Boston - To go or not to go, that is the question.

November 4, 2007 9:50 AM

Give me a reason to NOT move to Boston this summer.

I just got an internship offer to work in Boston over the summer. The company flew me out, showed me a good time at a social hour that evening and gave me the entire weekend to explore the area. In the 48 hours I was there I feel in love with the city.

The problem is that last summer I was given a good time in Minneapolis by a company, they gave me an offer, and I took it. That summer job was great but the social scene didn't work out for me (which likely had to deal with the fact that I was in the suburbs of Minneapolis, without a car, and was 20).

I'll be working with a small company, making good money, and I'm currently excited about moving out there (I haven't said yes to the offer yet, I have plenty of time before I have to do that).

As I've never been to the area before, I need someone to be the devil's advocate, tell me what there is to dislike about the area so that I can make a (hopefully) more educated decision on this whole thing.

posted by Quazie to travel & transportation (31 comments total)

Well, Boston has had an increasing problem with bedbugs, as reported here. If you already live there, that's one thing, but if you're going to be looking for an apartment then you may have real issues. The people who have gone through bedbug infestations report that it's extremely difficult to get out of them.
posted by rolypolyman at 9:57 AM on November 4, 2007

Sports fanatics. My friend who lives there says they're the main horror of her life.
posted by zenpop at 10:05 AM on November 4, 2007

Make sure good money to you now is good money when you're in Boston ... it's frickin' expensive here. (I happen to think it's the best place to live in the country, and well worth it. But very expensive. Especially housing.)
posted by Hey, Cupcake! at 10:15 AM on November 4, 2007

Many apartments do not have A/C. Not sure where you're coming from or what you're used to, but if you need constant hard chill then you might have trouble.

OTOH, I *loved* my three years in Boston and would move back there in a heartbeat even if it meant being really sweaty all summer.

Good luck!
posted by mccxxiii at 10:21 AM on November 4, 2007

I lived in Boston for seven years, and the main drawbacks were increasing discomfort at the sort of fuddy duddy conservatism of people, which is hard to explain. But it's sort of this moral high ground every one is taking all the time, very "horrors! you don't compost and try to save the whales while working at a low paying non profit and pursuing grad degrees in ecology?" I moved to New York and lightened up a lot.

That said, I still love Boston and think it's a great place to live. Especially for a short time.
posted by sweetkid at 10:23 AM on November 4, 2007

The racism. Seriously.

I didn't believe it was so until I actually moved there for two years. That, and as said above, the sports fans. Frat boys and sorority girls. The banker culture, the high cost of living, and due to the high cost of living the lack of a strong underground (or even above ground) art scene.

Oh, and the angry, angry, aggressive drivers whose ability to imperil pedestrians' lives is matched only by the bicyclists who insist on riding full speed down the middle every sidewalk.

The music scene is pretty decent though.
posted by stagewhisper at 10:57 AM on November 4, 2007

sweetkid's description portends Flunkie's observation. The Mooninites hate fuddy duddies. Really hate them.

Seriously, I visited a good friend several times there and he couldn't wait to get out because his neighbors were so obtuse and unfriendly. Boston's (over)reaction to Mr. Moonie did not surprise me. Maybe not a concern for a short stint.

He also like cooking spicy food and had a hard time grocery shopping at the local major stores.

It was expensive as all get out.
posted by GPF at 11:02 AM on November 4, 2007

I spent last summer in Boston, and loved it overall, but there were a few things that really irked me:

* Its humid and miserable maybe an average of 2 days a week from late June to late Aug (my experience last summer, anyway). If you don't have AC, you just have to resign yourself to not much sleep, especially if your apt doesn't get much ventilation.
* Its expensive. EVERYTHING is expensive. There are good/great free things, but you really have to seek them out.
* People can be dicks.
* Bikers and cars both hate you and try to kill you (this ends up being fun, though).
* I wasn't 21, and there was no social life at all in the city proper. All the shows are 21+ or $555555, everyone just goes to bars, etc. I hear JP & Cambridge are better though.

I seriously lucked out for my apt - it was close to whole foods, a block and a half from a T stop (green line E, but still), I could walk to work, it was a good area for running, lively at night, etc. I was right by Symphony. If I lived there again, I'd probably want to live in Cambridge, or if I had to live in the city itself, I'd want to live deeper in the South End.

To address some of stagewhisper's concerns: sports fans can get annoying, but its fun to sit on your stoop and laugh at them as they walk by, either extremely disappointed because the Sox lost, or absolutely nonchalant because they won ("of course they won").

If you're there in the summer, BU, BC, & Northeastern won't be in, and the frat/sorority scene will be seriously, seriously cut back. You'll have more music students than you know what to do with, but they're mostly harmless.
posted by devilsbrigade at 11:06 AM on November 4, 2007

It's expensive. Public transportation leaves a lot to be desired. You will get into a rut and feel like things would be better if only you lived in New York. There will be fewer college-age people here during the summer. Or the inverse, there will still be so many students around even in summer. It's very homogeneous and very ethnically/economically striated. It will be cold until the middle of June, then wheezingly hot until the middle of August, then cold again until late September. Learning your way around will be maddening, especially if you're used to a mid-western grid. When the wind comes in off the ocean on certain days downtown smells fishy. Inversely, unless the wind comes off the ocean in a certain way, you won't even be able to smell the ocean. And yeah, a lot of the sports fans are assholes and they seem to span every season.
posted by cocoagirl at 11:08 AM on November 4, 2007

It's expensive. Especially rent.

The weather sucks.

Everything closes early.

The Masshole factor (prevailing rudeness).

No good Mexican food.

however...if you love Boston and want to move here, go with your gut instinct and do it. If things don't work out, you can always move to Minneapolis later. (I know, not really helping with the devil's advocate thing...)
posted by emd3737 at 11:12 AM on November 4, 2007

Traffic.

Several years ago, I interviewed at MIT Lincoln Labs, and came out for a 3 day series of interviews. They made the mistake of giving me a rental car, and I made the mistake of driving around. In general, I am fine driving in cities, but Boston traffic and streets are insane. Roads are not marked well, and randomly split without any signs. Maps are useless. And negotiating traffic is like something from The Running Man.

Twice while I was there, I heard two different people call in to the radio station to say they couldn't stand Boston and were moving away.

I now live in Iowa.
posted by jpdoane at 11:14 AM on November 4, 2007

I think one of the worst parts of Boston is all the people who move there for college or post-college for a few years and think they can impose their worldview on Bostonians. When they realize it's not New York / Iowa, they move away. They don't even take the time to appreciate the experience of a Red Sox baseball season; they complain about the high prices; they whine about how inconvenient everything is. And when they leave, they don't realize that's how Bostonians like it because it keeps uppity BU students from living there permanently.

[Too defensive of my hometown. Moved away 8 years ago.]
posted by one_bean at 11:52 AM on November 4, 2007

I know you asked about bad things about Boston, and those have been adequately covered. So here's my $.02: Boston is an awesome place to be a summer intern. Tons to do on the weekends (trips to the beach, or the mountains, concerts on the river, street fairs, etc etc). I grew up in Boston and spent my summers there during college and my memory is that there are actually quite a lot of nightlife options for the under-21s, especially in terms of live music. Or just get a fake ID.

Boston is also just a great city to wander around in. Do the freedom trail on a Saturday, and just stop off wherever you feel like. Walk along the river for hours. You get the idea.

Spring for Sox bleacher tx at least once.

Housing is super $$$. I always lived with my parents, but some of my friends would rent rooms in frats or dorms for the summer, which seems like a good option if you want people to hang out with. I know both BU and MIT do this. Or you can rent a room in a group house in JP or Somerville, where there are tons of young people.

Incidentally, I've also lived in Minneapolis, and I can tell you this will be different. Mpls is really, really great in the summer, but not without a car in the suburbs.
posted by lunasol at 12:09 PM on November 4, 2007

Oh, and for getting out of the city, a Zipcar membership will be your best friend. There are also places like Marblehead that you can get to on the commuter rail. And there's a ferry to Provincetown on the end of the Cape.
posted by lunasol at 12:11 PM on November 4, 2007

More info - I'll be 21 when I get there. I've grown up in the midwest and never had a chance to leave it (super suburban areas around detroit, and Ann Arbor), and I can think of no better thing in the world than leaving the midwest to try out someplace else. I'm only asking for the negatives because I feel like its easy to find positives, and it seems like every negative comes with a positive as well.
posted by Quazie at 12:21 PM on November 4, 2007

Too many tourists. Too many "firsts."

Oh -- BTW -- the Yankees Suck.
posted by ericb at 1:00 PM on November 4, 2007

Oh -- and lots of stuff is just plain old -- by American standards! ; )
posted by ericb at 1:04 PM on November 4, 2007

Your experience is going to be pretty different depending on what neighborhoods you live and work in. Definitely surf the Boston craigslist and get a feel for how expensive rent is. Moving with Minnesota dollars is gonna seem really pricey.

Besides housing costs, the rest of the city really isn't that expensive, and that's the only "negative" I can think of. Boston is the best city in the world.
posted by doppleradar at 1:23 PM on November 4, 2007

I grew up here and still live here and I really dig the place. But I can come up with some negatives - that many have already mentioned:
* Things close too early. T stops running just after midnight.
* People on bikes and in cars may want to kill you. I may be one of those people and I'm sorry.
* It can be a segregated place (there are some exceptions) and that is sad.
* There's that reserved (and/or grumpy) thing going on.
* It is a pricey place to live (housing-wise).

If you do come out for the summer--really, really go to a Sox game. Go eat seafood at Woodmans in Essex. Take a ferry to one of the Harbor Islands. Walk around Castle Island in Southie. Walk along the Charles on a Sunday when Memorial Drive is blocked off to cars. Just walk around the city because it is totally walkable. Search for a previous question about what folks love about Boston as there were great answers.
posted by jdl at 1:37 PM on November 4, 2007

This might not help, but I wanted to let you know that you're in good company. My summer working for 3M while under 21 was pretty bad from a social point of view, and I DID have a car.... There really wasn't anywhere to drive to.
posted by JMOZ at 1:46 PM on November 4, 2007

OK, just FYI, some people, myself included, dislike it when people post subjective questions the asker can't even really have a valid opinion about, then mark best answers. You won't know what the best answer is unless you go and decide you shouldn't have.

Also, disclaimer: I live in NYC and love it. However, I lived in Boston for a couple of years.

I cannot in good conscience recommend Boston to anyone. The food is fine, the public transportation is actually pretty good, the city looks nice, and the expense didn't bother this New Yorker. But the people. Yikes. The people are clannish, extraordinarily provincial, and just plain rude for the most part.

The default attitude towards a stranger seems to be: "You are an asshole, because I've never seen you before. I will point this out to you the first chance I get."

And the Red Sox? There is something in the water there that makes these people seriously mentally ill about baseball. It's really twisted.

I was lucky enough to meet some great people, and maybe you will be too, but I was glad to get out of there just because of the general huge chip on its shoulder that Boston has.
posted by lackutrol at 2:24 PM on November 4, 2007

A recent Boston Globe article said that some Boston restraunts will not serve you food if you are under 21. Boston is still a wonderful, walkable city.
posted by Raybun at 2:36 PM on November 4, 2007

I lived in Boston for 5 years and would like to second others' complaints about: sports fans, racism, humidity, massholes, shit closing early, people being mean, bad drivers and how expensive everything is.
posted by dhammond at 3:45 PM on November 4, 2007

I cannot in good conscience recommend Boston to anyone. The food is fine, the public transportation is actually pretty good, the city looks nice, and the expense didn't bother this New Yorker. But the people. Yikes. The people are clannish, extraordinarily provincial, and just plain rude for the most part.

The default attitude towards a stranger seems to be: "You are an asshole, because I've never seen you before. I will point this out to you the first chance I get."

Strange, I grew up in the South, moved to New England a couple years ago, and have never run into this, in Boston or out. Sure, people are a little reserved, but lots of folks think people down south are all too friendly or nosy, or New Yorkers are all asses that think they're the center of the universe and want you to know about it. Ranking an entire city as 'nice' or 'bastards' or anything is just crazy.

If I had to pick a big city to live in, it would probably be Boston. You have lots of actual neighborhoods and communities within a larger city, lots to do, places to go, live music... It's one summer, and a great chance to get out of what you're used to. Go for it.
posted by pupdog at 3:45 PM on November 4, 2007

pupdog, I grew up in the South, moved to New York over a decade ago, and generally had a great experience in both places. And I don't mind reserve at all, just to be clear. Boston has some nice things about it and there certainly are nice people there, but it's the only place I've ever lived where I've had this sense that the whole city sort of feels like it's gotten a raw deal or something. Strange but true. The combination of progressive politics and casual racism is also very odd.

I'm also not saying that all Bostonians are racists or jerks but there are more than you'd expect, or hope.
posted by lackutrol at 4:08 PM on November 4, 2007

One thing to keep in mind is that if you're used to goodies like a dishwasher, garbage disposal, in-apartment washer/dryer, a parking space, etc. they may not be available, especially if you're going to be living alone in a studio or 1br. You will likely be living in a very old building. If you're used to having those things and you prefer living in a newer place, it could be a turn-off.

Personally I think Boston is the best, though.
posted by Marit at 4:26 PM on November 4, 2007

By the way, I should mention that if you're inclined to be excited about moving there, you should totally do it. I would not want to make Boston (or New England, for that matter) a full-time home, but for a summer...sure. It will be interesting, at least.
posted by dhammond at 5:13 PM on November 4, 2007

I agree with every single negative thing people have said in this thread, and I *STILL* like living here better than any other place I have ever lived. And I could give a shit less about the Red Sox.
posted by briank at 7:03 PM on November 4, 2007

Yeah, the Masshole factor. Don't underrate that. Boston would be a great city if there weren't any Bostonians there.
posted by allkindsoftime at 2:48 AM on November 5, 2007

I don't know where you would be moving from, but I live near Philly and do a lot of work-related travel to Massachusetts/Boston. I only ever spend 48-72 hours there, but the Boston accent drives me absolutely crazy while I'm there.

And, like many others mentioned, the place is overrun with Massholes.
posted by rinosaur at 5:59 AM on November 5, 2007

One thing that surprised me about the greater Boston area (especially after moving from the midwest): everything shuts down at midnight. No trains or buses; no late-night food options unless you want to drive 30 minutes each way. I'd walk home on a Friday night after a rock show and not even gas stations or convenience stores were open.

I expected it to be more like a functional city where people are doing stuff at all hours of the night, but most people believe and live the "early to bed, early to rise" maxim. I live in LA now, and when my coworkers talk about getting to work "early," they mean a 7 AM start time. My "early morning work meetings" in Boston would frequently start at 6:30 AM, and my coworkers would clock in 1 hour BEFORE these meetings. This was annoying at first, but once I realized I couldn't do anything functional after 8 PM (e.g., the majority of restaurants, grocery stores, the gym, clothing stores, coffee shops, etc., closed at 8 PM on weeknights!) I started understanding the early morning/early night cycle.
posted by holyrood at 4:12 PM on November 5, 2007