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Ask HN: I enjoyed living in the Bay Area. How does Boston compare?
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?
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?
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.
Thank you.
- ryanto 16y agoI 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 16y agoI just want to say thanks for the response. It's really hard to find such information on Wikipedia or something.
- desigooner 16y agothe 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 16y agohaven'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.
- bricestacey 16y agoI'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.