, the Gulf of Maine (which is a very separate sea of the Atlantic Ocean, with which it only has two deep channel connections; the Gulf of Maine is more influenced by the cold Labrador Current than the warm Gulf Stream) is cooler than prevailing land air temperatures in (roughly) spring and summer, and vice versa in (roughly) autumn and winter: spring is more frustrating (very much more so on the Capes - and, vice versa, autumn is often the loveliest season on the Capes) in that regard than winter. BUT, because of the water vapor and consequent higher dew points and milder temperature the closer one is to the ocean, ocean-effect storms can dump a lot of heavy wet snow in SE Massachusetts - it just tends to melt faster than in the interior. When Worcester gets, say, 12-15" of powder, Plymouth might well get 6-8" of liquid cement or a combination of precip types.

Winds from the east - which are unusual in the summer here, but common in early-to-mid spring - can bring in cool air from off the Gulf of Maine and produce fog. Winds from the south, which are more common in summer here, only cool land that is proximate to the southern coastline (the South Shore is east-facing, not south-facing). So the Capes and the South Coast along Buzzards Bay can get some relief in the summer while everyone else just bakes. There's a reason New Englanders love the coast of Maine in the summer: lots of southerly exposure to the air coming in off the cool waters of the Gulf of Maine.

It also depends on where on the Cape. I have friends with a house on Scraggy Neck in the Cataumet part of Bourne. It's on Buzzards Bay. It has the exact same weather as me on the South Coast. Buzzards Bay has a reliable 20 mph afternoon summer breeze out of the southwest. If you're right on the coast, 90F is unusual. In the winter, it's more likely you'll get rain than snow. The ocean temps in the summer are also much warmer. It's typically 68F and swimmable in mid-June. Falmouth is similar.



Where I live, if I go a few miles inland, it's much hotter in the summer and it gets a lot more snow in the winter.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by P Larsen

When Worcester gets, say, 12-15" of powder, Plymouth might well get 6-8" of liquid cement or a combination of precip types.

There are also lots of days with snow or sleet in central MA and rain in Plymouth. Both the amount of snow and the number of days with snow are cut in half in Plymouth.
Overall snow is much less of a concern.

[Avondale15]

Originally Posted by P Larsen

When Worcester gets, say, 12-15" of powder, Plymouth might well get 6-8" of liquid cement or a combination of precip types.

Is this poetic license, or do you really mean Plymouth would get 6-8" of ice? Hard to believe. . . .

[MtPleasantDream]

Originally Posted by Avondale15

With this awful weather so far this summer, we keep coming back to the idea of moving to the South Shore (OK, maybe also to the North Shore). Presumably, there is some refreshing breeze somewhat relieving the stifling days. Plus, I've always dreamed about living on the ocean or at least within a walking distance from it.

My question is: What about winter? Is there now a nasty wind that blows right through you? Icy roads? Any other negatives? First-hand experience would be preferred.

Do we live in the same Massachusetts?
IMO this summer has been very mild so far. The temperatures are rarely above 90 during the day, and mostly below 70 at night.