So I grew up in Arizona as well as Bay Area, CA (my parents were divorced). Moved to Austin, Texas in 2000 and NM a couple years ago. I’ve never lived in the Northeast, never even been further than NYC in that direction, though I loved Brooklyn.
I’ve been thinking lately, partly because I’ve always hated the heat and partly because I’m sure global warming won’t be kind to the area, that I’d like to check out the Northeast, maybe upstate NY or around there. Maybe Maine. Maybe even Canada if things get particularly a way here. In any case, besides taking time to actually visit the area which I plan to do next fall for about a month, hopefully, I’d love to get any opinions about living in that region. Likes? Dislikes? Favorite areas to consider? Suggestions? Anyone make the kind of geographic change I’ve described? Thanks!
Boston is very expensive. However, there are areas in MA that could/should be affordable.
Of course I’m biased because I’ve been in this area forever.
We get 4 seasons. I love the colors of Autumn. I enjoy snow, although, we may not get snow at all in the near future.
You’ve got great beaches on the Atlantic and then some nice skiing up in NH & ME that are only 2 hours away.
Boston area has the best medical care pretty much anywhere on the planet. I’ve personally transported numerous people from Logan airport to the area hospitals.
Sports? Big history of lots of champions.
Very diverse cultures all around Eastern MA. Very LGBT+ friendly.
People complain about cost of living and tax rates. Yet, the quality is worth it. I don’t know the particular tax rates, but, we are definitely not “Taxachusetts” anymore in comparison to all the N.E. states.
I’m somewhat familiar with the rest of N.E., so, feel free to ask.
Op said they were from the Bay Area, do you understand how fucking cheap Boston is compared to the Bay Area? We left in 2020 during Covid and our little ass non-renovated 1467sqft 1954 home sold for 1.45mil. Now it’s again on the market for over 2mil.
Ok. Sure, I’m not familiar with price comparisons. I just know folks around here say it’s expensive. Even in my city just South of Boston, a 1bdr apt is between $2K-3K.
Similar to the Bay Area.
Another big plus of the immediate Boston area is the possibility of a walking lifestyle and of living without a car. This can require a mentality shift, and you have to like walking and not mind public transportation to fully benefit from the cost savings. I’m not sure if it makes up for the expense of the area though.
If you are in the right field, the pay or job opportunities could make up for the cost of living.
True. Definitely possible. I know a few medical staff that have roommates and they are about a 15 minutes walk from an entire area full of hospitals & clinics.
Boston is so awesome. You didn’t mention the museums, historical places, concerts, festivals, theaters, hundreds of little cafes and restaurants, bookstores, art galleries, several dozen universities each with events open to the public. Taking the T (public transportation) over to the Boston Common to see what’s going on, then walking through downtown, maybe stop at Fanueil Hall for a snack, then go all the way to the North End to a restaurant. Oh gods I’m homesick and I only lived there like 8 years.
Yes, yes … I didn’t want a 25,000 word comment 😉
I grew up there, but spent a long time in Colorado and have a place in northern NM. The snow, cold, all fine all doable, but it’s the dark overcast that gets you.
Depending on the region it’s a lot more interesting economically- lots of small businesses, plenty of summer activities. It’s getting expensive though, for what it offers. I think few people move to New England from outside new England though (except for the important cities). You will certainly get some funny looks when you tell people you moved from Arizona.
I would personally move to a town with a lively population but not a big city. Think Burlington Vermont or Binghamton NY or great Barrington Mass. Definitely different and if you can settle in there probably a better life!
Thank you! This is wonderful advice, and I’ll check out these places!
I’m glad you added overcast because here in Europe before we reach the "cold’ temperatures, you’re dealing with like 4h long daytimes. I’m always amazed when I go to Canada and experience -40°c but still pretty long daytimes.
Oh for sure Europe is maybe worse in this regard. I’m in the south of Europe now but have relatives in Paris and the cold gloom is not something I would like to live with every day. At least along the Mediterranean it’s mostly sunny for the short, cold days of winter!
Plan a winter trip up here and decide how you REALLY feel about snow before you commit to anything.
Truth. I was raised in the deep snow, and when first seeing Bane’s iconic line delivered on-screen, I snickered at his puny claim in comparison.
Which line?
“Oh, you think darkness is your ally. But you merely adopted the dark; I was born in it, molded by it. I didn’t see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but blinding!”.
A good friend confided in me, “if you’re in Ottawa in the winter, and you don’t have at least one day each time where you want to just lie down in a ditch and succumb to the cruel hatred of the weather, then you’re not really a resident.”
And I chuckled. Now I chuckle knowingly.
“Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark; I was born in it, molded by it…”
I can tell you from experience that you’re not going to escape the heat in upstate NY. The summer temperatures may look cooler than Arizona on paper but the humidity makes things feel so much worse
Yup. I visited AZ once and even though it was warmer, the dry air made it more bareable than humid Summers here.
Live in Chicago and I second this. Everyone always talks about how cold and bitter it is here, but that’s much easier to prepare for than the 120F with 90% humidity we sometimes get. Yuk!
You know you’re in the Midwest when the mosquitoes treat you like an equal. Prey, sure, but with a neighborly “we’re all stuck here, bud” sorta vibe. All 666 trillion of them.
Well something I have experience in! Nothing prepared me for my first winter. Yes there is snow and it’s cold. The dark is what got me. I would leave for work before the sun came up and it was already setting as I was coming home. It was so deeply unsettling that first winter, like there was no warmth left in the world.
It is a lovely area. It feels so much older because they tend to preserve the historic homes and just driving around through the small rural towns is super cute. Fall is the best season in the NE. The colors are gorgeous! Apple cider donuts are the best donuts, most local orchards make them fresh too.
It’s pretty rural outside of NYC, Maine is especially so. You’ll most likely need a car, even if you’re in a town. The towns are walkable, but they’re small towns so the selection is limited. Getting hooked up with local events can be a challenge as word of mouth is the most common form of promotion. Get in good with your local coworkers or other local groups and they’ll help you find the cool ski deals and niche concerts.
On the whole car thing. Snow ands salt are really hard on cars. The inspection in NE is much more intensive than the SW which only checks emissions. Good tires are worth the investment, but the best method is just don’t drive while it’s snowing. Keep an eye out for black ice, the melting and refreezing is no joke. The people are nice though, had a kind man help pull me out of a snow bank when I made that mistake. If you’re ever unsure just go slow.
Also: NO, 4-WHEEL DRIVE DOESN’T MAKE YOU STOP FASTER IN SNOW. All it does is help you get unstuck if you slide off the road.
If you’re driving in winter conditions, you have to drive slower and allow for significantly more distance from the next car forward. Like, actually follow the 3-second rule and then double it. Also, always keep an ice scaper and an emergency blanket in the car. You will need the ice scraper. You hopefully won’t need the blanket, but it’s better safe than sorry.
Well something I have experience in! Nothing…
C’mon… too easy. 🤣
Naw, where I really messed up was I had thought that the temperature/comfort level had any relation to the amount of sun. Ask me about my first 18degree day in JANUARY
18 degrees in January? Must have been a sunny day!
Northern hemisphere, I assume, but yeah. I feel ya. It’s only gonna get worse/weirder, NGL.
Grew up in NM, moved to Mass about a decade ago and recently to Vermont. I love it. It gets hot though. And cold. And everywhere in between. People claim that folks out here aren’t nice. Never had an issue and frankly never met meaner folk than northern New Mexicans. Be prepared for a preposterously high cost of living though. (Especially Mass).
Oof
I believe that’s pronounced “Oofda” out there.
I found Nashua NH to be crazy-polite, and me a Canadian. if you end up there, go with my envy.
And if you have to come over the line - legally, please! - then we’d love to have ya. Our national capitol is a crazy melting pot of newcomers, but the flatlander regions have the best opportunities.
…if you can avoid Flatlander Dementia. That’s how our Peter Polyestre gets his votes – the lack of mountains and oceans makes ya crazy!
Thanks for the advice! It would definitely be legal if I got to come 😁 my company has offices in Canada so it should be available as a destination. Which areas are flatlander? And what do you think about NB/Nova Scotia?
NB and NovaScotia are real salt-of-the-earth communities, but one of them run by apparently a thuggy oil baron family and both of them victimized by their own voting.
I’ve spent more time in NS, so when I say “there’s only one 2-lane road to get anywhere,” it’s from my own experience driving though lower Sackville and other small towns on small town roads and all but chewing the steering wheel in frustration and metropolitan impatience. It’s true, but I could be more patient.
But both are blessed with just stunning scenery and usually very nice people whose accents you can still parse properly ;-)
My in-laws - absolutely great people - have lived there 20 years now - still considered newcomers - and have terrible Internet and dodgy winter power; but if you can suffer that I can’t recommend it more for the peace and the community feeling.
I HAVE heard that Calgary (Alberta) has been judged the best city to live in, given opportunities and cost of living. If you can live in an oasis of clue in a blue sea of our conservatives and their voters, I recommend that as well. It has mountains nearby (and Reddit Lake aka Moraine Lake), so there’s that for the sanity.
Never lived there but I’ve visited CT. Went to a movie with my wife. The first Narnia film, so it was like 3 hours long? It was nice when we went in. It was nice when we left. However, during the film there was a blizzard, seemed like it dropped snow a foot deep! That being said, the city had cleared all the roads. They know how to deal with the snow. Of course when you get to side streets it’s a bit dicey, but the main roads? Like to our hotel? Clear as you like. The roads are twisty and windy up there, and people drive crazy — well, they drive appropriate to the state of the roads, to be fair — and I never felt unsafe despite being unaccustomed to driving in snow.
Beautiful area. Summers get hot, winters get cold. You gotta plan for each. But it’s nice and not too humid.
You’re saying CT isn’t humid?
Insofar as humidity exists everywhere… I suppose it is.
Speaking as somebody who’s lived where humidity is stupidly annoying… no, it’s not. And those of us who have experienced real humidity love it for that reason. We love getting out of really bad humidity.
I mean, I suppose it could get humid. I’ve only visited. I also suppose any coastal area could get humid, due to proximity to the ocean. But the South ain’t playing when it comes to humidity, and that’s what I meant.
Oh gosh, so true. Houston and Austin were terrible!
NE is kinda expensive… Is the change worth economic hit?
Do you have a network at the place you are going.
No real network there, though I do have a friend who lives in NJ and a little family in MN. I work remote and may get a pay adjustment for moving to a higher COL area, but I also make more than I technically need to for where I am, so it may balance. The COL calculator I checked recommended a 4.5% raise.
NJ is best state.
Don’t say that, people might realize our bitching about NJ its just a way of trying to not have more people crammed in here!
You know I gotta ask… how little are they?
People are meaner on the East Coast, but they’re also more capable.
If you’ve never dealt with snow then northwest NY, NE in general will be interesting come winter that’s for sure. It’s not terribly uncommon for northwestern NY to see 12" of snow. Closer to the shore there are hurricanes to be concerned about for a month or two around now actually, but over my almost 40 years there have only been maybe 2 or 3 that were really troubling. It’s usually just a lot of rain and really high winds.
I’m not sure how Austin gets, but the heat is disgusting for about 3ish months out here (NY) so you wouldn’t really be escaping much except maybe the hot season is shorter. It’s almost never dry heat though so we can have 90° days that are like 109° heat index because of humidity.
The only thing I can say with absolutely certainty is avoid Long Island like the plague unless you really love overpopulated areas full of assholes and disgustingly, almost comically, overpriced housing. The bagels are amazing though lol
FWIW, I grew up in a similar area and have countless memories of insane “unusually high” snowfall —including, but not limited to: sledding from the garage roof edge down to the street, and rocketing between neighbors’ homes across the way; building 2-3 story snow forts (buckets, etc. for igloo-style brick molds) on the cul-de-sac from the plow’s traditional one-and-done efficiency; leaving the bus stop because I couldn’t feel my toes, fingers, nose; competing with schoolmates on who could make the coolest icicles from wet hair in the open air; etc.
Whatever the area in question is “known” for being challenging on, just keep in mind that 2nd-5th* place entries are very very close behind. 😅
That’s definitely great to know! I hadn’t thought about the humidity up there. It should absolutely be a consideration!
I’ve lived in New England most of my life, and most other posters have covered the major points. One I would add is that the weather IS getting more extreme here, and we are now getting things like tornados and worse hurricanes. It’s not anything like as bad as other places in the US but climate change is definitely effecting this area too. I would watch out for where you end up being a decent elevation, and give any bodies of water a good amount of space, no houses or apartments right on the edge of a river. There was an unprecedented flood that hit Leominster and Fitchburgh MA not long ago that shocked a lot of people because the region had never experienced something like it. That will probably be happening more often in the coming years.
Oh wow - I’ve never considered the NE a place for tornadoes! Crazy. Thanks for the advice! A lot of great houses I’m seeing are right on the water so it’s good to know.
Depending on what you mean by upstate ny or Maine, some of these areas are short on jobs so make sure you have enough opportunity. If you’re looking for small cities, Albany is great. I think Binghamton is coming back but I don’t know about Syracuse or Rochester. If you’re talking really upstate …. I haven’t been back in years and really miss that l. I don’t know as much about Maine but they’re more tourist oriented, which is a problem this year
It really seems like we get a lot less snow than when I was a kid in upstate ny. It makes not be as much a change as people are claiming
Now I live near Boston, close enough for weather to moderate, and we only get a couple snowstorms a year. We never get accumulation lasting through the winter anymore. This summer I had my AC in non-stop for the heatwaves and humidity, so I very much see the desire to head north
Thanks! Yeah, I’ve been looking at Rochester though I’m not firmly set on anywhere yet. What do you mean by coming back? And yeah, I bet it’s been really hard on the areas that rely on Canadian tourism!
I grew up near Binghamton. Back then we had several IBM complexes with thousands of well paying jobs. I don’t think any were in Binghamton itself but it lifted the economy of the entire region. Then IBM left. The jobs were gone and nothing ever replaced them. Young adults moved away to places with better economies. My younger brother was the last one left, talking about flipping properties with a credit card. Those towns directly affected may never come back.
But Binghamton was more diversified, the center of economy moved to different towns, the university has been doing great and incubating local business. It does have some culture, some sports, some nightlife. Property values have gone back up. The new local economic centers have new construction and new infrastructure, even if the older sections are still fading
I wouldn’t want to move back to the town I grew up in, but I can see moving to the area.
Honestly? I’d recommend the other lateral direction, instead. Northern Oregon & Washington are far better in many (most?) ways and don’t seem nearly as risky a bet re: future livability politics-wise. 🤌🏼
Keep in mind that the Pacific Northwest is getting due for the Cascadia earthquake. Based on the historical records have been found it’s bad
Could come today, could be another few hundred years but yeah all signs point to it being bad.
Pick your poison. I’d prefer planetary cataclysm vs Nazis 2.0 🤷🏼♂️ Quicker, efficient, decisive.
