Boston - tell me all about it

[ProfessorPain]

Just my view, but I have lived in Massachusetts most of my life.

First there is Boston and then there is Massachusetts. Boston doesn't much care for massachusetts, and massachusetts doesn't much care for boston. Boston isn't just the city proper, its the greater metro area as well. Its cold here in the winter, brutally hot and humid in the summer (I moved out west for abit, and found the dry heat much more easy to handle). The culture is pretty mixed. Lots of old Italian, Jewish, and Irish families. Also lots of Yankee (straight from the mayflower) families in some of the suburbs. Where I live we have a sizeable South East Asian community (mostly cambodian). Sharp divisions between blue collar and white collar folk, more so than I encountered out west. And the boston accent seems to break down on class lines for some reason. The accent thing is pretty interesting. As I said I lived out west for a bit, and never noticed too many regional differences with accent. Here people who live in Dorchester talk different than people who live in Revere. People who live in Lawrence talk different than people who live in Gloucester (pronounced Glawsta'). Another give away is whether someone is reading the globe or the herald. Lot of history here as well. Plenty of places to go see.

 

[Olive]

Thanks guys. Cappallan - you confirmed many expectations. How furnished do most places come?

We've discussed visas but this is all still theoretical - I've interviewed but so have other people so we'll see what happens.

Oh yeah - the office is in Malden, not Boston.

 

[Piratecat]

Oh yeah - the office is in Malden, not Boston.

That's handy. Malden is north of the city and is accessible by public transport. It gives you more options on where you might look for a home.

Swing by Boston.com, or the actual newspaper at Boston Globe. They'll be able to give you an idea of what's going on, and of housing prices. If you reach the point where you need to find school district info, let me know.

 

[ProfessorPain]

That's handy. Malden is north of the city and is accessible by public transport. It gives you more options on where you might look for a home.
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This is much better than working in Boston proper (which is really expensive for parking). Malden actually has parking so you may be able to drive to work (which is much better than the MBTA).

There are lots of nice communities around Malden. If you need something affordable, check out Lynn. There are lots of really cheap but good appartments and homes on the Town line. The commuter rail passes through, so you can use MBTA. I live in Lynn, it can be rough in a few spots, but it also has some really great areas as well.

 

[Capellan]

How furnished do most places come?

Well, I can only speak about my place, not what other places will be like ... but about the only household thing I had to buy was a kettle. I've got a feeling there was one other small item I also picked up, but I don't remember what it was.

 

[Olive]

Well, I can only speak about my place, not what other places will be like ... but about the only household thing I had to buy was a kettle. I've got a feeling there was one other small item I also picked up, but I don't remember what it was.

Huh - is that usual (for all you others)?

 

[Piratecat]

Huh - is that usual (for all you others)?

Nah. Capellan is the only person I know who has ever rented a furnished apartment. His was more expensive than most unfurnished places, because it was freakin' gorgeous.

 

[Olive]

Nah. Capellan is the only person I know who has ever rented a furnished apartment. His was more expensive than most unfurnished places, because it was freakin' gorgeous.

Cool. Do apartments come with washing machines and the like?

And I assume the prices I'm seeing are per month?

 

[Umbran]

Cool. Do apartments come with washing machines and the like?

Sometimes. Sometimes not. It is a case by case thing.

Malden is the next town over from me, even, so I'm familiar with the area. It has some good points of transport into downtown Boston.

But, perhaps more important from a fiscal point of view - if you work in Malden, and want to have a car, you can live even a touch farther out of the city (say, in Melrose, Stoneham, Winchester, or Saugus) and still have a short commute to work, but possibly pay notably less in rent - in general, the farther from the city proper, the lower the rent will be.

I will note that there's actually three different systems folks may talk about when they discuss public transportation around there. There's a commuter rail system, a subway system (which isn't actually all underground, and is commonly called "the T"), and the various buses.

 

[Olive]

But, perhaps more important from a fiscal point of view - if you work in Malden, and want to have a car, you can live even a touch farther out of the city (say, in Melrose, Stoneham, Winchester, or Saugus) and still have a short commute to work, but possibly pay notably less in rent - in general, the farther from the city proper, the lower the rent will be.

My wife is pretty keen to live somewhere a bit more vibrant than an outer suburb I think. Which makes sense - she'd be at home, with two little kids and not knowing anyone around.

We're not religious so there's no built in network she'd plug into like I would with work and geeking.