From Missouri (Boston, Scituate: apartment, home, neighborhoods)

[MsDoe]

Hi,
I'm almost 20 years old, new here and am looking around to see if I might possibly may want to leave the area I've lived in since I was 2.
My sister and I (she's almost 22) are both really big on the areas farther east, such as New York and Rhode Island, but obviously it's a bit more expensive (and by a bit I mean when I looked at apartment prices for NYC I nearly passed out), so we were looking to see a town/city within a few hours of NYC that might offer more affordable prices.
What all this rambling leads up to is: What do you guys, as natives of Boston, or at least people who live there, think of it?
Is the pricing reasonable? Do you like the way the city's set up? Any information would be greatly appreciated! Thanks,
MsDoe

[ogre]

Boston's housing costs are lower than those in NYC on average, but they are still well above the national average. Many young people afford to live in Boston by having roommates to share the costs. If you and your sister both moved here, you could pool your resources and afford to live in a modest apartment away from the more expensive neighborhoods. Many thousands of young adults are doing that in Boston at this very moment. So it's do-able, but you do need to be aware that housing costs are high in Boston.

What is Boston like? Some more specific info about what you are looking for in a city would help pin down whether Boston could be a good fit for you. Some features are:

Boston is for the most part a very walkable city. The amenities and attractions--the stuff you go to the city for--tend to be concentrated in one central area of maybe ten square miles, maybe even a little less. The city and its inner suburbs are also covered pretty well by public transit. This makes it so it's usually possible to get where you want to be either by walking a few blocks or taking a subway or bus ride. The down side of Boston's density is that driving is difficult. In fact, many people who live right in the city or in the inner 'burbs choose to go car-free.

Classic old architecture, history, museums, theater, symphony, dance clubs, pro sports, etc. Boston is generally seen as a city with that certain je ne sais quoi known as "character."

Lots of college students in some sections of the central city. Lots of white-collar professional types in other parts of the central city, also some hipster gentrified neighborhoods. Blue-collar and minority neighborhoods in many outlying sections of the city. Generally, Boston is clean, as cities go. Its economy centers on white-collar activities--higher education, bio-tech, electronics, finance--rather than a lot of smokestack industry.

Lots of local pride, pride in the city, in the New England region, and in one's own local neighborhood. This can be good and bad, good in the sense of there being a certain local spirit, and not so good in the sense that Bostonians do have a reputation for being sort of provincial and cliquish, and for having a tendency, to the point that non-Bostonians can find annoying (even I sometimes find it annoying, and I've lived here most of my life), to talk up Boston to the point of being downright chauvinistic, as in making no secret of the belief that Boston is absolutely the greatest place on Earth, and anyone would be crazy to want to live anywhere else. However, those reputations are very general, and you'll run into plenty of individual exceptions.

Um, above, in listing some of the activities in Boston, that was just a basic generic list. Some other favorites: water-related activities like sailing on the river, harbor party cruises, and whale-watch tours; Fourth of July along the Esplanade (a park by the river), watching fireworks and listening to the Pops; turning out to watch the Boston Marathon (I happen to think that it's difficult to qualify as a true Bostonian if you've never watched the Marathon, especially a few hours into it, when those who have no hope of winning but are just going for personal goals run past). Oh yes, and I did mention something about pro sports. Try something kind of like fanaticism about the local sports teams (fits in with that local pride thing), and especially sometimes an otherworldly level of interest in baseball and our Sox.

That local pride also intertwines with a strong sense of tradition, which leads to widespread sentiment in favor of preserving local features, whether these might be old buildings, significant pieces of history, or even such local oddities as this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot.

Those are at least some basics. Some details from you about what you're looking for in a city would help people here to get a better feel for whether Boston would be a good fit for you.

[bostonguy1960]

Do either of you plan to enroll in a 4-year university, or even a community college or art school? Otherwise, we have lots of bars and restaurants you can apply to, if you're interested in those jobs.

The subway pass is $15 weekly for unlimited bus and subway travel to most areas, or monthly for under $60 or so.

Check the Boston Phoenix, our weekly arts, politics and entertainment site (thephoenix.com, I think). It seems to target a young and hip audience.

[shiver]

Boston is expensive. It's less expensive than NYC, but that's not saying much. You should look into the Allston and Brighton areas of Boston. This tends to be a cheaper area of the city. It's home to many college students (it's right by Boston College and Boston University) and people right out of college.

Roommate situations are the way most young people living on their people manage the high housing expense.

Boston is a great city. Whether it's a right fit for you and your sister depends on what you're looking for. While it has similarities to NYC, it is very different.

If you don't mind a smaller city - consider Providence, Rhode Island.

[MsDoe]

Thank you guys! I appreciate your honesty. I'll talk to my sister more about it. It would be kind of cool to not have to deal with a car! lol.
Kansas City's too spread out for that.

[ScituateAl]

Doe - there's been lots of postings by folks looking to move to the Boston area - so it's definitely on other peoples minds! Life is going to be very expensive if you don't already have a job, college, or grad school already lined-up. Career-wise, there's approx 250,000 college-aged kids in the Boston area...a good number of which are likely still looking for jobs when the graduated last May. I wouldn't normally suggest it, but perhaps start putting the resume out there and if you should be fortunate enough to land a job, go where the job is (heck, most of us have!).

Did I mention grad school? Best of luck!

[MsDoe]

Thanks Scituateal! I actually should do the resume. It might help find a decent job. Thanks again!