Boston is without a doubt the worst place I have ever lived. (Somerville: for sale, condos)

[Nimashan]

I do understand other areas may have been better then east boston , but we live in a two family paying 1900. a mo, and we make a very decent income well above median income but rent aside our utility cost have doubled. Would have love to move to a different area.

And as far a strip clubs you're correct , I think Portland does have the most per capita?? Lol. But really most of them are in north Portland, so when I am DT I am not really affected by them, kind of have to go out of your way.

[bostonguy1960]

Off topic, but regarding strip clubs in Portland, Oregon: there's many adult bookstores and a couple theaters as well as two gay saunas seen on my visit last year -- one of the adult theatres is only a couple doors down from famous Voodoo Donuts! I couldn't see that possible in Boston nowadays. You'd think a developer would have demolished it for condos.

Ok, we do have a just a couple strip clubs and adult stores, yes. But the strip clubs are on LaGrange (LaGrunge?) Street, sort of hidden. But, they are admittedly close to new fancy high rise residential and the Ritz and W Hotels. And an adult store is across from St. Francis day shelter around from the Ritz, and Amazing Adult Store is near Jacob Wirth restaurant ad a good Thai eatery and the W hotel. But overall, I don't see how Boston can beat Portland on seediness overall regarding these establishments.

There was even a thread last fall on the Portland forum about all the strip clubs and adult peep stores there and in some surrounding areas!

Overall, I did like the city and area despite some grit, even though grit is found in and near our Boston.

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by Nimashan

I do understand other areas may have been better then east boston , but we live in a two family paying 1900. a mo, and we make a very decent income well above median income but rent aside our utility cost have doubled. Would have love to move to a different area.

Yeah. I feel like you would've been happier if you'd lived in JP rather than Eastie.

Eastie is nice in a lot of ways, but you sound more like a JP-type person.

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by Guineas

Boston is expensive as hell though. Unlike other cities where there are cheaper neighborhoods for the lower middle class to live, even in high crime areas like Dorchester and Roxbury, a basic condo can still be out of reach for the lower middle class. The Boston suburbs aren't cheap either (you just get more sq ft and privacy). There's just not much new construction in the whole area.

Lots of new construction detached townhomes being built and sold in my area, if you like paying 550K to 750K a unit that is.

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

Off topic, but regarding strip clubs in Portland, Oregon: there's many adult bookstores and a couple theaters as well as two gay saunas seen on my visit last year -- one of the adult theatres is only a couple doors down from famous Voodoo Donuts! I couldn't see that possible in Boston nowadays. You'd think a developer would have demolished it for condos.

Ok, we do have a just a couple strip clubs and adult stores, yes. But the strip clubs are on LaGrange (LaGrunge?) Street, sort of hidden. But, they are admittedly close to new fancy high rise residential and the Ritz and W Hotels. And an adult store is across from St. Francis day shelter around from the Ritz, and Amazing Adult Store is near Jacob Wirth restaurant ad a good Thai eatery and the W hotel. But overall, I don't see how Boston can beat Portland on seediness overall regarding these establishments.

There was even a thread last fall on the Portland forum about all the strip clubs and adult peep stores there and in some surrounding areas!

Overall, I did like the city and area despite some grit, even though grit is found in and near our Boston.

Peabody/Lynn and South Worcester have many illicit "adult" businesses.

[Maroon197]

Originally Posted by Guineas

Boston is expensive as hell though. Unlike other cities where there are cheaper neighborhoods for the lower middle class to live, even in high crime areas like Dorchester and Roxbury, a basic condo can still be out of reach for the lower middle class. The Boston suburbs aren't cheap either (you just get more sq ft and privacy). There's just not much new construction in the whole area. Also factor in heating costs on 100 year old uninsulated wood houses.

I think for a newcomer without a lot of equity, but living on a median income with a family to feed, Boston and most of the surrounding commutable towns can indeed be a crappy place to live for what they are used to. Locals with limited means typically depend on inheritance and other ways of generating income (rentals etc).

On the other hand, Boston and surrounding area is a great place to live if you're a two-doctor or two-lawyer family.

This is the real problem with Boston. I started out living in central Boston in one of my favorite urban neighborhoods in the US, but as time has gone by, I've been price farther and farther out into the suburbs. At first I tried to look at the positives, like how I would have access to big box stores and less chaos out in the suburbs, but that didn't even turn out to be true. Even in the suburbs, the traffic and overcrowding is to the point where I don't even bother trying to go to most of the generic strip mall areas because you can spend 15 minutes just trying to fight your way out of the parking lots. Paying astronomical rents seemed moderately justifiable when I lived in a vibrant urban center, but once you are out in the suburbs still paying absurd housing costs and getting none of the real benefits of suburban living, you start to wonder why you're still here.

[Guineas]

Originally Posted by Maroon197

This is the real problem with Boston. I started out living in central Boston in one of my favorite urban neighborhoods in the US, but as time has gone by, I've been price farther and farther out into the suburbs. At first I tried to look at the positives, like how I would have access to big box stores and less chaos out in the suburbs, but that didn't even turn out to be true. Even in the suburbs, the traffic and overcrowding is to the point where I don't even bother trying to go to most of the generic strip mall areas because you can spend 15 minutes just trying to fight your way out of the parking lots. Paying astronomical rents seemed moderately justifiable when I lived in a vibrant urban center, but once you are out in the suburbs still paying absurd housing costs and getting none of the real benefits of suburban living, you start to wonder why you're still here.

Don't forget high property taxes in the burbs too. Average towns with mediocre school districts like Framingham are even charging over $18 per thousand dollars in property taxes. Towns with better school districts like Sharon are already at $21 per thousand. And they keep increasing every year. None of those towns' property values are low to start with, and add in 2% property taxes, it's almost $10,000 year, which is rent in places like North Carolina. At some point you're "buying" a house at $400k for the privilege of renting from the government at $10k a year ad infinitum. Makes even the Communists blush. And this is before sewer, garbage disposal fees, school fees, etc. When townspeople complain about the property tax increases, the towns respond by paying some third-party assessor to verify the values, not once do they ask themselves if there's anything in the budget that could be done more efficiently or trimmed. Not once. It's like talking to a wall.

The whole state also doesn't even have a decent flagship state university, which just means even more $$$$ to send your kids to college either private or out-of-state tuition. UMass-Amherst is a joke compared to other state flagships like UNC, UT-Austin or UVa. You know how much tuition at UNC costs for in-state residents? $4000 a semester. Same in Texas. Plus tons of merit scholarships.

Welcome to Massachusetts and One Party Rule. We are a state that looks great on paper, but dig a little deeper and you see it's all inflated home values. The only booming economy here is house flipping and all the ancillary people from town inspectors to handymen and real estate agents. The guys in tech and medicine are all busting arse on a hamster wheel and commuting for an hour to support this real-estate dependent bureaucracy. The sooner you walk away, the happier you're going to be. There's a damn good reason why New England is the heroin capital of the country; there's no economy for the lower middle class without connections. Even highly educated professionals struggle to make ends meet here just to achieve a mundane middle class existence. I say that as a two-doctor household.

[xo_kizzy_xo]

Originally Posted by 495neighbor

I have lived and traveled in many places and have never met bigger nosy-bodies than the two of these.

It'd attribute their behavior more to anxiety/boredom than I would to them being lifelong residents. I've had so many coworkers falling into the same category it isn't funny.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by Guineas

The whole state also doesn't even have a decent flagship state university, which just means even more $$$$ to send your kids to college either private or out-of-state tuition. UMass-Amherst is a joke compared to other state flagships like UNC, UT-Austin or UVa. You know how much tuition at UNC costs for in-state residents? $4000 a semester. Same in Texas. Plus tons of merit scholarships.

Umass Amherst is pretty decent, far far better than it was 20 years ago. But I went to UW Madison, and that is probably the best school in the state, there are many states like that, but with some exceptions, generally those states don't have the rich traditions of top private schools like we have here. The best students in WI often go to UW Madison, or UT Austin, etc.

[dwinkler93]

If you're going to compare UMass/Amherst to UT/Austin, let's be honest, and I say this as someone who moved to the Boston area 3 years ago after 13 years in Austin: UT/Austin is an awesome school, but it is IMPOSSIBLE to get in to. Sure it's not as bad as MIT as far as acceptance rates go, but you must rank in the top 8% in your class to get in. And that causes all sorts of problems. It's their answer to affirmative action, but it ensures that high achieving students in really good school districts are forced to go to other state schools or even out of state (Texas A&M also is very selective). Selectivity is good, but kids with 4.0 grade averages and loads of AP and IB classes under their belt aren't getting in. I'm just saying, the grass is always greener.

Couple that with the constant chipping away at public education spending in Texas thanks to a Tea Party led state legislature, and the explosive population growth in the state, and you have a perfect storm. My husband and I were all but convinced the goal of the Republican led senate and house was to create a permanent underclass. So as much as the cost of living is higher in the Boston area - you know what? It's a better place to live with more of a social safety net. And the prices wouldn't be so sky high if people weren't clamoring to live here and jobs weren't being created. Prices go down when demand goes down.

Trust me, you do NOT want to live in Texas. Unless you love Fox News and Ted Cruz. In that case, please move there and join the fun. Your kid probably won't get into UT/Austin though!