The city mouse and the country mouse in the snow
When house-hunting, I point out things about homes that will affect my buyers in the winter: lots of steps, steep steps, hills, low and shaded doorways, sunken driveways. However, by the time that we are house-hunting, my clients have already made the biggest winter decision: city, suburban, or rural.
Boston and the other cities of Massachusetts are relatively small cities. Massachusetts suburban life varies from homes on 3000 square foot sized lots -- where neighbors can easily get to neighbors -- to towns where homes have acres to themselves -- with gates, walls and total privacy.
Where you live depends on what you can and will spend for your housing. Within a price range, you made some choices about whether you wanted to be a city mouse or a country mouse.
We are experiencing a wet winter. In the tones I hear from people making plans around the freezing rain due in tonight, I know this is going to be a long winter.
City life is hard in the winter. There is less room, more cars, and more people near us than there are for our suburban and rural fellows. There is too little room to pile the snow to clear the walks. Parking gets more impossible than usual. Walking is harder and more dangerous. More people are grouchy. In a city, there are more people to be grouchy around you.
Suburban life is hard in the winter. There are long driveways to clear and isolation until you can get your car out. Sometimes, you can’t get home because the plows haven’t been passed your street yet. The more spread out your town, the more isolated it will be during and after a storm. Walking outside is impossible until well after the storm has been cleared. If power stays on and your refrigerator is stocked and everyone is healthy, it is not a problem. But that is not always the case.
The primary difference between city and suburban (and rural) living in bad weather is whether you consider other people a help or a hindrance to your way of coping. City dwellers have a surfeit of people; suburbanites get more space and autonomy, but can be isolated.
Does your experience of winter storms shape your experience? Did you move after a stormy winter because you wanted a more or less densely packed location? When you chose to move to the city or to the suburbs, did you think about winter weather?
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I actually find the city much easier in the winter - basically no downside. I'm not talking semi-city like cambridge - I consider that more of a dense town. Snowstorms and the like make no difference to my life in central boston.
Charles,
I assume you are talking about hi-rise living. Indoor parking, too, right?
I live in southie, and don't consider it to be harder, just different. Yes, parking is a pain. However, I also have a large supermarket and several restaurants right around the corner from me. That can make life much easier as you can still be social and get something to eat (and drink, of course!)
Also, southie has great access to 93 and the MassPike, which are normally plowed fairly well. So, once I travel a few blocks, I can generally get to work pretty easily.
So, I think there are pros and cons to both. If I had parking, then I wouldn't consider there to be any real cons to living in the city.
Storms aren't so bad. In the city, I have the option to barricade myself indoors with wine, movies, food and good company. Or, if cabin fever strikes and I get ambitious, I can walk to a good bar and restaurant full of other hardy souls; there's usually good camaraderie during a blizzard. Groceries, liquor, and drugstores are also nearby.
I think day-to-day winter living is a pain anywhere, though. I am not a fan of icy city sidewalks, and Massachusetts is not a big believer in plowing secondary roads in the burbs.
Rona - true on both counts, but I found it equally the 10 years I lived in low rises with nothing but street parking. I will say 10 years without a parking space is enough for one lifetime, I'm not going back!
Whether winter or summer, being in the center of the city usually means walking to where I want to go in any case. I usually only use my car during the week for errands. So snow doesn't really affect things.
On the other hand, I actually love snow and don't think we get enough of it. I like driving in it, I like looking at it, I even like shoveling it. (Used to shovel my whole block, every time it snowed) My gf thinks I am insane on the subject. But its like being a kid again! Freezing rain, on the other hand, just makes me miserable.
I confess to being a "hardcore" city mouse. I have found that the bigger the snow storm, the greater the magic. I invite country mice to try an alternative to the tradition of running out to buy bread and milk and spending the evening home watching the TV news weather alerts. The next time a blizzard is predicted, take the train into downtown Boston and rent a hotel for the night. At the worst moment of the storm walk down to the 7's in Beacon Hill. I promise that you will find a hundred new friends who made the same walk who are eager to swap stories or buy you a beer. The hush of the city, the snow on the lanterns, and helping each other get “unstuck” all add up to an experience that you will not forget.
yeah, a big snowstorm in the city really does bring people together in a nice happy way.
I live in a town right near Boston, not really "suburbia", and I can walk to get what I might need and also walk to two different parks to enjoy the snow. The streets get plowed pretty well here but the sidewalks aren't so good. Hooray for YakTraks!
I love living near the city. I can get in easily when I want to (20 minutes) and enjoy quiet when I want that.
I used to live in Back Bay and loved to walk through the Public Garden during a snow storm. Or anytime of year for that matter.
When I chose to buy a property a couple of years ago the winter weather was a primary concern . I was tired of the ice and snow issues , therefore I bought a building in Miami Beach. If I tire of the winter, I now have a solution.
A couple of years ago in Miami Beach? Ouch. I hope the cap rate on that one was good! And that the building was south of 20th street... I saw a lot of people get suckered in that market over the last few years.
We used to rent in Cambridge. Nothing more fun in the world than walking down Mass Ave in the middle of a snowstorm. We'd go to breakfast and laugh at all the suburbanites with their cars _trying_ to drive by. Mostly, it would just be so abnormally QUIET and beautiful. Now of course we are those suburbanites, and I see the joy on the other-side. (Sledding with kids in the backyard, followed by hot cocoa, etc.) I guess you can make the best of it either way...
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