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Hi guys! My wife and I have been contemplating where we would like to move to for some time now, and we have come to the conclusion that New England is the place we both seem to keep coming back to. Now, for background, we are both southern born and have never lived anywhere else (AL, NC, and TN). It is hard to explain, as we have never been to New England, but we both feel like that is where we want to be. We are taking a trip later this year to Boston, but I would like to see if there are any southern transplants to the Boston area that would be willing to share their story with us. The things you like/dislike, things you had to get used to etc etc. For those of you who are not southern transplants, please feel free to share any pertinent information, we are all ears! Thank you in advance!
Welcome to the MA forum! I'm curious about what parts of those states you have listed you've lived in. I'm thinking about the kind of natural landscape you might be used to. We've got mountains, beaches, and lakes here, so any of the natural features near the places you've lived are likely to be here. Be aware, though that at the beaches the water here will be just a tad cooler than you might have encountered in NC or AL.
As for the built environment, contrary to what you might have heard, the Boston area does have some suburbs with strip malls and McMansions and such, but compared to much of the South, a lot higher percentage of the residential areas around here have attractive older houses and quaint little downtown areas. We just haven't had as much growth as the South has in the era of totally auto-based land use patterns, so a higher percentage of our towns and cities had their layouts fairly well set prior to the post-WWII explosion in auto-based suburbia. There are definitely plenty of areas around here where it would be difficult to go car-free, but it's still easier than you might find in many parts of the country to live near public transit and commercial districts you can walk to, if that's your preference.
There's another "cold" aspect to New England which you'll likely pick up on right away. Even before iPods and smartphones became indispensable to too many people, random friendly greetings to strangers met on the sidewalk were unheard of in most urban and suburban areas. It's a cynicism born of being hit up for money, or scammed, too often - or hearing about it happen. A high rate of transiency in many places can also be blamed. Why go to the trouble of making pleasantries, much less strike up an acquaintanceship, when you know your days at that location are numbered?
I (raised by SC natives in the somewhat friendlier Cincinnati area) combat this in part by keeping alive the urban tradition of perching on the front stoop with reading material during warmer weather. Passersby generally become more sociable once they see someone familiar. But as far as building a social life is concerned, you do have to work harder at it than would be the case down South. Whether neighbors or people met through a common interest, folks will only take to you after some time has passed. The flip side of this is that your relationships are more genuine instead of grist for the gossip mill.
You'll also never hear asked, "What church do you go to?" The hegemony of Baptist and "mega" churches is absent in New England. So people are far less hung up on religion here. Catholicism is a large but not overbearing presence, particularly in Boston and its satellite cities, meaning you'll run across many a parochial school (from nursery school all the way to BC and other colleges) and some architecturally imposing places of worship yet not feel out of place. Every Protestant sect is also well represented, Unitarians are visible, and some suburbs have large Jewish populations. Perhaps due to their "group-think" oriented cultures, Chinese and Korean and other Asian immigrants have helped spur some growth in the "non-denominational 'church'" category. A few former churches, stores, etc have been re-adapted by these groups, which also gather at school or hotel meeting rooms or even a YMCA. But here we are happily far from hosting anything like a T. D. Jakes or Rick Warren "congregation" of thousands jumping to amplified "praise music" and rallying behind the Christian Right issue of the month. Socially speaking this is a major departure from what one experiences in Midwestern or Southern metropolitan areas these days.
The New England states also have mountains (relatively speaking) and an ocean shoreline within their boundaries - save for Vermont, of course. But they're a good bit closer together! I love having that proximity for seaside and Berkshires retreats.
If you can get past being stared at, or ignored, after saying "good morning" to a stranger on the street...if knowing the last politically significant "tea party" in the region was the original one...if you have nerves of steel and quick reflexes to deal with our crazed drivers...if five months of winter and five weeks of spring are no faze...you'll probably like it here.
Welcome to the MA forum! I'm curious about what parts of those states you have listed you've lived in. I'm thinking about the kind of natural landscape you might be used to. We've got mountains, beaches, and lakes here, so any of the natural features near the places you've lived are likely to be here. Be aware, though that at the beaches the water here will be just a tad cooler than you might have encountered in NC or AL.
As for the built environment, contrary to what you might have heard, the Boston area does have some suburbs with strip malls and McMansions and such, but compared to much of the South, a lot higher percentage of the residential areas around here have attractive older houses and quaint little downtown areas. We just haven't had as much growth as the South has in the era of totally auto-based land use patterns, so a higher percentage of our towns and cities had their layouts fairly well set prior to the post-WWII explosion in auto-based suburbia. There are definitely plenty of areas around here where it would be difficult to go car-free, but it's still easier than you might find in many parts of the country to live near public transit and commercial districts you can walk to, if that's your preference.
Hope you like long winters and lots of snow!
I was born and raised in Mobile, AL, but moved to Memphis, TN at the age of 14. My wife was born in the Winston-Salem area of NC, and we both lived in Winston for almost a year, before moving to Gulf Shores, AL for a little over a year, and have been back in Memphis for 5 years now. I am used to the beach and love it, mountains too. I know the water is probably a bit chilly up there, but I am willing to sacrifice the warmer waters for the other amenities of the northeast. I actually prefer the older homes and quaint downtown areas, in fact, that is one of the things we were looking for. We would love to be able to have a walk-able type downtown. I have also learned one thing over the last few years, I am beginning to hate the heat down here! It feels as if it is getting hotter every year. Maybe I would think the same of the cold in MA, but as of right now, I would prefer the cold and snow to the heat of the south.
goyguy- I have heard of people saying that about north easterners, however, I do have a few friends from high school that work in the medical field up in Boston, and they say it has been much easier to find GOOD friends in Boston than here. I am willing to work a little if it means having true friends, rather than the friend in name only type thing that goes on a lot here. I am also happy you brought up the religion aspect. That is another reason we are looking at the area, as we are both agnostic/atheist. Here in the south that is one of the first things people ask you when they meet you. So that is good to hear. I have heard about the drivers also, but honestly, if they are any crazier than the people here in Memphis I would be surprised. I am sure there are many more drivers in the Boston are than Memphis, but here people swerve in and out of traffic going 90 in a 55, and most of those have no insurance, so that makes it a little scary at times. Overall, I would be fine with the drivers, my wife might have a tougher time adjusting, as she can get a little nervous while driving at times.
How is the job market in the area? I have heard it is better than most places around the country, but how is it really? Do you guys know anything about the job market for Marketing type positions, for me, or accounting type for my wife?
My spouse was born in East TN. Even after living up north for about twenty-five years, now, but there are still intentions to eventually "return home". I'll outline one of the reasons, below, the reason that I think is typically least discussed by others - crampedness:
While there are some newer areas and some areas "better planned", the typical scenario up here is much more of a cramped community than my spouse feels most comfortable in. The seems to be a far greater prevalence, up here, of homes - really all buildings - closer together. There are numerous places where even the roads and highways reflect a crampedness - a compromising of standards for laying out streets in deference to that which had already been there long before there were motor vehicles. That historical aspect of crampedness seems to have affected the overall aesthetic ethic, resulting in what I believe my spouse would consider an "over-capitalization" of available space, as a general rule.
To demonstrate this, let's just compare the offices of one company, KPMG. Use Google Street View to compare the area in front of the KPMG offices in Atlanta versus in Boston. Compare the spacious park across the street from the Atlanta office to the anemic park across the street from the Boston office. The sidewalks are wider in downtown Atlanta, because the street parking doesn't essentially steal that buffer space from the sidewalks. The buildings in the distance in Boston are a clump, whereas in Atlanta they're individual buildings, placed in the landscape seemingly with more care, and more breathing room. Want another comparison? Compare KPMG's Dallas office to KPMG's Providence office.
This difference in crampedness is relatively consistent, comparing comparable-to-comparable, between New England and the South. There are exceptions, of course - the point is that the comparisons I pointed out are indicative of the overall difference. The purpose of focusing on downtown offices is just because it is easier to see the validity of the comparison, and much easier to see the distinction. But the situation is generally true: The average parking space in the grocery store seems to be narrower in New England. The average highway entry ramp seems to be longer in the South. There seems to be a lot more double utility poles in New England. And so on.
You should probably prepare yourself for some sticker shock regarding housing, especially if you plan to live in Boston (or its surrounding urban area like Cambridge/Somerville/Brookline).
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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Originally Posted by ImissThe90's
goyguy- I have heard of people saying that about north easterners, however, I do have a few friends from high school that work in the medical field up in Boston, and they say it has been much easier to find GOOD friends in Boston than here. I am willing to work a little if it means having true friends, rather than the friend in name only type thing that goes on a lot here.
Well said. This is the real difference to me. Friends here are friends, while I never really found that or saw that on the West Coast or in the South.
Interesting post, bUU. The differences you describe are a classic urban design paradigm: Do buildings become constituent parts of larger blocks that define the street space with a continuous wall, as in Paris and so many other European cities, or are buildings separate objects in space set off by landscaping or other space (e.g., parking lots)? The example you cite is right in downtown Boston, but in most of the Boston area buildings -- especially houses -- tend to be close together but not actually connected. Which leaves a sort of hybrid between the more traditional city form of buildings in blocks versus the automobile-facilitated landscape of separate objects. Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline, etc., exmplify the hybrid-- "cramped" as you put it but still with some space between most structures. I kind of like the hybrid but each to his own.
And to be fair, there are instances of crampedness in the South, and instances of spaciousness in New England. It's the overall feeling of the two places, taking in how much of each there is, not just with regard to urban areas, but also suburbs, and even rural areas, that forms the overall feeling of one place or another, in this regard.
I am not from the south but lived in Memphis for two years before I moved to Boston about 9 months ago.
Housing costs are much more expensive. People are not as friendly. But it's really easy to get around both within the city and to other places (New York, Maine coast, DC, Philly, etc). Flights are much much cheaper. My car insurance is cheaper (people who aren't familiar with Memphis might be surprised, but there are tons of uninsured motorists there to drive the rate up). A lot less urban blight here. I haven't seen any areas that look as dilapidated as some parts of Memphis. Much safer.
I'm a young married person and have had trouble finding friends, but if you have a family it may be easier. People are certainly more upfront here so I can see it being easier to make close friends once you have friends. Compared to Memphis there are many more trees here. Big old beautiful leafy trees. Grocery prices seem cheaper (no sales tax on them) and the regular sales tax is much lower. We do have state income tax though.
I don't know specifics about your industries but my husband and I both started job hunting from Memphis in Feb 2013. He had a job by April and I had one by July. All was done before we moved.
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than you might have encountered in NC or AL. 
