New Residents: Now that you've moved to Mass, do you have any regrets? (Boston: school districts, colleges)

[HeadedWest]

Originally Posted by VlyRoadKid

... it reminds me of something Craig Ferguson said about doing a show in Boston. His L.A. friends said, "Boston? You don't want to go there...they're all drunk...and surly!" His response was, "That's right...just like my family!" (Back in Scotland) Heh-heh.

I guess you thought he said that approvingly.

[EnjoyTheSilence]

Originally Posted by VlyRoadKid

Kudos to you and the folks above you who support Mass. & its liberal, non-violent traditions! (Sorry, holden125, to hear about your brawl, but nice work laying out that moron!). I had wondered whether to put a Dem party sticker on my car, as there are crazed anti-Dems even here in Mass., and the stories above prove me right! It's idiotic.

Re: the Irish pubs, it reminds me of something Craig Ferguson said about doing a show in Boston. His L.A. friends said, "Boston? You don't want to go there...they're all drunk...and surly!" His response was, "That's right...just like my family!" (Back in Scotland) Heh-heh. It's so cool that a foreigner "gets" the New England, standoffishness, while other Americans just trash it.

BTW, I just got back from 4 absolutely wonderful days in your great state and despite the 90+ degree heat (still didn't feel as bad as Florida), we had a great time.

Both my wife and I want to move there now. We were looking at Lynn as a potential place to live / commute to Boston as Lynn appears to be very affordable (by our standards).

I loved the fact that people are always out running, cycling and walking their dogs. I loved the fact that I actually saw few fast food chains (a lot of Dunkin Donuts though), virtually no strip malls and no cookie cutter homes at all, just plenty of old architecture and a photo opportunity on every corner.

I do not understand why people trash your state.....it's the only place I'd live in the US, to be honest. I also saw far more US flags in "liberal" Massachusetts than here in Florida, which is mostly a red state, despite going for Barack Obama in the last election.

I did find people to be a little standoffish (reserved), but not in a rude way. I guess that New Englanders are just more reserved, but I did find that when I made the effort to break the ice, people were extremely easy to talk to and I actually felt so much more confident, in terms of interacting with people.

I didn't get the chance to see much of Boston unfortunately, but we drove through it on our last day and I liked what I saw; a city that's big enough to be diverse, with all the amenities and attractions of a big city, without actually being too big. In fact, despite the traffic, we were out of Boston within 30 minutes and into the beautiful "woodsy" New England countryside.

I hope we can make moving up there a reality, cold weather, taxes and all....

[bluewatergirl888]

Originally Posted by BCreass

I hope we can make moving up there a reality, cold weather, taxes and all....

Good luck with your move, and welcome.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by BCreass

BTW, I just got back from 4 absolutely wonderful days in your great state and despite the 90+ degree heat (still didn't feel as bad as Florida), we had a great time.

Glad you liked it. 4 days, huh? That's fine, you still have a lot to see when you return (either for good or for a short stay). Welcome to the area!

[Ms Goodman]

I can't wait to move back to Massachusetts! I am just waiting for a job transfer opportunity in the Dept. of VA Affairs and I am there! I miss ethnic foods! Real steak and cheese subs! The best seafood in the world and the hustle and bustle downtown Boston. I remember Filene's, Jordan Marsh, Ruggles Pizza etc... I can go on forever!

[Xenos]

Originally Posted by Ms Goodman

I remember Filene's, Jordan Marsh, Ruggles Pizza etc... I can go on forever!

Um... I have got some sad news for you... Downtown Crossing is not what it used to be.

Mass has its issues. Too many jobs have been lost over the last ten years, and I am worried about the economic underpinnings of the region. It is too big a state to be kept afloat by the Medical and Education business, and Government has gotten too big for the tax base. So there could be a lot of pain over the next couple years.

Still, I remember Boston from the 70s - like most big cities, I don't think it will get that bad again.

[brightdoglover]

In the 1970s, when I first arrived in the area at age 20, I had a job interview in East Cambridge. Rusting chain link fences around weed-filled former foundations, the wind and tumbleweeds whistling past broken down former tanneries, etc.
Go look at it now.
I also had a job interview in Chelsea, which had just burned down for the second time.
Oh, the 1970s.
The winters here have gotten more and more mild in the years I've been here, really. Some winters with maybe one plowable storm.
I am accustomed to the not-sprawl style of eastern Mass (most of it), the old houses, the history. My town is coming up on its Tricentennial. A co-worker just bought a house built in 1730, and it's not the oldest house in town. (Of course, most housing is far less dramatic!)
I love driving past the church where Thoreau and Emerson spoke, and the sign for "Walden Pond."
It sure beats the mega post-war suburb I grew up in.
Yes, I know people have to live somewhere, especially when there are increasing numbers of us. But New England/Mass. have a great deal to offer for daily life.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by BCreass

I loved the fact that I actually saw few fast food chains (a lot of Dunkin Donuts though)

There is a reason for that. Dunkin Donuts was founded about 60 years ago right outside Boston and was a local institution before it was a national one. Its HQ is still in the Boston suburbs. A lot of people in the Boston area swear by it and many natives continue to prefer DD coffee to Starbucks. Although Krispy Kreme was a big deal nationally by the mid to late 1990s, the first Boston-area store didn't open until 2003 and all of them shut within a year or two, though that was also due to corporate problems at Krispy Kreme.

You'll also see a lot of CVS stores. CVS was started in Massachusetts and has its HQ in Rhode Island.

People in New England are very loyal to the local institutions. There are fast food chains, but not as many as elsewhere perhaps.

Originally Posted by BCreass

I didn't get the chance to see much of Boston unfortunately, but we drove through it on our last day and I liked what I saw; a city that's big enough to be diverse, with all the amenities and attractions of a big city, without actually being too big. In fact, despite the traffic, we were out of Boston within 30 minutes and into the beautiful "woodsy" New England countryside.

Glad you enjoyed it. It is nice to reach "country" sooner in Boston than in some other cities.

[Ms Goodman]

Originally Posted by Xenos

Um... I have got some sad news for you... Downtown Crossing is not what it used to be.

Mass has its issues. Too many jobs have been lost over the last ten years, and I am worried about the economic underpinnings of the region. It is too big a state to be kept afloat by the Medical and Education business, and Government has gotten too big for the tax base. So there could be a lot of pain over the next couple years.

Still, I remember Boston from the 70s - like most big cities, I don't think it will get that bad again.

[Ms Goodman]

I don't think anything or anyplace is what it used to be. I am just a little homesick since leaving over a decade ago. My mother thinks I am absolutely nuts for even considering moving back to Boston. I lived in Waltham, Lexington, Arlington, and Saugus. I have alot of people suggesting that the changes are not good changes in Massachusetts and to stay put or look elsewhere. Would you say things are that bad? I understand the crime rate is up considerably but crime is everywhere.