

Ask HN: I enjoyed living in the Bay Area. How does Boston compare? - notfromboston

I'm from Canada. I am considering moving to Boston, or specifically Cambridge, for work. I was temporarily in the Bay Area and I really enjoyed it there. How does Boston compare?<p>Obviously, the weather in the Bay Area was amazing, but I can't expect anything like that in Boston. I also liked the culture in the Bay Area. I felt that I was surrounded by a lot of smart, driven people. I feel like Stanford had something to do with that, but I could be wrong. Perhaps with Harvard and MIT in the area, I would find the culture to be similar?<p>I would also be interested in how Boston would compare to the Bay Area for families and raising kids and such, if anyone has thoughts on that.<p>Thank you.
======
ryanto
I grew up in Boston, went to school in the Bay Area, and about three years ago
moved back to Boston.

Real Estate. Both are pretty similar, way expensive (waits for someone from
NYC to comment). Boston is actually a bit more expensive than the bay. If you
are willing to commute 45 minutes into the city the prices do drop quite a
bit, but who wants to do that.

Diversity. Bay area is much more diverse than Boston. Being a white kid from
the suburbs I had never had thai food nor known someone from vietnam before
moving the Bay. Boston is a really young city, tons of colleges, so you do
have a good mix of cultures in those crowds.

Smart People. Boston is full of them, but really so is every other city. There
are a lot of schools here, so there are plenty of smart people. You will have
no problem finding smart people in Boston/Cambridge. All of my friends are
driven, but I do not think thats because of the city, its mainly because of
who I choose to hang out with.

Family. I'd probably want to move out to the burbs for that. Cambridge can be
a bit of a young crowd, crowded, etc.

Feel free to ask any questions.

~~~
notfromboston
I just want to say thanks for the response. It's really hard to find such
information on Wikipedia or something.

------
bricestacey
I've lived in Boston for 4 years now. For perspective I'm originally from
Florida.

The T is awful. The trains do not stick to their schedule so it's slow and
unreliable. The trains are also overheated in the winter and the A/C is always
broken in the summer. Just be sure to live within walking distance of your
work.

The weather is pretty bad. It's definitely beautiful here, but it often rains
in the Spring and Fall. It's one of those light drizzles that lasts for days
kind of rain. We're having it right now. Meh.

You don't need to commute 45 minutes to find a nice place. I live in Belmont
now, just 2 miles west of Harvard Square. I rent out the first floor of a 2
story house (2br, 1 bath, living room, dining room, kitchen, back yard with
porch, drive way) for only $1050 a month. The previous tenants were a family
with 1 kid and dog. Also, 2 of my neighbors each have 2 kids so it seems
family friendly. Definitely safe, quiet, etc, etc. I'm moving though... want
to take it? hehe.

Contact info in profile if you have any questions.

------
desigooner
the one thing i hate about Boston though is the food scene (apparently getting
better) is not as good as you'd think or expect for such a city .. a lot of
places are mediocre if you've eaten at good places in NY and SF and Chicago
etc. That and lack of good, cheap options for lunch is a downer. That being
said, I moved up from NYC 2 years ago and it's been a good stay so far.

By the way, the public transport can be pretty unreliable.

------
ia
haven't been to the bay area, but i'm outside boston in one of the suburbs.
i'd be happy to answer any specific questions you have. contact info is in
profile.

