How much of a problem is the snow.....really? (Boston: houses, schools)

[nate14ri]

here in boston, people often will just ignore shoveling out thier cars after a heavy snowstorm and rely on public transportation because the plows just push the snow up against parked cars anyways.

and then there is the dreaded garbage cans marking shoveled territory.... should heaven forbid you take someone elses shoveled spot....

believe me, snow sucks, shoveling it, driving in it ect. it gets old quick. and it never stays white, instead it turns black and dirty. ugh.

but thankfully MA has many good reasons to stay here.

[JBFL]

Thanks for asking this question OP. I am seriously considering moving there for school. I have lived in Florida for much of my life. And I gotta tell ya, its unbearably hot! It's disorienting and extremely unpleasant. I live like 5 minutes from the beach and its just too hot to even go to the beach in the heart of the summer. You feel like you might die after 30 minutes. And on a "normal day", a few hours into it your already filthy from the heat and humidity, gross, sweaty and sticky. I live in North Florida, and It is hot like that from May until at LEAST November. No seasons. And almost everyday you can expect a Nasty, violent Lightning and thunderstorm. Anyways... That's not the only reason I want to move. In Florida, the people are nosy, superficial, up-tight, conservative and extremely judgmental (Not all, just most)... So I put Mass on my list as a possible relocation destination, as you guys have good education up there as well. I just got back from checking out Boston and some surrounding areas and I absolutely loved it!!! Of course I was just a visitor, But It had an overall good vibe, the people seemed much more laid back and not all in everyone's business and staring at people when they walk by. There's much more "culture" than what I'm used to here in Florida. And I can just see myself living in that kind of atmosphere. The only issue is, of course, the snow. I lived in Buffalo for a couple years growing up, so I have a general idea of whats in store. My girlfriend however, who spent her entire youth dealing with "real winters" vowed to never return to it. But she absolutely loved it there as well. But her major issue and only real argument against moving there is the winter. But my response is simply that life goes on. Am I wrong??? I hate to generalize you guys, the resident's, opinions. However, a lot of people live in your state, in the Boston area especially, and I would think that you just deal with it and live your life as expected (with a few icy obstacles of course). I've gotten a few opinions on this post, but I mean is it unbearable? Or bearable? I really like it there, but of course I haven't seen the winter side of things!!! I'm thinking its worth it. Am I wrong?\

Thanks for opinions guys!

[ogre]

Everyone . . . pay close attention to the last few lines of JBFL's post. Please! Yes, JBFL, you're guessing absolutely correctly. Sometimes winter is a pain in the rear, but ya know what? You deal with it and move on, just as you are supposing is the case. In fact, some find winter sports they enjoy, so they even find a positive side to winter.

[TheseGoTo11]

Snow is the #1 reason I haven't returned to New England. We get in DC, too, but far less of it, and our spring comes in very quickly.

I don't ski, which has something to do with it as well. If you like ice skating, skiing, outdoor hockey, etc, makes a big difference.

Also, early sunsets in Mass can be an issue for some. In December, the sun sets in Boston 35 minutes before it does in DC, and 1 hour 20 min before it does in Atlanta, because Boston is so far north and east. If I could, I would spend summers in Boston and the Cape, but live somewhere else from early Nov to late March.

[Jimrob1]

I think it is very important for someone moving to Boston to take two things very seriously. That is the high cost of living in the city as well as the entire region. The other is where one will live in relation to where they will be working. One needs to know if they can make the commute in winter time not just when the weather is nice. With that said other than that, it is a wonderful place and the quality of life is very good.

Really depending on where you plan on living in the Boston area, I can't stress enough make sure you can handle the commute in winter. It can be difficult to say the least especially if one depends solely on driving and isn't use to snow. Mass is difficult enough to drive in let alone adding snow.
If one both lives and works right in town the snow would be much easier to take, but the majority of everyone has a commute. Some drive in from Rhode Island and New Hampshire even.

I lived 35 miles south of Boston for many years. I worked in the city, but not in an area that was accessible to commuter rail. I had to drive. If it was a bad winter and there are definitely those years, I suffered.
My commute thru many storms meant bumber to bumper crawling traffic. These commutes could make that 35 miles a 3 hour torture session on Rt 128, 95 and surface streets. They were not all bad commutes, but I remember some years I seriously thought of quitting my job. I had 2 accidents in my years of winter driving and that is when I would think of quitting the job. Of course I could not do that so I endured. I could not afford to live closer to Boston and liked where I lived, so its a huge tradeoff at times.

Im sure you will enjoy the area. Having some snow is nice though, just not on the roads when you need to get to work or home.

[JBFL]

Ok. So I got the right assumption? I hope so bc I'm really hoping to set things up and relocate. And convince my girlfriend. I used to travel every year with my family to snowboard and ski. So I can appreciate the coldness. Driving on the other hand... Um, well that will probably be my downfall. Good thing public transportation is widely utilized there. Where I live in Florida, public transportation is rarely used and to say the least, scary. When i visited Boston I rode the buses, subways, and i felt comfortable doing so, unlike here. And I also agree driving there was difficult. But then again Im used to the "grid" streets. And every street here actually has lanes! I am also aware of the living price. But, I am confident I can find something that will work for us.... Its just the winter Im worried about...Thanks for input!

[stivlar]

We are really sort of blessed in the New Bedford area when it comes to accumulation of the white stuff. Yes, we get an occasional rare blizzard, but for the most part, this area of S.E. MA gets far less snow than the Boston area for instance. Many times in the winter it will be snowing furiously 20 miles or more north of New Bedford while we are getting flurries or even rain. It must have something to do with the open ocean to our south and not part of Massachusetts Bay.

[DarinsMom]

In December, the sun sets in Boston 35 minutes before it does in DC, and 1 hour 20 min before it does in Atlanta, because Boston is so far north and east.



Even more reason for me to move South. I can't STAND going to work when it's dark and then watching the sun go down at 4:30 pm. It's not right!!!

[CaseyB]

That's a good point about the darkness factor. You need the sun out to prevent the roads from freezing up. It's very dangerous when there is black ice.


YouTube - Black ice

[Boston14]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

That's a good point about the darkness factor. You need the sun out to prevent the roads from freezing up. It's very dangerous when there is black ice.


YouTube - Black ice

I hate black ice