Leaving Boston: Disappointed (Holland, Washington: college, live, stores)

[Guineas]

Originally Posted by asdfx0rz

Boston is where you go if you want to live life at max speed, its not a retirement community, or a place where people sit and watch the corn grow. It's a place where you lose teeth for talking about the Yankees, or you end up in a gutter for thinking you're better than a Boston native. I'm not trying to say Boston is a violent city, but a city full of people that are proud to call it home, and are willing to pick up their fists and whatever else to defend the name of their city.

What a load of crap, half the people living in the city at any given time don't even have a Massachusetts license.

[snatale1]

Originally Posted by Repubocrat

Spent the weekend in Boston and I am leaving this place disappointed, same nasty, rude, stressed culture you see in NJ, Philly and other places.

Don't confuse direct and to the point with rude!

Driving in this city is like driving in a 3rd world country, a system of roads that makes absolutely no sense, total lack of signs, sometimes, 4 streets intersect and you can't even tell where one ends and the next one starts, one of the most stressful experiences of my life.

3rd would country? REALLY? Last time I check a 3rd world country would probably have dirt roads with no signage. Why does it make no sense? You've never seen a 4 way intersection? are you sure YOU don't live in a 3rd world country?

Very rude, agressive drivers, absolutely no regard for other people. I was driving on one of the highways and suddenly, here comes a toll booth, no signs, no warning, no way to get off the highway to get some cash, ask the dumbass who works in the booth, how much, he goes "$5.50", I was like, Are you serious?

There is ALWAYS toll warnings, and aside from the bridges and tunnels there's only ONE toll road, The Mass Pike. Pay attention!

This dude had the nastiest attitude, he goes like "Do you have the money? It is a YES or NO question", what an *******! So I tell him, I only had $2.50, I am from out of town and I had no way of knowing since there were no signs, he treats me like **** and gives me a stupid piece of paper to fill out. So, I am filling out a piece of paper, while there are 40 cars behind me honking, I have never seen anything more ridiculous.

So, now I owe the Mass DOT, $5.50, and I am supposed to send a check in for that amount. I will be sending the MA DOT, a check for $5.50 next week with a nice "**** YOU" note, what a joke of a city that is!

So, you think because you had the out of towner excuse, what, you shouldn't have to pay the toll? How does that make sense? Sounds like your only cut out for little cities like Des Moines out in the middle of nowhere.

[whisk3rs]

Originally Posted by asdfx0rz

Bostonians don't take s@#$ from anyone, especially some visitor clogging up the toll booth.

That's a pretty good self-serving summary of how we, Bostonians, are friendly, fast-paced, and open-minded

[Nehlybel1984]

Originally Posted by Cantabridgienne

You sound like a very delicate flower. You should have just taken the train but then again, that probably would have resulted in you "being treated like ****" by people who have the nerve to expect you to pay for services you use.

I love the way you put this...especially since I found out that the OP is a 32 year old single man! Such a delicate little flower, he is! ;o)

[halfabuck]

Boston roads are all old cow paths leading to the markets and the piers. It is difficult to drive and navigate these roads. And probably extra difficult for someone from Iowa. This is not a planned city like many other major cities. Drivers can be rude at times and everyone definitely tries to get ahead of you and drives too fast. But Boston is a very busy city and there's a lot more nicer people than not.

[Hudlander]

Originally Posted by Morris Wanchuk

It was not really supposed to. They sold it that way, but it was more than that.


The point of the Central Artery was to make sure that shipments of hazardous goods did not travel through Boston, especially even with the 2nd/3rd floor windows of major employment centers.

Now they have to go around the city and avoid going on 93 on their way either to the airport or on the way to points North.

The biggest disappointment to come out of the project was the decision to scrap the North-South station connection was idiotic.

Also, never again will Construction Manager Not-At-Risk be used.

Wrong, wrong, wrong Morris. Stick to stalking Jack Edwards and ranting vile racist comments about how much you hate the Celtics because they are more popular than hockey in Boston.

The big dig was designed to solve an ongoing and worsening traffic problem in Boston.
The Central Artery was a mess from day one, like most highways built in the 50s. This is because, the Central Artery was built pre-interstate standards, meaning lanes were not wide enough, merges too small, and too many exits.

Most of all, it calculated the capacity back in 1950s terms, where 1 car per household was normal. As the US moved further out, and more and more people had cars, central artery, and even highways like the capital beltway, swelled well beyond capacity.

Of course, this was exaggerated for the worse in the central artery, because it was in the center of the city.
They said back in the late 80s, traffic basically was impassable during most of the day.
Had they kept the central artery as is, traffic would now be backed up 16 hours or more a day in Boston, or pretty much every waking hour!

Thankfully, they barely got the big dig approved, and today, not only is the skyline more pleasurable to look it, but you actually can pass through Boston.

Were it not for the big dig, at best you would have traffic backed up, gridlocked, every hour of daylight, and at worst, you could likely have an episode like Minnesota on I-35, no doubt, the artery would have collapsed.

The problem with the big dig is, all it did (like most construction) was push congestion elsewhere (or displace it).
Now, instead of being jammed in Boston, you are jammed going south to Quincy and north at Woburn.

I have no idea what Morris is talking about, but like with Boston sports, he is wrong.

[Texabama]

Originally Posted by Guineas

What a load of crap, half the people living in the city at any given time don't even have a Massachusetts license.

Cause they can't afford a car, or don't want or need to drive one, or put up the the hassle of finding a place to park the car.

[Perfect Stranger]

Originally Posted by Repubocrat

Sometimes, 4 streets intersect and you can't even tell where one ends and the next one starts, one of the most stressful experiences of my life.

You must have lived a really sheltered life.

[bigverb]

That's why hayseeds like are warned not to drive in Boston. You should stick to the suburbs where the roads are straight and there's always a Ruby Tuesdays.

[BHboston]

I do feel sorry for anyone who drives here without realizing what they're in for. I've lived here for most of my life and still get confused many times I go new places, i.e. coming to an intersection with no street signs and taking a couple of wrong turns until I get onto the right street.

I recently moved back from Chicago and driving there was, in my opinion, BORING. As in, go 1 block on a straight flat road, 4-way stop sign (people actually take turns going each direction in an orderly fashion), go another block, another 4-way stop sign, repeat forever and ever. If that sort of driving is what someone is used to, I can only imagine how overwhelming Boston must seem.