Moving to Boston from Eugene, Oregon?

Question

My husband and I are considering moving to Boston. We currently live in Eugene, Oregon and are looking for a bigger and more lively city. I am originally from San Francisco and I am dying for a big metropolitan area. My husband's biggest complaint about Oregon is the rain and lack of sun in the winter. We are concerned that Boston won't be much better weather wise. The snow and cold does not bother us as long as the winter does not drag on, there is a nice warm summer, and sunny days throughout the year. It seems like we only get 3 maybe 4 sunny months out of the year. So i guess our first question is how much sun is there in Boston year round? Does it seem like it rains constantly with no sun?

Also, we would like the ability to walk instead of driving; what parts of Boston or neighboring cities are good for this? We want to be able to walk to parks and easy access to entertainment and restaurants.

How well does the public transportation in Boston and to outlying cities work? On average if I was taking public transit to work how much would it cost per month if I lived within 20 miles of Boston?

What type of recreation is available? (i.e. camping, skiing, lakes, fishing, hunting, hiking, mountain biking) How far out do you have to travel for these activities?

Overall, how lively of a city is Boston? Does it seem like something fun is always going on? What are some events that go on in Boston (i.e. during holidays)?

We keep hearing that Bostonians are unfriendly, but is it just that it is a big city and people don't feel the need to socialize with everyone that passes by them (like in a small town how everyone knows everyone), how much truth is there to that statement?

Answer 1

I moved to Boston from Minneapolis a few months ago, and I can tell you that Boston is livelier and more metropolitan than the Twin Cities (though I love both places). The winter so far has been pretty mild; we've had a lot of nice sunny days with temperatures of 30-40 degrees. It does rain sometimes, but it doesn't feel like it rains constantly or anything. I think you'd find it's significantly sunnier than Oregon.



Boston is known as America's best walking city, and I've found that to be true. I don't have a car and I walk and take public transit everywhere. There are lots of good sidewalks and the cars are pretty aware of pedestrians (though they do get annoyed if you do something stupid--one of my friends accurately said that if you get hit by a car in Boston, it's not because the driver didn't see you; it's just because they were annoyed that you walked in front of them when they had the right-of-way).



Any place near the T is a good walking part of town, especially any place near the Red or Green lines. I live near Porter Square, which is really convenient. There are three grocery stores within walking distance as well as a Target (I can walk there or ride the bus for about 7 minutes). It's also walking distance to both Davis and Harvard Squares, both of which are charming parts of town with lots of nice restaurants and coffee shops.



If you live outside Boston and want to take the commuter rail into the city, you could buy a monthly pass, which costs anywhere from $59-$250 per month, depending on which zone you live in. See the websites below for more information. The $59 pass works for Zone 1 on the commuter rail as well as local subway/bus.



Bostonians do get a bad rap for being "unfriendly," but it's mostly, as you say, just that it's a big city and people don't feel the need to make small talk with everyone. I came from Minneapolis, with its reputation for "Minnesota nice," and it's true that more people chitchat there. But I don't mind the lack of excessive chitchat in Boston; in fact, it's kind of nice. If you need directions or something, you can always ask someone for help and chances are, they will be very friendly and helpful.

Answer 2

freddyg3 is a little bit over enthusiastic, I'd say. Though Boston (actually you should consider it Boston/Cambridge; the two cities stare at each other across the Charles River, and both are vibrant) is indeed lively and full of things to do I would not say that it is the equal to San Francisco - for one thing it practically closes down completely at 2AM unlike San Fran.



All the recreational activities you mention abound in New England (plus the ocean). There are state parks with camping even within 10 miles (to the south) and 18 miles (to the north and to the west) of Boston's downtown.



Weather wise it does precipitate in Boston throughout the year, pretty much every 3-5 days but that makes the weather interesting. In most years the longest dry spell is in late September and the first half of October - wonderfully timed for the beautiful fall foliage (which is indeed just as it is in all the calendars). There are usually 12 - 15 days in summer that are in the 90s with horrible humidity, it is not continuous as freddy3g suggests, but it gets worse every mile south and southwest you go (last summer was wonderfully cool, however). If you live right near the coastline many of these hot, humid days get tempered by cool ocean breezes.



Boston/Cambridge is the most walkable of American cities and has an excellent public transit system for an American city, but living 20 miles from the city of course will put you well into suburbia, some of which is without good local bus service. There is an excellent commuter rail system (much better than San Fran's), and the trains (plus Amtrak) go to nearby other interesting cities (Providence RI, and Portland, Maine). Not only the $ 59 monthly pass, but ALL Boston commuter rail passes also include the subway and local busses. (re: Adam and freddyg3's reference to "the T": the T

is the nickname for the transit system).



Aside from Portland, Providence and Manhattan, the fantastic

city of Montreal is also just a few hours' drive. Vermont as well is its own wonderful world. There is much more variety

within a couple of hours drive from Boston than there is from Eugene. The mountains are not as high as the Cascades , of course, but you can reach them in 1 1/2 hours. There is plenty of remaining wilderness in northern New Hampshire and Maine.



Another good thing about New England - like Oregon it is a center of delicious beer made by micro-breweries.



Bostonians are not unfriendly as a general rule.

Answer 3

Number one, you will LOVE BOSTON! I am from Olympia, WA (just up the road from you!) and it is nothing like the west coast!!! I was just there for 10 days in July and fell in love and am considering moving there myself! It is SO lively there! There is so much to do! If you're in the Boston area, you have the T that will take you any where! Buy a Charlie card, it will get you on the subways, buses, trains and something else, I forget?



People there were nice to me and helped me out! It's so close to other big cities! It's only a four hour bus ride to Manhattan, NY and whatever else! It's a beautiful city!!! There is always something going on, the night life is AMAZING! It is probably the greatest city ever!!! The history is rich there, so you'll love that!



Like I said, I'm from the same neck of the woods as you and it is nothing like home! It's AMAZING there :)





The only draw back, the humidity there.... ugh. that will kill you!!!

Answer 4

oergon