The New England winter - how bad is it? (Boston: neighborhoods, buying)

[Mclaurin]

Some would say Texas is hell on earth, so depends on who you ask.

[scorpio516]

Originally Posted by sfosyd

2). The short days. Boston is very east so some days it is dark by 4:15pm. As a trade off, the mornings are much lighter than places further west in the Eastern time zone.

Growing up in Michigan, 700 miles west, but still Eastern time zone, I'd go to work in the dark, and come home in the dark. On Dec 21st, sunrise is at 8:00 and sunset is at 5:05.

Boston is much warmer and much moister than the midwest. Even with the Great Lakes cushioning Michigan, it's a good 10-20F warmer here than at my mom's place in the winter. The relative humidity is much higher here too, but the lack of forced air HVAC here helps that too - the midwest is VERY dry in the winter, everything gets chapped. Here, not so much because of the ocean. And we get a lot more snow than most of the great lakes region (obviously lake effect areas get a while lot more) - Detroit gets 43" of snow, Worcester gets 68" average.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

It's pretty cold. But do-able. If you don't like the winter, I wouldn't move. Personally I can' stand the heat.

[raveabouttoast]

As others have mentioned, it is very dry in the winter. I've been in places where it was humid and 40 and I was freezing, but I can stand temperatures in the teens up with with not much more than a jacket and winter hat. So that is something to consider.

Now, when it's in the teens and super windy... that's when the fun begins!

[macalan]

It can get below zero here with the wind chill. We've had winters with 100 inches of snow.

I wouldn't mind winter if it was shorter. At 6 months it starts to get old.

[macalan]

PS. Have you considered Colorado? Sunnier & warmer winters.

And yes. Hate going to work in the dark & coming home in the dark.

[TAM88]

Originally Posted by nicole.cpp

I am a Texan who cringes at the thought of 30-40 degrees F with enough humidity/rain, so I'm wondering just how much more terrible the winters might be up north.

Is winter humid in places like Boston, too, or is it a bearable, drier cold (or does it depend on how close you are to the coast)?

I guess the bottom line is this (since I'm genuinely considering looking for tech jobs up north in the near future): Is the winter so dark and awful and blizzard-y that waking up and going to work is pretty much hell on earth?

If you really hate the thought of cold weather and feel it will have a large effect on your COL, then you probably should avoid any cities/states above North Carolina.

One thing you need to keep in mind is that there are a lot of people that LOVE the winter time. They ski, snowboard, ice climb, cross country ski, ice fish, ride snow mobiles, etc. Often I feel that people make the North seem like Siberia for 8 months out of the year when in fact it's not. Coming from Texas you cannot do any of those things, so it might give you something new to try out.

Winter is winter. It gets cold here. Some days can be down right freezing and some can be pretty mild.

This is what you expect for weather living in Massachusetts, namely Eastern Mass. 8 months out of the year there will be no snow. The threat of snow is non existent in May, June, July, August, September, and October. April and November could see some snow, but it's been a long time since we've had snow in April and only a few times over the last 10 or so years where snow has been on the ground in November. The worst months will be January and February as far as the average temp and the amount of snow we'll get.

We also can have many mild days from time to time. The winter a couple of years ago saw very little snow (DC got more snow than we did that year) and the temps were very mild.

The winter also makes you appreciate and enjoy the warmer months a lot more, imo.

[WoodyWW]

Originally Posted by nicole.cpp

Is the winter so dark and awful and blizzard-y that waking up and going to work is pretty much hell on earth?

Well, it can be seriously not fun, & even depressing. I mean, it's summer now, & I'm already dreading Winter here in Mass.

I wouldn't say hell on earth tho. To me, that might be living in a state where the summers are insanely hot.

There are advantages to living in Mass.--all that Boston has to offer, & all of the scenic beauty that New England offers. A lot of people move here from "elsewhere", & don't leave.....even if they don't like the Winters.

[9162]

Originally Posted by nicole.cpp

I am a Texan who cringes at the thought of 30-40 degrees F with enough humidity/rain, so I'm wondering just how much more terrible the winters might be up north.

Is winter humid in places like Boston, too, or is it a bearable, drier cold (or does it depend on how close you are to the coast)?

30°F to 40°F is actually quite balmy in the winter. Humidity is not an issue this time of year. Snow, more than temperature is what you'd want to consider. Winters are extremely unpredictable here.

[macalan]

If you dress for it, participate in some winter activities, and don't have to work it might be OK.

As the last poster said, it's the predictability of it.

When you wake up and find there's been a foot of snow overnight and the plows have plowed you in and you have a client you have to meet at work at 8am, that's not fun trying to dig out in time to get to work. And then if it snows all day you get home and can't get in your driveway and spend all night shoveling.

Or if you have a dog to walk and the sidewalks aren't shoveled, not fun.

Or when you're driving to work and see cars in ditches all over the road because people drive like it's still summer, that's not fun.

Or if you are driving home - in the dark - and can't see a foot in front of you because it's a blinding whiteout - that's not fun.

If I didn't work and didn't have a dog to walk, I don't think winter would bother me as much.