Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 08-23-2008, 10:17 AM
 
2,280 posts, read 4,514,200 times
Reputation: 1852

Advertisements

Good post, but there is just one thing that really surprises me: I, too, lived near the water (Dorchester) and in the summer the cool salt breezes were always there: I can't recall humidity being a problem. If you want a humid summer, come to New York.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 08-23-2008, 10:27 AM
 
2,280 posts, read 4,514,200 times
Reputation: 1852
<<
My other issue here was that it wasn't neccesarily that the public transportation was amazing, it's that the city is so old and poorly laid out you really don't have a choice. There is no point driving in when it takes me a half hour to move 5 miles. Once you get out to the suburbs there is a massive dropoff.>>

I don't find the city poorly laid out: I think it is charming because it is not a grid pattern. And the T serves Boston proper perfectly - you don't need a car.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-23-2008, 09:42 PM
 
19 posts, read 113,297 times
Reputation: 23
This has been a very interesting thread - especially because I lived in San Francisco Bay Area for a long time, moved to NC - Wake County 2 years back and will be moving to Massachusetts next year. While San Francisco is the home of my heart, I have been driven out of the state by the appalling condition of public schools.


I have been reading the "how wonderful the south is" post and I just wanted to relate my perspective. Wake County, North Carolina is the most uni-dimensional, boring place ever - unless you like meat, the woods and barbecue on Sundays. People are polite - southern charm - but that's superficial sweetness. I see a vast difference when they're behind the wheels of their cars . Making friends still would take a long time - especially if you're a vegetarian, liberal, anti-wars and anti-guns kind of person - if you're different from the norm. People's conversations always work around where you live, which school you child goes to and what sport he /she plays. Playing golf at the country club is the height of society. Traffic is a joke - narrow roads, home construction that block the said roads, poor infrastructure. I live in Cary, work in Morrisville - near the RDU airport. During peak commute hours, it takes me 50 minutes to drive 6.4 miles. Sports is the only culture here - for everyone. If you are not too interested in Football or Hockey or Basketball, you'd better at least be a NASCAR fan. My daughter went to a podcasting summer camp. End of the week, when all the kids showed their projects, 22 out of 25 kids had done a show on Sports. Wake County schools are a nightmare. Compulsory reassignments, year round schools forced on families, and magnet schools located in areas where I wouldn't send my daughter without police protection and bullet proof vest. There is also this shell of complacency around the people - like they are protected from the rest of the world. Just a reminder - I'm just talking about Wake County where - I have heard wonderful things about Durham and Chapel Hill.

Weather is awful most of the year. Jobs are low paying and have limited scope of advancement for non-Caucasians, unless you're in the medical field. The tech boom in India resulted in a tech bust in North Carolina - when it was being considered at one point as an alternative to Silicon Valley. It is now mostly home to people with mid level tech jobs with limited opportunities for advancement.

Massachusetts - While I have not lived there, my husband has - for the past 2 years. He loves it there. As for me, the reason would be schools - BU Academy, excellent public schools, Berklee, Andover Academy, Boston Latin, MIT, Harvard.. I'm not sure where my daughter will go - I'm just excited by this wealth of choice. I like it that Massachusetts has universal healthcare, gay marriage support , and that it's OK to be an intellectual..I like the varied job opportunities in different fields. I like it that people care about their old homes and try to maintain its integrity. In fact it seems to be a state where new and big are not synonymous with best. I worry about driving in the snow, real-estate, the supposed unfriendly attitude of the people (though I cannot see that among the MA population in this forum), homes with too few bathrooms I worry that my daughter could end up forgetting the sound of "R" . I worry about being able to afford to live there.

Regarding Wake County, NC, I feel bad that I have to give up on a home with sweeping wrought iron stairs, cathedral ceilings, crown molding and bathrooms in every bedroom. But there's more to life than cheaper homes. There's need for intellectual stimulation, diversity of thoughts and cultures, varied recreational activities, and developing world perspective. This is where Boston area wins over Wake County, NC. It is a renaissance place - it is not perfect, but at least it is alive, active, and stimulating.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-24-2008, 06:00 PM
 
Location: Texas
2,394 posts, read 4,085,692 times
Reputation: 1411
Quote:
Originally Posted by Srilatha_r View Post
Regarding Wake County, NC, I feel bad that I have to give up on a home with sweeping wrought iron stairs, cathedral ceilings, crown molding and bathrooms in every bedroom. But there's more to life than cheaper homes. There's need for intellectual stimulation, diversity of thoughts ...
There isn't much diversity of thought in Massachusetts, the bluest of all the blue states. It's pretty doctrinaire.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-24-2008, 07:14 PM
 
830 posts, read 1,064,204 times
Reputation: 129
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martha Anne View Post
See my reply to his/her post: I share your sentiments!

Some people just don't appreciate the four true and distinct seasons, one of the great things about New England!
You are right about that. I don't like any weather that takes my breath away On the days that it is so cold I can't breath, I wonder why anyone would live here.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-24-2008, 07:18 PM
 
830 posts, read 1,064,204 times
Reputation: 129
Quote:
Originally Posted by neil0311 View Post
As one who lived in MA for many years (15 to be exact) and left recently, maybe you could enlighten me as to what parts of the state are the "better parts" of which you speak?
Live in Fall River or New Bedford for 15 years and then see if you love MA. What area did you live in?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-24-2008, 07:34 PM
 
830 posts, read 1,064,204 times
Reputation: 129
Quote:
Originally Posted by Srilatha_r View Post
homes with too few bathrooms
I read your whole post and enjoyed it but I cracked up when I read this quote. It's so TRUE!!! Too funny! If you can handle cold weather, you will love it here. It is everything you think it is and everything you think it isn't. I don't think that people in MA are unfriendly, I think that they (we) are for the most part very up front and many find that rude.

WELCOME!!!!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-25-2008, 10:01 AM
 
3 posts, read 10,562 times
Reputation: 10
Prime example of New England weather is this year....long, cold and very snowy winter where you look forward to sun and warmth but this summer has been one perpetual rain/thunder storm! Now, school has started and it is suddenly summer with the Farmer's almanac predicting temperatures below normal for this winter!!! If you don't like New England weather, wait a minute!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-27-2008, 02:07 PM
 
Location: Newton, Mass.
2,954 posts, read 12,302,963 times
Reputation: 1511
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadedWest View Post
There isn't much diversity of thought in Massachusetts, the bluest of all the blue states. It's pretty doctrinaire.
Imagine the horror having one or two tiny little states where it's actually OK to have opinions different from those in rural Texas. If that's too much for you to handle, there are plenty of places with big cheap houses to go live in
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-27-2008, 11:38 PM
 
Location: Texas
2,394 posts, read 4,085,692 times
Reputation: 1411
Quote:
Originally Posted by holden125 View Post
Imagine the horror having one or two tiny little states where it's actually OK to have opinions different from those in rural Texas. If that's too much for you to handle, there are plenty of places with big cheap houses to go live in
The opinions of rural Texans don't matter; the vast majority of Texans live in or next to cities.

(Actually, there is far more political diversity in Texas - historically - than in Massachusetts.)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:28 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top