Boston is without a doubt the worst place I have ever lived. (upkeep, move to)

[Ratherbefishing]

I'm not going to post my personal info. I am well out of school/higher education. That is all that you need to know. I moved back to help my family. I have lived out on the West coast, Utah, NY, Florida. I am also well travelled.

I think it is time to let this thread die. I have said everything and more than I need to.

[miu]

Originally Posted by Ratherbefishing

I'm not going to post my personal info. I am well out of school/higher education. That is all that you need to know. I moved back to help my family. I have lived out on the West coast, Utah, NY, Florida. I am also well travelled.

I think it is time to let this thread die. I have said everything and more than I need to.

I hope that your family appreciates the personal sacrifices you are making in order to help them out. I wonder if you tell them often how much you hate living in Boston...

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by Ratherbefishing

Different places have different cultures. Some people are capable of seeing the differences others just lack the ability to see what is front of them. Defence mechanisms are strange like that.

It sounds like you have conformed to the Boston way of life which is why you probably don't understand.

I should also add that there are two distinct types of people in New England. There are the descendants of the British that follow many of the customs of the Old World. These people in MA are the people with old money, the preppies, and the conservatively dressed types. These people belong to very judgemental country clubs, summer in the Vineyard and Cape, and take sailing lessons at the yacht club as kids. Many go to prestigious universities and are very critical of education. They believe that they have better manners and are of a higher class then others, even though they would never admit it. These are the proper people who are fake friendly to keep up with appearances but will never let you into their little circle unless you're exactly like they are. These are the snobs/yuppies that I was speaking of. These types of people like to keep new members of the community at arms length until they have completed judging you.

The other type is the blue-collar roughian. These guys talk with thick accents and love to start fights for no reason. They'll run you off the road and tailgate you even if your doing 85. They wear sweatpants whenever they aren't working and are a bunch of loud mouths. You will not meet a more pugnacious group of guys.

As I said before this isn't everyone in MA but it is enough people to make me dislike the people and culture here. My personal issue at the moment is that I'm stuck here with a bunch of rude judgemental people and overcast, cold, humid weather.

Not many Yankees in Boston proper lately. I think the last of the Brahmins went into hiding in the 1950s.

[Martha Anne]

Originally Posted by 495neighbor

Not many Yankees in Boston proper lately. I think the last of the Brahmins went into hiding in the 1950s.

Not true. But they are more likely to marry a non-Brahmin (like my Irish American childhood playmate). And they aren't wont to make a big show of their present existence.

There was an obit about a Dr. Cabot recently. (I assume that you know the name.)

[bostonbarney]

Originally Posted by Ratherbefishing

Different places have different cultures. Some people are capable of seeing the differences others just lack the ability to see what is front of them. Defence mechanisms are strange like that.

It sounds like you have conformed to the Boston way of life which is why you probably don't understand.

I should also add that there are two distinct types of people in New England. There are the descendants of the British that follow many of the customs of the Old World. These people in MA are the people with old money, the preppies, and the conservatively dressed types. These people belong to very judgemental country clubs, summer in the Vineyard and Cape, and take sailing lessons at the yacht club as kids. Many go to prestigious universities and are very critical of education. They believe that they have better manners and are of a higher class then others, even though they would never admit it. These are the proper people who are fake friendly to keep up with appearances but will never let you into their little circle unless you're exactly like they are. These are the snobs/yuppies that I was speaking of. These types of people like to keep new members of the community at arms length until they have completed judging you.

The other type is the blue-collar roughian. These guys talk with thick accents and love to start fights for no reason. They'll run you off the road and tailgate you even if your doing 85. They wear sweatpants whenever they aren't working and are a bunch of loud mouths. You will not meet a more pugnacious group of guys.

As I said before this isn't everyone in MA but it is enough people to make me dislike the people and culture here. My personal issue at the moment is that I'm stuck here with a bunch of rude judgemental people and overcast, cold, humid weather.

Wow, only two kinds of people? I think this is commonly known as "black and white thinkin." Life is hard with black and white thinking.

[Nimashan]

Originally Posted by nobodyyouknow

So I came here from Los Angeles kicking & screaming due to my spouse's job. Obviously the weather isn't going to sit well with me. My experience has been long and brutal winters, a non-existent spring (mostly rain), humid summers that warrant 2 showers a day with the beauty of the tropics. Fall is so-so but living for fall seems sad.

We actually live in Newton which is 80% white and have had more than enough racist encounters.

While the food scene is growing it's at least 10 years behind the times and the segregation saddens me i.e. no Little Tokyo (downtoan la), Little Saigon Westminster), koreatown, armenian village etc. I have eaten a lot, and I do mean a lot and my decent meals have been few. In two years I've eaten at two-3 places that I would take out of towners to....providing I could find parking.

My experience with Somerville & Cambridge is why don't they just gate the whole town with two entrances/exits where residents show their pass to enter. It doesn't inspire me to check out my new unfortunate home. For the record Somerville is 7.5 miles from my home in newton and to take the MBTA i would have to take 3 busses and 1 train. It would take approximately 75 minutes and cost 11.25. That just seems whacked to me.

Move into town? Well when we first got here my spouses's job put us up in a apt. in Brookline. Another unfriendly parking city especially when out of town guests come to visit.

I don't feel any buzz or excitement and the independent commercial stores are just rundown, terrible looking and full of crap as is the majority of art I have seen which surprises me given all the youth. Having been to Portland Maine recently it seems to me the youth moves up there where it is more affordable? This would go for Portsmouth as well.

Boston is notorious for navigating and I get lost too often (as does spouse) even with a GPS!

On a slightly positive note, when the trees "pop" in the "spring" it is nice and I do appreciate all the parks, walden pond, the audobon parks. the lack of a horizon/mountains makes me crazy and attributes to my lack of a sense of a direction.

I'd like to understand the physics of road deterioration. h20 expands in the cold, got it, I figuredthe water would mostly be out of the cement? Does the snow and salt really do that much damage? really, the roads here are horrible. That allston/brighton strip leading into boston! Jeez.

I could go on and on and on and on.

I'd really like to know how out of towners survive here/

Hello Nobodyyouknow, I agree with you whole heartedly, moved her from the west coast, Portland Or...I had initially commented on your post and I want to say I am sorry! You never know until you are in the situation. I had all good intentions coming here, got involved in my very "insular" community, joined the gym within 2 mo...HATE HATE this place. Its dirty, people are rude and even going out depresses me, unless I am in the city for an event or eating! But even in the city people can be so rude, and they take pride in it, I get honked at all the time and I feel live I have gone backwards. They don't recycle, it hard to get good organic foods without tracing on these terrible roads with these rude people.

We have the opportunity to go back and we are, we moved here to be closer to family, which is still a six hour drive away, so we are just going to have to fly. I think my Heath has taken a hit being here. No one know how unhappy I am. I remembered your post and just wanted to reach out.

I hope your experience has gotten better, I think it has been about a year? I am just not willing to give it anymore time, we are going back in the fall which will be exactly one year, and it's taking all of me just to make it through that time. I have daughters getting married so we are staying until then.

I would love to hear from you to see how you're doing and what you did, maybe it will make my stay a bit better.


Thanks
.

[Nimashan]

Sorry I think it was "nobodyyouknow" lol

[Nimashan]

You have said it all, 7 mo in and feel like such an outsider, I'm going back West! This place is making me crazy!

[Cliff Clavin]

Originally Posted by Nimashan

Its dirty, people are rude and even going out depresses me, unless I am in the city for an event or eating! But even in the city people can be so rude, and they take pride in it, I get honked at all the time and I feel live I have gone backwards.

Sounds like you didn't actually move to Boston. Where did you move to? I'm curious what's dirtier than Portland OR.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by Cliff Clavin

Sounds like you didn't actually move to Boston. Where did you move to? I'm curious what's dirtier than Portland OR.

Yeah, I like Portland. Nice bookstores and great record stores. Lots of bands. Great summers, though the rain the rest of the year... anyway, it was filthy and totally sketch (strip clubs everywhere), so I can't understand the dirty complaint about Boston being dirty.

I personally had to get off the West Coast after a year. Beautiful scenery, but the people... well, garbage. Fake nice, lets out "mellow" everyone else, just no passion in them... I miss the plants/animals, etc though.