. Forum

[wadeny]

New York, Boston and Ithaca are all extremely different aside from the weather.

1. Ithaca is in the middle of nowhere. Aside from that, I don't know much about it other than the fact that I would be miserable there.

2. New York is the center of entire U.S. in terms of population, culture, the economy. It has a bit of everything. On one hand, you'll never be bored. On the other, it's very easy to get lost in the rat race. It's also very expensive but I can't imagine that bothering you too much if you're from Cali.

3. Boston is by and large a blue colar town. It's much smaller, cheaper, and less flashy than NYC and has a more homely feel.

Uh, Boston itself may be much smaller than NYC, but its metro area has 4.5+ million people, so I would say that's pretty big. It also can be fairly pricy (more so than NYC) and upscale in some areas, including parts of Newton, Wellesley, etc. Some of the more immediate suburbs in South Boston are "blue collar," but every city has those types of areas. From the way I see it, the big differences between Boston and most other cities is: its unusually large educated population (there are dozens of universities in the area beyond Harvard, MIT, BC/BU, etc) and its historical feel (being close to Plymouth and other towns with colonial history).

Also, Ithaca has much worse weather than either NYC/Boston. It is much farther inland and can get lake effect snow like Syracuse and Rochester. NYC/Boston are along the coast, so unless a Noreaster hits as it might in the next couple days, the winters are a little more mild (relatively speaking).

Boston is not more pricey than NYC; that is absurd. the ritzier areas of Boston are still nothing like Manhattan price-wise. i think our (Boston) premium housing is much cheaper, and so is our normal housing. you can get a decent condo in Cambridge convenient to the T for 300-400k; that would be impossible to find in brooklyn or really any of the desirable areas of NYC. Rent-wise they are actually pretty comparable but it is much cheaper to buy in Boston.

Boston is also way smaller than NYC; after all, even the entire metro area is less than half the population of NYC proper. Boston proper has a population of around 1/2 million.

Boston proper is significantly smaller population-wise than each of the five borroughs of NYC with the exception of Staten Island which doesn't really count.

It is also significantly cheaper. This is true for litlerally every demographic. You can't find a decent appartment in NYC for under 1k a month. You can (pretty easily) in Boston. The most expensive areas of Boston don't even remotely approach the cost of an appartment with a view of Central Park. Furthermore, rent aside, the COL in New York is through the roof in comparison to Boston.

No need to get feisty. If you look more closely at my initial post, I just said that "some areas" of Boston can be more pricey than NYC; obviously, if you're looking to rent a large apartment in Manhattan, the price will usually be much higher. But correct me if I'm wrong, BC's law campus, for example, is located in a really expensive area - so for the purposes of a law student, it "could" be more expensive in some cases.

Also, I don't disagree that Boston itself is much smaller than NYC (again, I said this in my initial post). I simply disagreed with bceagles' interpretation that Boston is largely a "blue collar town." While some parts of the city might resemble this, (having lived in the Boston metro for nearly 10 years) I feel it is a fairly large, diverse metro area. Is it larger and more diverse than NYC? No, but that doesn't mean it is a blue collar town either.

[Veyron]

< is convinced anyone who thinks NYC has the best looking women in the country has never visited Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Miami, etc.

Fucking credited.

East coast is cold and miserable outside of NYC where it is cold, miserable, and interesting.

[kalvano]

It's still better than Texas.

[Neil]

I'm intrigued by this question because I have the opposite question-- I've lived in the Northeast since 2002, but haven't ever been out to California (or anywhere out West, for that matter). I HATE the cold. Have suffered through miserable winters my entire life, and had been planning on moving somewhere warm for law school. But then I got into MN (home state), with scholarship, and have only gotten 1 response from the five Cali schools I applied to (rejected at UCLA).

Still waiting to hear back from Santa Clara, Hastings, Davis and Irvine, and would love to check out a climate that would agree with me. Unfortunately the only school likely to give me much money (Irvine) is also the one at which I'm least likely to get in...

Not really a question, per se, but I do always take note of these East Coast v West Coast arguments to get a feel for how much the climates of different parts of Cali affect QOL...

[bonnieblue]

It's still better than Texas.

then by all means leave

[kalvano]

It's still better than Texas.

then by all means leave

I'm working on it.

You want to call BU on my behalf?

I'd be on a plane as soon as my house sold.

[kn6542]

Also, people say the weather is bad and but it depends what you like. A spring day in Boston is pretty much unrivaled and if you ski, then the snow in the winter can be a good thing. I always find it interesting that people from the West Coast talk down about the weather in the Northeast. Personallym I would find it boring to have the same weather year round. It's supposed to be cold on Christmas.

The west coast doesn't have the same weather all year 'round. Sorry.

[bonnieblue]

It's still better than Texas.

then by all means leave

I'm working on it.

You want to call BU on my behalf?

I'd be on a plane as soon as my house sold.

hahah yeah i hate their system of "we'll just let you know....eventually?"

[Xiaolong]

Also, people say the weather is bad and but it depends what you like. A spring day in Boston is pretty much unrivaled and if you ski, then the snow in the winter can be a good thing. I always find it interesting that people from the West Coast talk down about the weather in the Northeast. Personallym I would find it boring to have the same weather year round. It's supposed to be cold on Christmas.

The west coast doesn't have the same weather all year 'round. Sorry.

Pretty warm, hot, freaking hot, pretty warm

[Tofu]

Also, people say the weather is bad and but it depends what you like. A spring day in Boston is pretty much unrivaled and if you ski, then the snow in the winter can be a good thing. I always find it interesting that people from the West Coast talk down about the weather in the Northeast. Personallym I would find it boring to have the same weather year round. It's supposed to be cold on Christmas.

The west coast doesn't have the same weather all year 'round. Sorry.

Pretty warm, hot, freaking hot, pretty warm

it's not warm right now in socal (i'd say it's cool, with the occasional rainy days)

[Veyron]

What I love about the west coast is experiencing all two seasons: spring and summer.

[minkins]

Why don't you just go visit (again)? It's not like going to all 3 places would require more than one trip. I'm not a huge fan of the area (wayyyy too cold) but you'll never know if you don't just go check it out for yourself.

I definitely liked Boston over NYC though. NYC is too busy and overcrowded. It doesn't seem like a great/conducive place to go to law school.

[Malprave]

Coming from Buffalo, let me qualify the characterization of the weather as terrible. Typical winter days in the region will see highs in the 20s, with about as many in the 30s as in the 10s. There will be the occasional snowstorm.

That said, the summers are very nice and, in my opinion, September-October is a beautiful time of year to be anywhere in NYS. 60s and 70s and sunny (moreso in September). November is borderline, but overall tolerable. January, February, and March are the most dreary and depressing months of the year. By April, you are in the mid 40s and everything is okay from there. It rains frequently, but there is marked improvement in May.

[kn6542]

Also, people say the weather is bad and but it depends what you like. A spring day in Boston is pretty much unrivaled and if you ski, then the snow in the winter can be a good thing. I always find it interesting that people from the West Coast talk down about the weather in the Northeast. Personallym I would find it boring to have the same weather year round. It's supposed to be cold on Christmas.

The west coast doesn't have the same weather all year 'round. Sorry.

Pretty warm, hot, freaking hot, pretty warm

So, by "west coast" you mean SoCal, which is neither all that warm all the time nor all of the west coast?

[safoamerica1]

I have lived in NJ my entire life and it is miserable. Miserable ppl, miserable weather, traffic, pollution, political and economic corruption, police are corrupt, the list goes on.

[The Pen Is Mightier]

The East Coast is the Beast Coast.

Come visit. You'll love it. Just avoid things that tourists do.

[Legalite]

Is Boston's weather much different from New York or other east coast cities? Somehow I feel like Boston's climate should be nice but maybe I am just comforting myself.

[The Pen Is Mightier]

Is Boston's weather much different from New York or other east coast cities? Somehow I feel like Boston's climate should be nice but maybe I am just comforting myself.

Boston's colder cause it's closer to the snow at the north pole. It's science Bronald McDonald.

[gossipgirl]

Northeast > Everything Else

[ravens20]

People from the south, midwest, and west are all going to pile on the northeast. Those from the northeast are going to play up their region. You won't learn anything but stereotypes, biases, and exaggerations from a thread like this. If you are actually interested in the northeast, I'd suggest visiting or reading about it.

[cjf4]

People from the south, midwest, and west are all going to pile on the northeast. Those from the northeast are going to play up their region. You won't learn anything but stereotypes, biases, and exaggerations from a thread like this. If you are actually interested in the northeast, I'd suggest visiting or reading about it.

Alot of the stereotypes tend to be true though, so sometimes there worth considering. As WNYer all my life, and someone who is looking to try a different region out, heres my pros and cons list. But I would still visit.

Pros
Beautiful Summers, Springs and Falls
Great Food (trying to get good italian anywhere outside the ne has been miserable for me)
Close together (way more cities are within driving distance than any other part of the country)
Cities and towns have more character, older buildings
More fast paced (people have a better sense of time, get more done)

Cons
Miserable winters
Mostly High taxes
less economic growth

[jelizabeth88]

I've lived in California, all over the midwest, southwest, mid-atlantic, and the northeast and, for me at least, the northeast was my least favorite closely followed by rural Iowa - population 1.400.

[iShotFirst]

People from the south, midwest, and west are all going to pile on the northeast. Those from the northeast are going to play up their region. You won't learn anything but stereotypes, biases, and exaggerations from a thread like this. If you are actually interested in the northeast, I'd suggest visiting or reading about it.

Alot of the stereotypes tend to be true though, so sometimes there worth considering. As WNYer all my life, and someone who is looking to try a different region out, heres my pros and cons list. But I would still visit.

Pros
Beautiful Summers, Springs and Falls
Great Food (trying to get good italian anywhere outside the ne has been miserable for me)
Close together (way more cities are within driving distance than any other part of the country)
Cities and towns have more character, older buildings
More fast paced (people have a better sense of time, get more done)

Cons
Miserable winters
Mostly High taxes
less economic growth

more fast paced is a pro?? one of the biggest differences between southerners and northerners (ie yankees) that will never be resolved. that to me and many southerners is a HUGE con. but you are definitely right on close together and cities with more character... road trips in the northeast are the best

[BenJ]

Is Boston's weather much different from New York or other east coast cities? Somehow I feel like Boston's climate should be nice but maybe I am just comforting myself.

You're just comforting yourself. If you want to rank weather, Boston is definitely slightly worse than New York: It's a bit colder in winter and otherwise the same.

Anyway, I grew up in the shadow of New York City and go to college in the Boston area, so I have some positive things to say about them both. (I also like Ithaca, although I've never been there in midwinter.)

New York is huge and always busy. If you're not from a city, it can be a little overwhelming, but people are a lot friendlier than the stereotype so long as you yourself aren't a stereotype. It's the safest city in the country and has an almost endless list of things to do. If you're bored in NYC, you're doing it wrong. It does get cold in the winter and hot and humid in the summer, but it is neither as extremely cold as Boston or the cities of the Midwest nor as extremely hot as DC or the cities of the South. NYC is also expensive, and if you plan to live in Manhattan or an inner area of Brooklyn (near Manhattan is "inner"), you should be prepared to have multiple people paying for the apartment: roommates or a spouse or whatever. A decent apartment will cost at least $1500/month.

Boston is smaller than New York but contains most of the same things in lesser quantities. The comment about it being more of a blue collar town was not completely off-base. Parts of Boston and the Boston area are very blue-collar, although less than in the Midwest and generally away from anywhere you might be attending law school. It's also a huge student city. The median age in Boston is 25; the median age in the country at large is 35. The students tend to be concentrated in specific neighborhoods, particularly in the neighborhoods of Allston and Brighton, squeezed between BU and BC, and in Cambridge and Somerville, the two substantial cities just north of Boston. The huge presence of college and graduate students means that the nightlife in Boston is unusually vibrant for a city of its size, although it still cannot compare to NYC. Also, since so many people in Boston are students from across the country, it tends to be a little less intimidating. Also, as I said earlier, Boston is significantly colder than NYC but also for the most part cheaper--although an apartment in ritzy Back Bay in Boston probably costs more than an equivalent one in an impoverished part of Manhattan.

[englawyer]

btw when people say boston is "blue collar" or parts of it are "blue collar" i think they are really referring to boston culture, not necessarily the population.

the lifeblood of the culture here is the working class: the legendary accent, the insane dedication to boston sports teams (go sox!), a love for clam chowder, envy/disgust towards NYC (boston is just as good!), irish culture, st patty's day, southie, dunkin donuts, ties to the fishing industry, etc etc.

While most of the population is transient due to the numerous colleges, the working class provides the famous culture. the upper class is very subdued here, unlike cities like LA where the culture seems to revolve around hollywood stars and whatnot.