Any Bostonian's Living in OC? I've Got Questions Please (San Francisco: 2015, how much)

[ZeusMutation]

Hi All,

My thread is probably a bit out of place, but bear with me.

I'm a OC Native, CM & Newport. A work promotion has my wife and I headed to Boston.

I've utilized the Boston forum, but the perspective to this point has been mostly east coast residents. Helpful as they've been.. hoping to hear from folks born in Mass. that moved to OC willing to share their thoughts on OC and what I will encounter in Boston being a Californian through and through.

Been reading about Boston like a fiend... The neighborhoods and such, trying to get an idea about what community might suit us best. If it helps, we lived in San Francisco, lower pac heights, for 3 years, so we have a sense of city living.

Thank you!

[Avalon08]

Wait, what? You want to hear from Boston people who moved to OC but can tell you what it will be like as a Californian living in Boston....huh?

[ZeusMutation]

Lol.. Yeah, strangely written.

No, Bostonians who've moved to OC, their opinions on both places.

As I know OC extremely well.. their opinions of it might help me comprehend a Boston viewpoint.

[Eagles2013]

As someone who lives in Philadelphia (Lives in the Northeast). I would say that the City of Boston is the complete 100% opposite of Southern California (look at a map). I think the change would be far more dramatic than moving to places like DC, Chicago, or Texas or most other places in the country. The only example I could think of that would be more extreme would be moving from Hawaii to Boston. I also believe the change is much more than just the weather and scenery, but mainly the culture and how different the people are.

On a side note how much SNOW did Boston get this past winter??

[ZeusMutation]

Eagles - No question about being two different worlds... My work has me in Central Florida the past year, and now to Boston. The whole shock of being east has worn off.

I know a few people who have moved from Philadelphia to OC, they had it with winter. Although we are friends, regularly hanging out, we are worlds apart. I mean, Go Cowboys!!

[kwong7]

My brother left OC in 2000 and has been in Boston ever since. He lived in Jamaica Plains during school, Malden, in the city (at Kenmore Square), Watertown, and now lives in Belmont (just outside Cambridge). He's been wanting to move back to Ca, but his wife is an East Coaster (raised in Va), and I get the feeling that she'd be miserable here. She's use to city life, the changing of seasons, diversity, etc.

Living in the city with a car would mean you would have to also pay for a parking spot. Living just outside Boston with a 30 minute commute might be more like OC, if that's what you're looking for.

[ZeusMutation]

Thanks kwong7 - I think Eagles nailed with the people differences.

I'm a native California, but my parents are New Yorkers, I have thick skin... not worried about rudeness or making friends.

The point I get is there are no comparisons to be made.

[FlyingLizzie]

Born and raised in Boston, moved out to OC about 10 years ago after graduation. My info may not be as up to date, but this is what I remember from growing up.

Boston is nothing like SoCal. The closest CA comparison would be San Francisco. People in Boston seem more uptight or "rushed". I blame it on the bad weather. There are LOTS of college kids, so get used to rowdy screaming in the wee hours of the night. People really love the Red Sox. And there's also plenty of tourists, but not as much as LA. I've also noticed that people in OC are fairly conservative, whereas Boston is heavily liberal. Sometimes they can get downright snobby about education. As much as people complain about the MBTA, I miss it dearly. The OCTA pales in comparison. Boston is definitely a "walking" city, you'll see plenty of people out and about.

What kinds of neighborhoods are you considering in Boston?

[DinsdalePirahna]

...and they are really bad drivers. probably among the worse on the country.

[KarBear06]

I grew up outside of Boston in Needham. Its an awesome little town.

Needham, MA

You can get right into Boston on the commuter rail from Needham.

We have family in Boston, Foxboro, Andover, Lexington, Wakefield. Also in ME, RI and CT.

A promo brought my husband and I to CA in 2008.

While we miss Boston all.day.long we are not going back. We love first and foremost the weather in CA better than back home. Yup, we will always call it home.

We just returned from 3 weeks there. We go back allot as all our families still live in New England.

I will say this past winter was the worst on record in a long time. Their winters are crazy anyway but FEB 2015 it snowed almost 100 inches in one month. ugh.

Bostonians love their sports, Sox, Pats, B's and C's!

They can be snotty and tend to drive like maniacs but I have also seen that here.

I miss the small town living. As here it is all very large cities.