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So how do you like living in Boston? Need all sorts of advice to handle a possible relocation

So how do you like living in Boston? Need all sorts of advice to handle a possible relocation

Old Feb 29th, 2004, 09:02 AM
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So how do you like living in Boston? Need all sorts of advice to handle a possible relocation

Hello all,

Just found out my job is being relocated to Boston from Toronto. It's a very exciting opportunity but I've never been to Boston.

There are lots of options to weigh and lots of questions to ask. Here's what I'm wondering about right now--maybe somebody can help:

What's the job market like? My husband is a web developer and if we decide to make this move, will he be able to find work? Will the fact that he won't have a work visa be a major hindrance? (Any chance that employers LOVE hiring Canadians?)

Where should we live? We're young professionals. We like the arts. We don't have to live with the wealthy but we don't want holes in our roof. Something in between would be great. And on a transportation route is a must! We don't plan on having a car. (Is that crazy?)

We'll be in Boston next weekend to take a look around. Can anyone recommend the best 2-day plan for getting a feel of the real Boston, a sampling of neighbourhoods, etc?

What can you tell me about Boston that I won't find in travel guides?

Thanks so much in advance!
Carrie
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Old Feb 29th, 2004, 09:15 AM
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Hi Carrie!

I don't know Boston at all but I remember that Hemisheres magazine for United Airlines does a series called "3 Perfect days in....." So I did a search on the web ans sure enough they have one for Boston

http://www.hemispheresmagazine.com/t...000/boston.htm


Anyway-they of course target higher end hotels, restaurants, etc but I thought it might give you a starting point and true Bostonians could comment.

Good luck on your move

jpie
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Old Feb 29th, 2004, 09:34 AM
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As a true Bostonian, I'd advise that if you do check out the "3 perfect days" article, that you do so only in order to eliminate places to go and things to see, since you're trying to find out how to live here rather than be a tourist.

It's not crazy at all to plan on living without a car. The public transporation system is pretty good. You can get maps of the subway system (popularly known as "the T") and the Commuter Rail trains, which go farther out, at www.mbta.com.

You won't be surprised to hear that housing is very expensive and that the farther out you go, the more you'll get for your money.

Do you know exactly where the company will be located? Commuting can be such a hassle, especially getting from north of the city to south of it, you really need to know your worksite in order to make a sensible neighborhood investigation.
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Old Feb 29th, 2004, 09:44 AM
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Hi Anon,

Exact office location is still a question mark. I've been told very little (decisions haven't been finalized) and know only that one possible location is just off the "silver line" (haven't yet checked a map to see what that means) and that the other is in the financial district. Employer, a Bostonian, says the difference is negligible in terms of commute. (??)

I'm a city girl and I'd prefer not to spend too long commuting into town each day. Value is an issue, in terms of housing, but I'd prefer to be in the city, if it's realistic.

I've been told that Quincy is quite nice, near the water with a direct commute. How long would it really take to get into downtown? And, does Quincy feel like a small town?
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Old Feb 29th, 2004, 10:51 AM
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Quincy does not feel like a small town, because it is a small city, population about 90,000, served by 3 stops on the subway's Red Line.

The "Silver Line" is actually a bus line, set up to assuage inner-city residents who complained when the elevated parts of the subway's Orange Line were buried and re-routed.

While it's true that the Silver Line area and the Financial District nearly overlap, there would still be a difference. To minimize your commute, and perhaps even walk to work, consider Boston's South End, a very varied community with something for everyone.
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Old Feb 29th, 2004, 12:05 PM
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Hi clgarbas:

Great city! but do your self a big favor.....try not to be a Red sox Fan...it will only break your heart!

John
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Old Feb 29th, 2004, 01:50 PM
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Since you are used to living in Toronto, and are looking for arts/young professionals/and living w/ no car, I would recommend you check out these neighborhoods, many will coincide with the Hemispheres tour.

I've listed my take on each neighborhood. I lived in Cambridge for 15 years (7 of which were without a car), but have been gone for 5. So my recommendations are Boston/Cambridge biased. I still miss the area . . .

Boston:
Beacon Hill - "upscale", historic section of the city, brick townhouses, now many converted to condos/apts. You could walk to work or take public transportation. Having a a car here is often a hindrance -parking can be difficult to find.

Back Bay - similar to Beacon Hill, but a little more spread out. Newbury Street, Boston's premiere shopping district is in this neighborhood. Again you could walk to take the T.

South End - another part of Boston, still more brick/brownstone town houses/condos, this area used to be less pricey since it borders on less affluent neighborhoods - thus its a little more artsy'diverse, but prices here are rising too. Lots of great restaurants shops here.

North End - this is Boston's Italian neighborhood. Lots of great small retaurants, a distict "small town" feel to the neighborhood.
This is another more "tightly packed" neighborhood where parking is difficult. You could walk or take the T to work.

Fort Point Channel - most housing is lofts from converted factories, very "artsy/urban", very near the financial district but more of a "frontier" neighborhood - ie less amenenities because this is not a purely residential area.

Charlestown - the Navy yard - where the ship the USS Constitution - aka "Old Ironsides" is docked, has a lot of condos, some of which may have water views. The subway is probably a 10-15 minute walk.

Alston/Brighton - lots of students and parties here - its near the universities of BU and BC - so depending on your age may be too young a crowd for you (it would be for me )

Cambridge: Home of Harvard and MIT aka the "People's Republic of Cambridge" has lots to offer by way of the arts, museums, restaurants and two of the best ice cream establishments in the US - Toscanni's and Christina's. Its just across the Charles River from Boston.

Take the T- the Red line to Cambrdige. If your company will be located in the Finacial district, the Redline is good, because its goes to South Station.

Kendall T - this is the first stop over the bridge from Boston MIT is here. Most housing is a good 10-15 minute walk to the - but rent is likely to be more affordable here. In real estate this may be listed as Kendall or East Cambridge. This area is also the home of Lotus - now owned by IBM and others in the "high tech" industry.

Harvard Square - home of Harvard, rents driven higher by students but great access to bookstore, coffee shops, etc. Lots of apartments.

If you are looking for a little less urban, even a small yard, suggest the surrounding towns of Somerville, Arlington (on the Redline past Harvard) parts of which are on the T. Although the further out to the suburbs you go, the harder it is to live w/out the car - eg access to grocery shopping, laundry etc.

Quincy is also on the Redline, the opposite direction from Cambridge, and would be a quick commute. Housing varies, from "upscale" modern apts/condos on the water to single/double triple "decker"
homes.

Rents are likely to be pretty high in Boston- suggest you stop by a realtor or at least pick up a Sunday Boston Globe to get the Real Estate section for an idea of pricing.

Boston's a great city, explore!
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Old Feb 29th, 2004, 04:35 PM
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Have lived in Boston area for about 25 years after living in Providence and prior to that New York City area. As a nurse, I could live and work anywhere, but I choose to stay here - so that counts as a vote for Boston.

Don't want to be too discouraging about husband's job issue - but I know quite a few web designers/developers who are un- or under-employed. Seems to be a tough field right now. Also, in Boston area, many of these type jobs are outside geographic area of reasonable non-car commute (Look at a map - many are in the Route 128/Rte. 95 "belt" around Boston). And please excuse my ignorance, but I do not know about legal working status of Canadians in US - I work with people from many Caribbean and African countries and it has been a real hassle for many of them to acquire papers allowing them to legally work here - perhaps there is some reciprocal arrangement with Canada since it is so close that would make all that unnecessary - I just don't know.

Count me as another one who cautions you not to suffer heart failure when you see the cost of housing - either rental or owned. I would strongly urge you to consider a short-term furnished rental for 1-2 months before you decide on a specific town or area.

There is a post floating around here this weekend from 2 young professionals relocating to Boston area to work at 2 different medical centers in Boston - they had some similar concerns to yours - hope someone can give you lead on where that thread is now as they received some good advice here.
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Old Mar 1st, 2004, 12:14 PM
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I live in Jamaica Plain (a neighborhood in Boston) which is served by the orange line, green line and a pretty good bus (#39). There is a very big arts community and one of the subway (T) stops has an art gallery. Prices have been increasing here but are no where as expensive as most of the other places named. The other places you may want to consider are Somerville and Cambridge. Spend a few hours visiting Centre Street (take orange line to Green Street - where the art gallary is - and then head left up Green Street to Centre Street.

The Roxbury / South End border is up-and-coming for artists. You'd be fine without a car there.

While Quincy is great in terms of its location on the water and does have 4 red line stops, I am not convinced that you can handle your day to day errands without a car.

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Old Mar 1st, 2004, 12:20 PM
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My colleague is a single mother. She's interested in learning which neighborhoods are best for children, have the best schools, etc. Her daughter is 5. Any recommendations? She would consider areas outside of the city so long as there weren't a considerable commute.
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Old Mar 1st, 2004, 01:43 PM
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Quality of public schools in the Boston area correlates very strongly with socioeconomic status and thus with housing prices, except within the city itself where prices are high and public education quality is not.

Recomendations of communities for your friend will depend almost entirely on how much she can afford to spend for housing.
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Old Mar 1st, 2004, 01:47 PM
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I went to Emerson College in Boston. Happiest days of my life - and I still go to Boston frequently and wish I could afford to live in town. Jobs are getting better slowly. The Boston area is quite expensive for renting real as are the reasonable commute distance suburbs but that's because it's such a cool place to live. Wonderful nightlife, shops, restaurants, events, transportation, culture and history. I think you would like it! Beware the DEMOCRATIC convention coming up, though - it's going to absolutely PARALYZE that part of Massachusetts!
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Old Mar 2nd, 2004, 01:28 PM
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clgarbas-

I hate to sound a bit suspicious, but didn't you recently (1 week ago) post a question on the Europe board asking about moving to London? And now 1 week later you are going to move to Boston?
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Old Mar 2nd, 2004, 01:52 PM
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troll? maybe but others can use our imput. clgar, Boston is VERY expencive. I lived many years on Newbury Street where all the action is but only because we than had rent control. Now I'm across the bridge near MIT and Harvard, because I don't drive and here I can cross the bridge to my old haunts, or bike, or take the subway.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2004, 11:03 AM
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Hi yk,

You're right. I do have a post up about London. I knew my job would be ending (or thought I knew)so London became (and still is) a serious consideration. At the end of last week, though, I found out that while my job is moving to Boston that my employer wants me to move with it. Something I hadn't even considered as an option.

And just yesterday--to make my head spin even more--I was invited to an interview for a fabulous job in Toronto.

You know the Clash song "Should I stay or should I go?"? Well, I can't get it out of my head.

For the moment, Boston is in the lead, with Toronto second and London third. But that changes regularly.

What would the rest of you do?
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Old Mar 3rd, 2004, 11:04 AM
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By the way, what's a "troll"?
It doesn't sound like something I want to be called.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2004, 11:15 AM
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A troll is someone who posts false and often intentionally provacative posts so they can watch the fallout, sniping and bloodshed after. A milder troll version might be someone posting false things to acquire info for, say, a travel article they are writing. There are some notorious trolls on this board who one would assume enjoy seeing the "bloodshed" they incite. In your case, I suspect the troll accuser thought you were of the milder type.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2004, 11:31 AM
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Thanks, Gail. I suppose if I have to be a troll, the milder type would be preferable.

No article here, though. This is just my life.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2004, 02:19 PM
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clgarbas-

I apologize for suspecting you, but you never know the people out there, right?

Anyhow, I lived in Boston for 8yrs and loved it. But it might not be easy for your husband to find a job in Boston. I believe some Canadians (depending on their skills) still need a work visa in order to work in the US, and getting a work visa these days (post 9/11) is no easy task. I would suggest you investigate this before accepting the position in Boston.
Here is a link to the State Dept for more info:
http://travel.state.gov/tn_visas.html

Also, Boston is extremely expensive to live in. Unless you are getting paid a lot more in Boston (and your husband can get a job easily), I would hesitate moving...

Good luck!
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Old Mar 3rd, 2004, 02:25 PM
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If it was my choice and I didn't have kids yet, I would head for London. Live while you can.

But if you do decide to come here to Boston, then I think you would enjoy it. Its a much smaller city than Toronto. It also has more history, more older buildings. Lots of college kids. Great sports. Great art but so does TO. Less shopping than Toronto. Good restuarants but not as many as Toronto. More provincial/townieish than Toronto. Harder to drive around. Public transportation is about equal. Boston is less sprawling, but also less modern - we tend to glorify the past excessively to the deteriment of progress. Better ice cream here.

I lived in TO for 2 years and the remainder of my 40+years in Boston so I have a good basis for comparison.

Check with an immigration lawyer regarding work prospects.
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