Boston or DC, What's Best for Us? (Cambridge, Quincy: apartment, crime rates)

[Stockholmaren]

I didn't say that I wanted to be around ONLY political liberals. I don't think it's healthy to surround yourself with only one type or group of people, but I also think if an area is leaning towards one direction that you prefer, that normally translates into policies and practices that I like to see. Wouldn't want a senator who uses words like "macaca" :-)

Originally Posted by CorpITGuy

How can you say that you want diversity and then say that you only want to be around other political liberals? Isn't that discriminatory?

If you really want diversity find a purple town (you know, not red not blue)...

[Stockholmaren]

Thank you for your response, and it's great to hear that UofMD has a great program and that it's helping your husband :-) It's always good to get insight from someone who has lived in both places and also have experience with the programs in particular that I'm interested in attending.

We visited Boston over the last few days, and I can see what you say about diversity. It could be a little better mix of different ethnicities, even though among students it's better than the city as a whole. We did like the city itself though, it felt very safe, it's very walkable and easy to get around with public transportation.We also went to several neighborhoods such as Brookline and Cambridge and liked those as well. We hope to visit DC and the university in March when they have an event coming up for their admitted students, and hopefully we can take a closer look then.

Originally Posted by LookinginMA

My husband and I are from right outside of DC and have recently relocated to MA (20 miles West of Boston). We are both proud MD Terrapins; in fact, my husband has is MBA from UofM. As you know, MD has a fabulous program and my husband is constantly being called by recruiters.

Having said that, I miss the diversity of DC. Where we are currently it is 90% caucasian. Depending on where you plan to live in MA the diversity may shift somewhat but not much from what we have observed. The cost of living/housing prices is high in both DC and Boston.

There are great school districts here but Montgomery Co., MD and Northern Virginia are top rated as well. The schools here in MA are not county wide systems like in MD/VA; they are town based and vary quite a bit from town to town. The citizens of each town vote on whether or not to raise taxes (they currently cannot be raised more than 2 1/2% a year) and as a result some towns are choosing not to raise taxes and the schools/students are suffering. People who have lived in MA can comment more on their take on this.
No.VA and Mo. Co. are fairly liberal as you know as is the area we are currently in in MA.

Where does your extended family live? Would you be closer to family in Boston? or if you stayed in DC? We really miss being close to our family who are all back in MD... just food for thought.

[Lolahbelle]

i have never felt unsafe in boston and i've lived in malden, beacon hill, gardner and melrose. i've felt less safe in NoVa.

many towns in boston are very progressive. i would stay away from townie hoods like melrose, medford, wakefield, stoneham (i live in melrose, it's 99% white and a lot of townies--meaning ppl who grew up here, married their HS sweetheart and never experienced life outside of MA or NEng). i've lived in both places (DC and Boston). i definitely felt racial tension in DC where i don't in B. beacon hill, back bay, south end, arlington, cambridge, etc., ppl won't look twice at u for being interracial. u have the moutains in NH, VT and ME and the beach--u just have to deal with the brutal winters. if u can handle the cold then personally i would rather raise kids in Boston than MD.

oh, it's true what they say, boston is MUCH dirtier than DC. if u can't handle that then stick with DC. Boston: u either love it or hate it.

good luck!

[MovingForward]

You know, I have to laugh at this "ethnic diversity" obsession. When white liberals visit other areas of the globe, where people share a heritage/race/culture, they find it "charming." At home, somehow they manage to find the same homogeneity "boring." Cracks me up.

Oh, and I'm liberal, btw.

[DCtoMass]

Originally Posted by MovingForward

You know, I have to laugh at this "ethnic diversity" obsession. When white liberals visit other areas of the globe, where people share a heritage/race/culture, they find it "charming." At home, somehow they manage to find the same homogeneity "boring." Cracks me up.

Oh, and I'm liberal, btw.

I think "charming" is a subtle form of saying "different." There is nothing more charming about a mixed-race couple than any couple (same race, same sex, what have you), unless they are more polite than your average couple. Or maybe I'm too liberal?

[MadPadraic]

I've spent a lot of time in both cities and their surrounding areas; here are my thoughts. First, do you want to live in the core city or in the burbs, this can drastically influence things. Boston traffic is bad, but the beltway in DC is just terrible. Of course, Boston's subway is vastly supperior to Washington's, and the commuter rail is pretty good too.

DC is expensive, Boston is through the roof. As far as crime is concerned, Boston's rough areas are more segregated than DC's, but your life style will always dictate the level of exposure. (Example Adam's Morgan vs. Boylston or the clubs near fenway).

I'm sure that you can find good public schools in some suburb of either city, and its hard to beat Boston Latin. Virginia places a much higher premium on their state universities than Massachusetts does. All the UMass campuses have strong faculties because so many PhD's fall in love with the area when they attend a Boston (or Providence) school, but the facilities aren't anywhere near as lavish, and UMass programs may receive individual rankings, but the school won't be considered on par with W&M or UVA in the near future (To note how regressive MA public higher ed is, they recently rejected taking public a law school b/c the private schools felt threatened).

Recreational activities: The atmosphere for the red skins is legendary. In my experience, it is pretty darn good. Pats games are also quite good, (and neither team places in the central city). From BU, you can walk from class to Fenway in a matter of minutes. There is nothing like a close game at Fenway. Nothing comes close in my experience. People swim in South Boston, but you'd be better off driving to the cape or Rhode Island. The white mountains are fun, and there is (poor) skiing 10 minutes from the city at Blue HIlls (when it is open), which can be much improved on by driving 45 minutes on rt 2 west to WaWa. Several resorts are in the 2-3 hour range. Sailing on the Charles, in the Harbor, our to the Islands, etc. I've never been to the mountains in MD or WV, and I've never trekked to the beach either. I understand that there is a rather famous river offering some recreational activities.

The arts in Boston are good, but the theatre scene isn't as deep as you might expect. The Boston [Ballet|Pops|Symphony] are top notch. The lyric opera is supposedly coming into its own, but I have no idea. Some of the lesser known outfits are good too. Washington currently has the Pillowman, but it will be gone in a few weeks. Obviously they will have strong arts too.

Both places have some very white burbs, and some pretty mixed neighborhoods. Neighborhoods that are gentrified but mixed in Boston are hellishly expensive (e.g. South End). I understand that Northern VA is pretty open minded.

Summary: both are good places, either choice will be a good one.

[puffle]

I am a neutral party as I am from California and have lived in both D.C. and Boston area. Hated D.C. weather, especially the oppressive humidity and constant rain, smoking still legal in restaurants, etc., traffic is much worse than Boston but highways much cleaner and kept up. More homes available in Boston suburbs than D.C. which has a great deal of townhomes with no yards. Personally felt the people of Ma. much more friendly and real than D.C. and loved the close proximity to the ocean and not feeling land locked like I did in N. Virginia. Yes, the winter can be dismal but when spring hits it is celebrated with everyone biking, running, picnicing and soaking up the good weather. Loved Ma!

[maggiekate]

Originally Posted by DCtoMass

BOSTON, hands down. I work in a DC law firm and a partner just yesterday expressed his shock that a black student faired well in law school. You don't want to deal with that petty **** when you're trying to start a new life in a new city.

Please, don't shoot the messenger -- I called the partner on his racism, he just shrugged and walked away.

why not come back to bean town! we might need a Boston Tea Party!

Good luck, and d.c. is not all!

[maggiekate]

Originally Posted by the_accountant

Ive been living in the Boston area for awhile now and have to say that Boston is a really crappy place. The annoying red sox/patriots fans are hard to miss. People are cold and kind of stay to themselves. I plan on getting out of here soon. I just need couple years of experience at this current place so I have the flexibility when it comes to looking for a job. Infact Washington DC was one of my top choices. The mentality/views of people here is so homogenous that it kind of sickens me. If your a caucasian, die-hard redsox/patriots fan, youll do fine. Everyone else, stay away!

I do not agree! sure I was 9 years old, no money, we went to see the Red Sox free . How travel on the T. And then, it was a different Boston.

Frankly, Boston, is not, any other city; it is Boston. Love it or leave.Yes Boston loves the Red sox, etc. People leave from college, and still love
the red sox? Must be for some reason? Yes on a cold winter day, with spring in April, and go Red Sox! Yes, then it is cold, what we do for the Boston teams! Happy 14th! love Boston!!!!

[Stockholmaren]

More great posts I see, and that helps out a lot! We probably look at living in the city rather than the suburbs, at least while I go to school since BU is much more central than say BC. Right now we're focusing our search on areas like Brookline and Cambridge, and I'm sure we'll find something that will suit us even though thing are much more expensive than here in the midwest :-)