OT - Potential move to Boston-area
I attended a work conference this week in Chicago. While there, I spent time with a fellow safety representative from Boston. This is the second time that I have met him face-to-face (great guy, get along very well) in addition to collaborating on a national children's hospital employee safety initiative. Since my return home, he has unexpectedly reached out to me about a job offer at Boston Children's.
While certainly a great opportunity to work at the top ranked Children's Hospital, this is a BIG move for the family and I'm concerned about the shear unknown of moving to New England. Cost of living is a big factor as I make a good living now in Little Rock, AR.
Questions include: where to move/live? Best area for a young family? Schools for the kids? Will I even like it there? Anyways, I'm starting to ramble as my thoughts are swirling. Could some MGoBloggers please weigh in with insights? Thanks!
Great movie.
Hi there. As you may be able to tell, I live in Boston. I actually moved back here from Chicago about 6 months ago. It's home for me, and I'm happy to discuss anything you'd like.
Cost of living is...high. Especially coming from Little Rock. But you can do a lot with negotiation power. The schools in Brookline are top-notch. Cambridge is great. There are other locations that are awesome as well.
I have a lot of thoughts on this, and can definitely help more. Let me know what you need.
Thanks, BW. I'll keep you in mind. As expect from a Boston man, his offer is coming fast and furious.
Definitely consider trying to add some cash onto his offer. Also, feel free to come back to this post and let me know what questions you have.
The post below mine contrasts Chicago with Boston - and I have actually found the opposite to be true. I lived in Chicago, spent a year and a half there, and got almost no traction. In Boston, I have some great friends I've made pretty organically.
I'm originally from Cincinnati, so it's not like my ties here are really deep.
I lived in Boston for one year in my 20’s and found it challenging to make friends there. Unlike many other big cities around the country, it felt as though a very large percentage of people in Boston had strong ties to the area (grew up or went to college). As a result, they had well developed groups of friends with long histories together.
I compare that to Chicago where I moved a little later in life. It felt much more like a Midwest melting pot with people coming from 6-7 different states and therefore more open to newer friendships.
Cost of living is definitely going to be higher than Little Rock. I’d check a number of different COL calculators to see what they say. If you’re making this big of a move, you don’t just want to be “even” in your living standard. I’d think you’d want to be able to make some upgrades.
All that being said, Boston is definitely a cool city. Lots of history, great day trips in many directions, rabid sports town. Assuming you’re a college football fan, the northeast is not all that concerned about the sport.
This is a huge and entirely unexpected opportunity for me and my family. Having never been to Boston, I wanted some insight. Sorry you think it was more than that.
I think you misunderstood - he was saying he was making a narcicistic post, just to post something, but didn't want to try to fool anyone into thinking he was posting for any reason other than narcicism.
Your post was fine.It seems there are some people on this board who are unwilling to discuss good things that happen to other members of this board, even if there is a productive goal to the discussion. You're post is fine. His was out of line.
I like that you can reach out on this board and ask questions like this. Not narcissistic at all.
I like that you can reach out on this board and ask questions like this. Not narcissistic at all.
I like that you can reach out on this board and ask questions like this. Not narcissistic at all.
If you have kids and you want to send them to one of the top school districts in Metropolitan Boston then expect houses to start around $1M. This excludes Brookline, which will cost more, but includes Belmont, Lexington, Wellesley, Concord, Newton etc. Homes are expensive and it is a competitive market. Moreover, some of these homes are not move-in-ready and haven't been updated for decades. Also, don't forget that MA has an annual excise tax on cars. That was a surprise to me. PM me for more info.
PS. Day care is not cheap in Boston so if you have young kids then that might be an issue.
I wouldn't say metro Boston houses start at $1M. If you want new construction in a great school district, near a train line, and all that, sure. But you can get a house for under a million a lot of places, and depending on how handy/willing you are to do some legwork, you can get a nice place for well under that.
As someone who lives in Brookline, yes it's expensive. But the houses are also pretty big considering their location and amenities. And perhaps anecdotally, but I think the housing market is softening a tiny bit in the area; we moved last year to Boston and things were selling incredibly quickly and well above ask, but looking at Redfin and real estate postings around us this year, it seems like things are staying on the market a bit longer and you aren't seeing people go massively over ask like they did in years past. Maybe they're all moving to Arlington/Lexingon, but we might be getting to the saturation point for people willing to spend a huge amount of money on fixer-uppers.
I'm assuming they are going to price him up to live in Boston. In such a case, living in a top 10 American city and enjoying the cultural benefits associated with such a move is a huge benefit. I know the city isn't for everyone, but I don't think it's a fair assumption to make that, because you don't see the value in living in the city, he wouldn't want to also. This doesn't even take into account what seems to be a major professional step up for him.
I'd agree, though even doubling might not be enough depending on your lifestyle. You can live pretty nicely on, say, $70k in Little Rock, while $140k in Boston with kids would likely feel noticeably more strained.
I've been in Boston for almost 30 years, moving here after graduation. Quality of life is tremendous, beaches in the summer, mountains in winter and vibrant city. Celts, B's, Sox and Pats. One thing it lacks is a major college sports focus, other than hockey.
The cost of living on the housing front is going to be a major sticker shock. I live in the 495 area, highway that wraps the Boston metro area and prices are high and moving quick. Just saw a small ranch go for $435 in my town, would be lucky to fetch $100 where I grew up in Tri City area. Schools are very good in the burbs, don't have to be in Concord, Brookline, Newton etc... to get a quality education. Excise tax on cars isn't that bad after year 3.
If working in Boston, commuter trains offer a pretty high quality (for the most part) way to get into the city v driving. Traffic is a friggen nightmare and cost of parking in the city is outrageous.
Boston is tremendous. Back Bay, Fenway area, Charlestown, South Boston waterfront and Fanueil Hall / North End are great places to visit.
Would like a word with you. Crazy drivers and a town the size os Austin has ABSOLUTELY the worst traffic in Texas. The D/FW and San Antonio areas are complete joys to drive in compared to the shit hole called Austin!
in South Florida
I taught public school for 15 years and have been a Realtor for the past 3, feel free to reach out with any education, housing, or location questions.
Best weather in the nation.
6 months of winter, followed by 3+ of summer than 2-3 of fall. Getting worse every year. 2 weeks ago, was 58 in the house on a Monday AM, turned on the heat. 2 days later in the 90's and needed the AC. Forget spring!!
first, congrats on the great opurtunity.
I also work in the Longwood medical area where Boston children's is located.
I think where you want to move will be based on;
1) do you want to commute or walk/drive etc.
2) Children's school.
3) Importance of City life.
4) Housing expenses.
Brookline, a great but expensive neighborhood, is right next to the medical area. Schools are top notch but like anywhere in the US, great schools usually means expensive housing. If you don't mind taking the commuter train (Yawkey station right next to Fenway park and Ruggles station, both served by Children's shuttle service) areas such as Newton, Needham, Natick and Wellesley along route 9 are great places with great schools. Commuting takes about 15-40 minutes one way depending which neighborhood you want to live in.
Similar to Brookline, the ranking of the schools determine housing costs. Also Westwood (where I live now, 50 minutes from my apt to office door), Dover, Milton, Braintree and Canton are neighborhoods on the periphery of Boston hugging I-95 which are great places with more yard space for your money than the neighboorhoods mentioned previously. These places are also served by commuter rails.
If you have very young children and want to live in the city before moving out to the suburbs I would recommend Fenway, Jamaica Plains, Mission Hill, Southend (East of Mass Ave and North of Harrison Ave).
If you have tons of money, Weston, Cambridge, Back Bay, Northend, South Boston and Beacon Hill is nice I hear.
Unless you work in Cambridge I wouldn't live north of the river since commuting will be difficult. But if you must send your children to the best public schools in MA, Lexington would be the place. But I hear that teachers there just check homework and not teach much since all of the kids there get private tutoring.
Most of the city area are diverse in terms of the population but as you move towards I-95 it gets a less diverse.
Allston and Brighton tends to cater towards college kids and I may just be misinformed but was told south of jamaica plains and south end is not preferable.
I think if you check out redfin.com and niche.com you will have a good idea.
I would agree with other commenters that people here are cold/indifferent. Friends and family from other parts of the country (especially the South/Midwest) find people here very unfriendly/cold. People here don't act friendly to strangers by default which can be a huge shock.
The place is also quite liberal and churches are not nearly as influential culturally as other parts of the country if that matters to you.
Milton offers the best bang for your buck and is also closer to work. The same home in Milton will easily be 100K+ more in Westwood. Westwood's schools are the gold standard, however Milton is still #19 in the #1 state in the country, nothing to sneeze at! the only real downside to Milton is that public transportation is sketchy at best so you'd be driving, however it's a straight shot and depending on which part of town you're in you could avoid 93 altogether.
and seriously considered making it permanent. The best thing is how walkable it is. I was a student at the time and lived without a car-- with a family that's obviously different but it gives you some idea of how easy it is to get around on the "T". Great sports town, great cultural town, unrivalled world center of the academic universe with only Oxbridge in the same discussion (and probably not even), and I used to volunteer at Boston Children's and can tell you the staff are amazing people.
But that is a big, big cultural change from Little Rock. I moved there from Texas, and while I think you'll find it incredibly exciting, be prepared to feel like a fish out of water for a bit.
Go to Fenway Park even if you don't like baseball.
The worst thing about living there is that seemingly none of the roads are parallel, rather they're laid out like spaghetti and the drivers are straight out of Mad Max.
EDIT: and be prepared to deal with guys exactly like this. Every day.
I don't get the appeal and I live in Boston. Literally everything is a pain in the ass here.
on a sidewalk near puddles of water or slush in Boston...ever...you will get sloshed and I believe the drivers in Boston do that shit on purpose just to fuck with people.
a wonderful culture shock.
agreement you sign. i don't have any insight into boston, but i seem to remember hearing that the childrens' hospital might be one that makes employees sign a 'non compete' contract. find that out beforehand as they can be financially devastating and/or hold you hostage in a bad job. not commenting on massachusetts law, but in michigan they are allowed. they can prevent someone from working in any related employement or geographic area for years.
so here's why they are bad: your buddy gets promoted/moves on, and the next boss isnt so nice. you end up getting in the dog house and either get fired or hate your gig. you're out on the street, wanting a new job, but prevented from utilizing all that knowledge of contacts and your industry. your choice is to sit out for X months/years unpaid or move away. with family that gets way more complicted. either that or you get some new job that isn't in your industry and there goes your great salary.
my advice to my michigan clients is that you tell them you are happy to sign that non-compete clause, just as long as they are obligated to pay you your full salary for the concurrent time period.
good luck and hopefully you make a very wise and fruitful decision for you and your family.