Whats winter like❄️❄️ (Boston: living in, move, area)

[juliette]

Can any long time locals tell me what the winters are like up there my husband and I are looking to possibly move there however I don’t want to be where it stays gloomy and overcast the whole winter like it does around the Great Lakes for instance.
We’re fine with cold and snow but are there plenty sunny days there in the winter or do you guys get the month-long + overcast like Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, etc.

Thank you so much and have a wonderful Thanksgiving

[timberline742]

I found living in Wisconsin colder (significantly), but Boston area wetter.

Boston is roughly, depending on month, 5-15% more sunny than Milwaukee.

[Lampert]

December through May is 50-50 in Boston.
For comparison Detroit and Chicago are 60 (cloudy)-40 (sunny) Dec-Feb and 50-50 March-May.
So Boston is a bit better. In term of Solar energy received they are about the same.

[scorpio516]

SNE is warmer and snowier and sunnier than the Great lakes.

My mom has gotten snow 5 or 6 times, and it's snowing right now. In comparison, we haven't gotten any snow and it's sunny, and unseasonably 70F outside.

For November-March:
Detroit gets 106, 87, 120, 138, and 185 hours of sunshine and 45" of snow
Chicago gets 113, 106, 135, 136, and 187 hours of sunshine and 40" of snow
Boston gets 143, 142, 163, 168, and 187 hours of sunshine and 50" of snow
Providence gets 148, 148, 171, 172, and 215 hours of sunshine and 36" of snow

[msRB311]

It's cold.

[juliette]

Originally Posted by msRB311

It's cold.

For sure we know

[CaseyB]

It can be gray and gloomy, too. Maybe not as bad as where you are from, but still. It also gets dark around 4-4:30 in the afternoon.

[msRB311]

I have never been to the great lakes area so I can't really compare but Jan - march/even early April can be pretty gloomy here.

Others here will disagree with me as we seem to have a lot of winter lovers. I don't mind the first snowfall...but once it's been in the 20's for 60 days straight I feel it. The sun does come out but it's still cold.

[juliette]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

It can be gray and gloomy, too. Maybe not as bad as where you are from, but still. It also gets dark around 4-4:30 in the afternoon.

I’m actually from Southern California and it currently gets dark here about 430 my husband is from New Jersey but we both enjoy four seasons and spend a lot of time in our mountains here which get quite arctic.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by msRB311

I have never been to the great lakes area so I can't really compare but Jan - march/even early April can be pretty gloomy here.

Others here will disagree with me as we seem to have a lot of winter lovers. I don't mind the first snowfall...but once it's been in the 20's for 60 days straight I feel it. The sun does come out but it's still cold.

I went literally weeks with low single digits and negative 20 windchills in when I lived in Madison.
It's absolutely balmy here in comparison. 20 was a reprieve. It's significantly warmer here in the winter than big chunks of the upper midwest.