What would you Do ? Boston or Atlanta ? help ME ! (Arlington: cheap house, neighborhoods)

[superdoc]

We are a south asian (indian) family (in mid 30's with 5 yo kid) presently living in OHIO. I have a job offer from Atlanta and Boston.
Our profession's -
myself - physician
wife - network programmer
We are in a dilemma as to what we should do, because of the following -

Boston-
PROS-
We have lived there 2 years and know the town very well
Lots of friends up there with some distant family
Some of the best schools - public and private
Stable job with decent salary - but growth prospects are limited however good long term pension plan
In Boston with high cost of living will NOT be able to afford private schools
Just love the town ! - Public transport - great
Sports - awesome - (hate the celtics as they beat the cavs)
College opportunities awesome for kids
like the europeon feel of the place with smart people all around

CONS
Weather - hate the cold with all our heart !
HOusing sucks '- cannot find decent subdivision even for 700k !
We hate old houses
Traffic sucks -
It's crampy


ATLANTA

Pros -
Job in ATL has tremendous earning potential about 70% greater than bos long term
weather
good housing
will be able to afford private schools - if needed
not too many prep schools/pvt unis


CONS -
have zero friends in ATL !
daugheter has asthma - atlanta is asthma capital of usa !
public schools good but not the best
private school admisson - very tough
not sure how i would fit with the southerner's

Schooling is the most important thing for us but job in atl is better significantly - please HELP us..I have to decide in a week ! what should we do. !

[WannaGoHome]

If your daughter's asthma is as bad as you say it is, please take this into serious consideration. I had the worst asthma ever living in Virginia Beach as a child and, coupled with allergies, I was miserable for a long time.

[sfosyd]

If you dislike the traffic in Boston, Atlanta will be a huge shock. The traffic in Atlanta is 100 times worse than Boston. Also, Atlanta sprawls for miles and miles so there are seemingly many nice, cheap houses on big lots but the commutes are beyond dreadful. If you want to live in a good commute area of Atlanta, I think you will basically pay Boston prices especially if you factor in the price of private school. Surprisingly, Massachusetts income and property taxes are significantly less than Georgia's!

In terms of climate, Atlanta does have brutally hot summers and many more bad air days than Boston.

Boston has many more commute options including a good commuter rail, the T and a more centralized structure.

Boston is also a much better location, close to NYC, the mountains, the beach etc. Atlanta feels very isolated to me.

[charolastra00]

I grew up in Atlanta and now go to school in Boston and I have to say traffic, what? I've been in the car with friends during "rush hour" and heard them complain while I'm looking for the *real* traffic! I don't have asthma but you'd never know it listening to me in the South. I just got used to not breathing out of my nose for months at a time!

Atlanta has it's benefits, but I would never live there again. No public transportation to speak of (Marta is a joke) and the pollution are the two worst things for me. There are plenty of good public schools (I went to one!), but often you would have a lengthy commute to live in the district. The cost of living is lower in Atlanta but it's really abundantly clear that you get what you pay for.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by superdoc

Boston-

CONS
Weather - hate the cold with all our heart !
HOusing sucks '- cannot find decent subdivision even for 700k !
We hate old houses
Traffic sucks -
It's crampy

Obviously everyone's calculus is different and you have a lot of considerations. For me, I wouldn't even think about Atlanta, but I have a lot of reasons for that that don't apply to everyone. What I can do is speak to the cons you list for Boston.

1. If you don't like the cold, not much we can do about that.

2. Housing is expensive but has been leveling off or coming down, and buyers have some leverage. There are a number of nice houses in Belmont for $700,000 and Belmont is both close and thought of as pricy.

Don't take this the wrong way , but when I hear the word "subdivision" it's a dead giveaway to me you're coming from somewhere outside New England. In my mind we live in towns and neighborhoods, but I don't think I've heard the word "subdivision" spoken by a local in a long time.

3. To each his/her own, but I think that our older houses are much nicer looking and better built than the new stuff. I don't think I will ever understand this one.

4. As someone else pointed out, our traffic is absolutely nothing compared to Atlanta, which is the biggest traffic jam on the east coast.

5. The "crampy" is what gives it the "European feel" that you like. Europe itself has a high level of population density in its cities. While there is a lot packed into a smaller area, that can be a good thing too, and to me at least is preferable to unchecked sprawl.

The asthma question is a serious one as well.

Anyway, my two cents for Boston. Good luck.

[superdoc]

Originally Posted by holden125

Obviously everyone's calculus is different and you have a lot of considerations. For me, I wouldn't even think about Atlanta, but I have a lot of reasons for that that don't apply to everyone. What I can do is speak to the cons you list for Boston.

1. If you don't like the cold, not much we can do about that.

2. Housing is expensive but has been leveling off or coming down, and buyers have some leverage. There are a number of nice houses in Belmont for $700,000 and Belmont is both close and thought of as pricy.

Don't take this the wrong way , but when I hear the word "subdivision" it's a dead giveaway to me you're coming from somewhere outside New England. In my mind we live in towns and neighborhoods, but I don't think I've heard the word "subdivision" spoken by a local in a long time.

3. To each his/her own, but I think that our older houses are much nicer looking and better built than the new stuff. I don't think I will ever understand this one.

4. As someone else pointed out, our traffic is absolutely nothing compared to Atlanta, which is the biggest traffic jam on the east coast.

5. The "crampy" is what gives it the "European feel" that you like. Europe itself has a high level of population density in its cities. While there is a lot packed into a smaller area, that can be a good thing too, and to me at least is preferable to unchecked sprawl.

The asthma question is a serious one as well.

Anyway, my two cents for Boston. Good luck.

Our reason for prefering a "subdivision" is so my kid can have other kids to play with.
Especially in the older nice towns like belmont, lexington there don't appear to be too many...thanks for your input though ..very useful

[smarty]

Subdivision... unlike other parts of the country, a subdivision here is one street with about 10 houses... Boston is old.. there is just not much land close to Boston to create subdivisions. Most of them are outside of Rt95... closer to Rt495 towns.

Kids play... people are so afraid of strangers and abductions...there are very few rooming the streets with neighborhood kids. Very seldom do you see parents sending their kids out and play til dinner time. It's all about organized activities... soccer, dance lessons, ... (better hire a nanny)

Private schools... I'm sure your kid is talented... however... getting in one is harder than getting into Harvard at Kindergarten and first grade level. It is because there are so few spots in the elementary level. 30 spots for 200 applications... siblings get in first... that leaves... 15 for 185 kids applying... Think about donating $100K... it'll make admission so much easier... same with Harvard... but it'll cost you a little more...

Getting back to your original question... life would be easy if we have a crystal ball... I would be able to see this down turn of economy before it happens... Everyone has to choose... you have to decide if career is more important. There is no right answers. I also feel strange as to why people feel stuck in this mobile world... you move from OH to.... why can't one move from GA to MA or MA to GA in a few years? .... Ah... yes... this is because we cannot sell the house for the same price we bought... US government encourage us to buy homes... to tie us down.

[Tyryztoll]

I've lived in both. Boston hands down. 15-20 years ago I might have made more of a case for Atlanta, but it's become such a souless mess that I would never move back there unless a family emergency forced me to. I was only in Boston for a short time, but it is a fascinating place, and if I ever decide to move again I would seriously consider going back there, because I didn't get to experience the city and the region nearly as much as I would have liked to.

Personally, I would make the financial sacrifices in favor of living in a much more stimulating place such as Boston, especially given your daughters asthma condition.

By the time I left Atlanta, even the thought of returning to visit put me in a bad mood. Ridiculous traffic, unchecked sprawl, illegal immigrants taking over whole sections of suburbs, strip malls, chain eateries, oppressive heat, bugs everywhere......no thanks!

[holden125]

Originally Posted by superdoc

Our reason for prefering a "subdivision" is so my kid can have other kids to play with.
Especially in the older nice towns like belmont, lexington there don't appear to be too many...thanks for your input though ..very useful

I don't understand at all why a subdivision is needed to have kids to play with. I lived in Arlington as a kid and there were dozens of kids within a couple of blocks' walk from my house. Same for Belmont. Lexington also has a lot of kids but it's more spread out and harder for the kids to get there.

[wickedripeplum]

Yeah, seriously, why can't you play with kids on street if it's not subdivision? Obviously I'm not a child anymore, but I'm not old and I did grow up in the era of excessive planned activities and still managed to play with kids on the street. Find a house near a park or something.