Boston vs New England (Springfield, Lowell: best city, sales, houses)

[kab927]

My husband is getting transferred to the Boston office- but might have a choice between Boston vs New England offices (as far north as Bangor ME and south as Providence). We live right now in South Dakota, so this is all culture shock to us. Is Boston too expensive/congested to have a nice lifestyle, or are the cities around too far to enjoy the city.

Thoughts on these towns:
Bangor ME
Augusta ME
Lowell MA
Portland ME
Providence RI
Springfield MA
Portsmouth NH

Thanks

[Celticz617]

Boston I would say is by far the best out of all those cities IMO. I've never been to the places in maine but there probally in the sticks and boring, Lowell is kinda run down but if you can get a job there it would be fine for you probally and only like 30 minutes from Boston cheap housing just lock your doors at night youll be fine, never been to Portland can't say, Providence is kinda like Boston but smaller and less there Boston is 10x better IMO, Springfield I hear is in det and like the 3rd most dangerous city in the country or something like that but if your not into gangs or drugs youll be fine theres a 6 flags and the basketball HOF is there but other than that it seems pretty isolated to me, portsmouth is probally in the sticks.

The Bean is the best

[WannaGoHome]

I agree. Beantown is the best. But, do you have kids? How is your budget, etc? It's not the cheapest place to live, that's for sure. The good part though, is that we have a commuter rail that makes gettinginto the city pretty painless. So, perhaps you could look at some of the 'burbs outside of the city if you don't want to live in Boston proper. If your budget allows it though, live right in Boston. Nothing like it :-) Good luck!

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by kab927

My husband is getting transferred to the Boston office- but might have a choice between Boston vs New England offices (as far north as Bangor ME and south as Providence). We live right now in South Dakota, so this is all culture shock to us. Is Boston too expensive/congested to have a nice lifestyle, or are the cities around too far to enjoy the city.

Thoughts on these towns:
Bangor ME
Augusta ME
Lowell MA
Portland ME
Providence RI
Springfield MA
Portsmouth NH

Thanks

Maybe you could give us an idea of what you would like to spend on a house or a rental? Also, do you have children? What kind of lifestyle are you looking for?

Of the cities on that list I'd pick the Portsmouth, NH area, by the way.

[jayrandom]

Boston is a real city, with all of the advantages and disadvantages of a city. There is nothing in South Dakota that even comes close. Your choice really depends on what you're looking for--if you want a big, urban area choose Boston. If you want something more affordable or a little calmer (my wife from Minnesota finds it much more aggressive and crowded than what she is used to) you might want to consider one of those other towns.
I'd pick Portsmouth, NH as well. It's a gorgeous little city and it's got the added advantage of being in "tax free New Hampshire", and you'll payer lower taxes than in Massachusetts, Maine, or Rhode Island.

[ogre]

Boston is very expensive. Housing costs throughout the metro area are substantially higher than they are where you're living now. As stated in an earlier post, an approximation of your housing budget would help people here pin down towns that might be right for you. Also, it would help to get an idea of what kind of character you'd like in a local community. Boston's suburbs vary from urban to out in the country, and anything in between.

As far as congestion is concerned, well, I don't know where you've travelled, so I'm not sure which cities you'd be familiar with which I could compare Boston to in size. If you've been to some larger Midwestern cities, Boston's metro area population is somewhere around half that of Chicago, and is maybe fifty percent larger than the metro population of Mnnpls./St. Paul. During commuting hours, roads throughout the Boston metro area are heavily congested. Traffic will turn what might be a half-hour or fourty-five-minute drive during the evening into twice as long or longer during commuting hours. On the other hand, as pointed out in an earlier post, the area is pretty well served by mass transit.

As for other places you're considering . . .

Bangor: Nice larger town or smaller city, with classic old houses in some neighborhoods. Metro area population similar in size to Rapid City's, maybe slightly larger. Winter temperatures may be similar to SD's, or could be slightly milder than SD's, but Bangor winters would be longer and snowier.

Providence: Metro area population is similar to the combined metros of Omaha and Lincoln, if you're familiar with that area, though the city itself has a population a bit smaller than Lincoln's. A fairly cosmopolitan little city, with some good neighborhoods and some not so good. Some nice suburbs, but those are likely to be expensive.

Springfield: Downtown is run down and not too vibrant, to say the least. People who live there tell me there are some nice neighborhoods, but overal the city is not a garden spot. It does have some pleasant suburbs, and the west-central MA area has some beautiful natural scenery and some quaint small towns here and there, depending on how far your husband would be prepared to drive for work. The area is a lot less expensive than the Boston metro area.

Lowell: Old industrial city that I hear is showing signs of taking the first baby steps toward gentrification, but still has a long way to go to get beyond being your basic faded small city. There are some nice towns nearby, but you'd still be within the orbit of Boston metro area's high housing prices, though that far out, the costs are likely to be a bit lower than the are closer to the city.

Portsmouth: Quaint larger coastal town, surrounded by a local metro area similar in population to the Sioux Falls metro.

Portland: Small city. Population similar to Rapid City's with a metro population somewhat larger than that of Sioux Falls. Portland isn't a really large city, but it's definitely a city rather than a large town. As such, it has both nice neighborhoods and some not so nice, but overall is a nice enough city, and is kind of a small-city center for arts and culture. There are also some nice clean classic small towns within a 20-minute to half-hour commute. Winters will be shorter than they are in Bangor, and on average a bit milder, but still will be longer and snowier than winters in most of SD.

Augusta: Sort of a basic larger town. A little run down, or maybe "faded" would be the word, but not a bad or dangerous place. Just kind of drab and basic, though there are some nice little all-American small towns and villages in the vicinity. Another area with longer winters than you have in most of SD.

Taxes might be a consideration. That's a very tricky area, because there can be a lot of individual variation in taxes, depending on each person's circumstances, regardless of what a state's taxes are in general. In GENERAL, New Hampshire will have the lowest taxes overall of the states you've asked about. No earned income tax or general sales tax, but high property taxes, which reflects an emphasis on local government as opposed to heavy involvement by the state government. MA, RI, and Maine have a more standard kind of combination of income, sales, and property taxes. In GENERAL, Maine would have the highest taxes of the three. I think RI taxes may be a bit higher than those in MA but am not sure about that.

So, a bit of info to absorb. Best of luck with the move and the new job.

[xS☺B☺s]

Originally Posted by kab927

My husband is getting transferred to the Boston office- but might have a choice between Boston vs New England offices (as far north as Bangor ME and south as Providence). We live right now in South Dakota, so this is all culture shock to us. Is Boston too expensive/congested to have a nice lifestyle, or are the cities around too far to enjoy the city.

Thoughts on these towns:
Bangor ME
Augusta ME
Lowell MA
Portland ME
Providence RI
Springfield MA
Portsmouth NH

Thanks

BOS is the best but most expensive

From BOS:

Bangor ME 240 miles deep snow
Augusta ME 200 miles,
Lowell MA: 30 miles ok suburban city
Portland ME 100 miles nice small city
Providence RI 45 miles 2nd best city
Springfield MA 85 miles a bit too far not worth the cost savings
Portsmouth NH 50 miles best small city

[maggiekate]

Boston all the way, if the money gives you a bigger pay check. Lowell, no, RI no,
go for Boston! You can live a wee bit out! Boston is a great place, you might live in Norwood, or Arlington, and just do the t. Even check out salem, however arlington would work ok I also hope you would rent, and check out Boston. New Hampshire is nice, but! If he has a pick, and then later one more-go Boston!

[nate14ri]

Coming from S. Dakota, if Boston seems to big of a city, definately consider Providence. Its beautiful here, and so is Southern Rhode Island.

[LeavingMA]

Originally Posted by kab927

My husband is getting transferred to the Boston office- but might have a choice between Boston vs New England offices (as far north as Bangor ME and south as Providence). We live right now in South Dakota, so this is all culture shock to us. Is Boston too expensive/congested to have a nice lifestyle, or are the cities around too far to enjoy the city.

Thoughts on these towns:
Bangor ME
Augusta ME
Lowell MA
Portland ME
Providence RI
Springfield MA
Portsmouth NH

Thanks

It really depends what you want? Do you want to be closer to the beaches or the mountains? You can still visit and tour the cities because they are not that far away from each other.

Boston is by the far the biggest of the cities, with Providence second. Portland, ME is a nice city with a cool waterfront area and not far from some great beaches. Maine will definitely be colder than MA and RI. RI will have the warmest weather and get the least amount of snow in the winter. Springfield is somewhat run-down, although like any city has some nice areas. Lowell is the same, except smaller than Springfield, but you would be a lot closer to Boston, the beaches, and the mountains.

It really all depends on what you want to be closest to.