I left Boston and now wonder if I can ever get back?

[mdovell]

Originally Posted by Woof

Bad liberals! Bad Obama!

And yet for all that, most liberal cities like Boston have powerful, thriving economies ...... the demand for housing there is what drives up prices ...... conservative cities have lower housing prices because fewer people want to live in them.

boston a liberal city? It has a residency requirement for city employees. How liberal is it to mandate where your employees live

They also block drug store clinics to drive up hospital visits and not create competition.

Just like how is say NYC liberal when they have rent controls? Rent controls mandated that landlords could not raise rents beyond a point. So when inflation came roaring in they simply cut back in maintenance. As a result the quality dipped.

Boston has power mostly because it forces the rest of the state to fund its projects at a determent to others (big dig for starters) and the power of local governments is pretty weak. Who licenses doctors, lawyer, dentists, teachers and other professions? The state. Who funds most of the school districts in gateway cities? The state. Even nearly 20% of Bostons budget comes from the state.
https://www.cityofboston.gov/images_...tcm3-31872.pdf

We have to keep in mind that anything performed in boston is going to cost more then if it was performed in other parts of the state. We are artificially inflating the costs of business, government and general commerce by neglecting the rest of the state and treating it like a foreign country.

The demand for housing does drive up prices but keep in mind that new housing starts are so low.
Asking Prices and Inventory for Homes in Boston Massachusetts | Department of Numbers
See there's half the inventory that we had in 2006.

Conservative cities aren't lower because less people want to live there. Houston is booming right now. In all due respect we don't get anything "extra" for living in boston. Sports are great don't get me wrong but to live in a place to attend sporting events is pretty weak. Higher ed is great but there's only so long you can go to school. If you need specific medical care sure but how long do you stay in the hospital. Some make it out that everyone loves boston and goes to it on a weekly basis from the north or south shore.

But the fact of the matter is both areas have hospitals, they have universities, they have plenty of sports bars and teams to see in person.

At its peak boston had 800k people. It still isn't at 700k yet. If it was really booming it would have grown past that by now.
Using houston as an example it had the same population levels as boston back in 1950 and now it's over twice that.


Newbury street was once bohemian and now it's just chain stores. I know some might pretend that there was this invisible wall around new england somehow keeping some quaint charm but much of it has become generic cookie cutter Americana like many other cities.

If I want a real more unique feeling I'd go to Burlington Vermont, Portland Maine, New Haven CT and a fair amount of western mass. In all cases you get much more for your money. It is not a matter of liberal or conservative but maintaining a quality of life and cost of living. Boston gentrified everything and lost over 100k people in the process.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by mdovell

In all due respect we don't get anything "extra" for living in boston.

Except for quality education, great public transportation, and a walkable lively city center.

[timberline742]

Burlington VT? Have you been there recently? I have, and I used to live there. Totally gentrified and super expensive for the wages. It's "fake" hippy-artsy; its lost almost all its charm. Portland is great though. As is Boston.

And Houston? Have you tried to live in Houston? It's the definition of car centric. A horrible horrible infrastructure that Boston puts to shame. The economy is booming there, but the quality of life is not.

Originally Posted by mdovell

boston a liberal city? It has a residency requirement for city employees. How liberal is it to mandate where your employees live

Uh, very.