Boston, MA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I lived in Boston for 3 years while in grad school as well and HATED it. But to each their own. I disliked it b/c of the miserable weather, crazy sports fans (please - let's talk about something else), more expensive homes for less space/not as nice, and I have to agree with the second poster - Bostoners are not a particularly friendly bunch.

I think it is a great college town. Fun place to go to school there, but I really couldn't ever see myself settling down there.

There are some cute neighborhoods outside of the actual city, which is really small, though. Beacon Hill and Back Bay are very nice, but TINY apartments and VERY VERY expensive. And DO NOT bring your car there if you are moving into the city. Trust me on this one.

...ditto. I HATED Boston. We moved from Boston to the DC area last year and the DC Metro area is better -- especially the weather. Boston is a diverse city but not integrated at all. The weather in Boston is awful -- 9 months of winter/wet weather. We lived downtown in a high-rise at the Pru and living downtown was decent but way too expensive --but I would not have survived in the Mass burbs. . . .anyway, all this to say -- definitely visit for a few days (in the colder months) to get a sense of what to expect.

[Anonymous]

I just moved to DC from Boston and am really missing it. We lived in the city and could live with only one car until we had a child. It's a much easier city to navigate on foot-- it's smaller, and you can get to a lot of great places on foot. Here it seems you need to drive most places, unless you live in a few select areas (and even then, people seem to drive a lot). Winter is harder, obviously, but summer is GORGEOUS (which I get the sense is not true here). Fall is also a beautiful time.

Boston's not as diverse as DC, although it seems that parts of DC are pretty segregated (e.g., NW). I have to say that I find people here especially friendly, so though I loved Boston while I was there, it makes me think people are pretty cold up there. That's not to say that there aren't plenty of nice, friendly people, but it's a bit more reserved of a culture. Schools are similarly competitive, but like here, there are a lot of good ones. There are a lot of young people, due to all the universities there. And it is a great place if you need a doctor, because there are TONS of them, and some really good hospitals. I believe Children's Hospital in Boston is one of the top two children's hospitals in the country. There's really good shopping in Boston too.

There are so many great things to do with families in Boston. Great museums, the swan boats in Boston Common, and the Duck Boats are always fun for a dose of trivia and a look around the city. Fenway Park is so much fun to go to-- Boston has a lot more sports than DC.

I think you'll really like it! Good luck with your move.

[Anonymous]

"Here it seems you need to drive most places, unless you live in a few select areas (and even then, people seem to drive a lot)."

Really? Do any of you people calling DC a non-walkable city actually live here? Some magazine (am blanking on the name - forgive me) just named DC the number one city for "walkable areas" in the country.

Here, I was clicking on this post because I was sure all the posts would be discussing how SIMILAR Boston and DC are (having lived in both placed, Boston only for school, though) and instead it just seems to be a lot of DC bashing by people that seem very unfamiliar with the city.

First of all, both cities are VERY small - which means you can basically walk from one end to the other of either city and not own a car at all. Who are you people that think you need a car to get from the Mall to Capitol Hill or up to Foggy Bottom or to DuPont or to Georgetown etc etc? You literally walk five blocks and you're in another neighborhood. So the idea of DC as not a walkable city seems really quite ridiculous to me.

Second of all, both cities boast populations of highly educated people per capita. This means that there are excellent educational and work opportunities for people in business, law, medicine, and the sciences. Many high-tech pharma and IP companies are based in both areas, not counting (perhaps y'all have heard of this place in DC) NIH.

I think the biggest difference in the cities (other than the obvious weather issue - if you hate cold, you'll hate Boston, and if you hate heat and humidity, you'll hate DC) is the relative insularity of Boston as compared to DC. This just boils down to DC being a place where people from all over the country come after college, law school, etc., to get jobs (so it can't be THAT terrible of a place to live, otherwise why would all of us non-Washingtonians move here??), therefore there is a more diverse, cosmopolitan feel to the city.

Anyway, I really can't believe the idiot who suggests there is NO COMPARISON (in all caps, nonetheless) - that person clearly has never actually lived in Washington, or perhaps, got rejected from more prestigious jobs here or something like that. Because that kind of vitriol doesn't generally spill from people who actually choose to live here, and even from those who do not.

[Anonymous]

"Anyway, I really can't believe the idiot who suggests there is NO COMPARISON (in all caps, nonetheless) - that person clearly has never actually lived in Washington, or perhaps, got rejected from more prestigious jobs here or something like that. Because that kind of vitriol doesn't generally spill from people who actually choose to live here, and even from those who do not."

This from someone spewing "idiot"???????

Nope. Lived in both. Successful in both. Prefer Boston. Not everything has to be complicated. So D.C. to make it so - LOL!

P.S. I do NOT (all caps, your favorite!) get my information from magazines, unlike yourself. But you are quite entertaining.

[Anonymous]

Are we going to reenact the Civil War, by chance?

[Anonymous]

"huh?"

Just kidding. That woman would be toast.....