I’m debating whether to move to Boston, and was hoping for some feedback about what the city is like to live and train in?
I’ve lived in Ann Arbor for the past year, and do research at the University, so my schedule is pretty awesome and I rarely have to work more than 45 hours a week, so putting in 15-20 hrs a week of training is very feasible. There’s great places to run here, lots of trails, and plenty of fast runners. Cycling is pretty big as well given the size of the town, and there’s fast group rides a few days a week. Since I work at the school, I have access to multiple pools. Basically it’s a pretty great place to live and train, as I don’t spend any time commuting, sitting in traffic or looking for parking. I really think Ann Arbor is pretty awesome, and I’m not biased as I never went to school here, but moving to Boston would probably be a better career move and better pay.
I lived in Philly by the art museum for 2 years before moving to Ann Arbor, which was also good for training - good access to paths/trails and plenty of good roads. Cycling is pretty huge there so there were lots of fast rides and races. However, I spent a lot of time sitting in traffic, commuting, looking for parking, and spent a lot more on food b/c grocery stores were inconvenient.
I’d be making significantly more money in Boston, even after factoring in cost of living, and I’d also have a lot more friends. The only financial drawback would be that if I decide to get another masters, in state michigan tuition is pretty solid, and all their grad schools are kick ass. So all that extra money I make at this potential new job would be irrelevant.
Will the Boston move best develop your skills and resume towards your intended career? This is much more important than the bump in pay, most of which will be consumed by the higher cost of living. If you enjoyed training in Phillly I’m sure you can make Boston work too… there are far worse cities for training. Focus on what will offer the best career development – you will be working for a long time and are laying the groundwork now for your career…
I lived in nearby Cambridge for three years while I went to school there. I lived in Houston/Austin beforehand and moved back to Houston afterwards, so I guess my main thoughts center around how cold it is in Boston, how much it snowed, and how it got dark so dang early half the year. In the three years I was there, Boston broke its all-time, 104-year-old snow record not once, but twice ('94 and '96), but I guess if you are coming from Ann Arbor those things are not new to you.
I trained for my first marathon (NY '95) there and I can tell you I never got tired of running around the Charles River. There are trails from the nearby town of Watertown all the way into Boston that form about a 17.1-mile loop around the best part of the river. Bridges every so often so you could make your run as long as you want and never double-back. I still love running up there, just don’t get to do it very often now.
I can’t say much about the biking, as I wasn’t into that then.
I am moving to Boston this summer from NYC. Based on the feedback I’ve received there is a pretty substantial tri community. The biggest drawbacks seem to be that parking really blows and the weather 7 months of the year is terrible.
Yeah I’m definitely not concerned about the weather. Maybe most so about the ease of living there - in terms of how convenient things are, how much time is wasted doing simple, everyday tasks, etc, and how easy it is to get to good roads to ride on and places to run. My friends live in “South End,” so that’s probably where I’d live.
I would consider Philly moderate, A2 amazing, and then DC as pretty inconvenient, and NYC as the most inconvenient place ever.
I lived and trained in Ann Arbor for my three years of law school and currently live in Cambridge. Here are some thoughts:
Swimming: The MIT aquatic facility is tremendous - much nicer than the UofM pools I used in Ann Arbor - and only a short run from countless neighborhoods in Boston and Cambridge. It has great hours. BU and Harvard’s pools are also meant to be decent. Open water opportunities aren’t as great, but Hopkinton state park is only 35 minutes away and Walden Pond is only 25 (though I should note that there is evidently some question as to whether ows is still permitted there). The ocean is obviously not far.
Biking: There are a number of local group rides and riding from the city is certainly doable. Are you going to miss huron river drive? Yeah, but you can get your miles in here and there is nice riding not too far from the city. Getting out of AA wasn’t exactly a picnic either. Also, on top of the nice riding about 20 minutes out of the city, there is some really sweet riding in western mass and all of northern new england - sweet climbs, fun roads, incredible scenery. That kind of stuff is at a serious premium in the midwest and to me it’s what makes road biking fun.
Running: Boston is a decent running city thanks to the path around the Charles and the emerald necklace network, but it’s boring and you need to go out of your way to find hills. I greatly preferred the running in AA. That said, to the extent it matters, I think the running clubs here are more serious and faster.
Racing: Solid community in new england with a packed calendar and some serious races. I didn’t race any tri’s out in Michigan, but my strong feeling is that the scene is better here.
Nordic Skiing (for what it’s worth): Great ski community in Michigan, but unpredictable snow down south and nowhere decent to ski within 2 hours. In boston you have reliable snow at the Weston ski track and Windblown is just over an hour away in NH. 2 hours gets you to great skiing and a bit more gets you to Jackson, which is awesome.
Recovery: Zingerman’s, Arbor Brewing Company, Corner Brewery, Jolly Pumpkin, etc. argue strongly in favor of AA.
Bottom line - Boston may present more logistical hurdles and some greater hazards on the bike - though I did find Michigan drivers to be systematically menacing and psychotic - but you can absolutely overtrain to the point of injury in either place. That’s the goal, right?
Where would you be working? I would say from the South End you are looking at 7 or 8 miles minimum of riding in traffic or jogging paths before you could start to consider your aerobars an option. Not very ideal. If you lived somewhere like Arlington, Newton, Belmont or even Cambridge you would have much better access to decent roads to ride on.
I think the real question comes down to this. What is more important, your career or your hobby (unless you consider tri a career also)? Training and racing can be accomplished anywhere (especially if you are single with no kids). A career on the other hand can be made or squashed into unrecognizeable mush with a poor job change. I made one job change in the same career path and after only a week knew I made a mistake. It took me a year to find a job that was better for my career and hobby…and I was really miserable for that year. Money is not everything when it comes to quality of life. On a side note I live in Concord, NH and would not trade this location for any other place.
I lived in nearby Cambridge for three years while I went to school there. I lived in Houston/Austin beforehand and moved back to Houston afterwards, so I guess my main thoughts center around how cold it is in Boston, how much it snowed, and how it got dark so dang early half the year. In the three years I was there, Boston broke its all-time, 104-year-old snow record not once, but twice ('94 and '96), but I guess if you are coming from Ann Arbor those things are not new to you.
The cold will have no effect on you. Compared to the midwestern winters I suffered through in Chicago, 94 and 96 in Boston were a day at the beach.
Thanks, these posts have been really helpful. Definitely appreciated the detailed comparison labuat - gave me some good perspective.
I did a little more follow up. So looks like I’d be working in Waltham, just west of I-95. If I lived in South End or Mission Hill with my friends, it looks like ~15 mile commute taking 90 to 95. How bad are those roads during rush hour? I’d be reverse commuting, so it couldn’t be that bad, right?
One assumption is that working out there might provide some variety for running/riding from where I’m living - if I just trained out there some days before heading home. It looks to be a lot less developed. Is that a fair assumption?
Triathlon/Running is somewhere in between hobby and career - I don’t expect to ever make money doing it, but I’d like to take it fairly seriously while in my mid-20’s, and I’ve got a good thing going in terms of work/life/training balance here in A2, which is what’s making it such a tough call.
The problem with each is first you have to get out of Boston, then you have to get across the pike and the river. The first few miles of your trip will not be that great, the rest will be fine And you will quickly find the best roads to take. Mission hill is probably a bit easier than South End OR South Boston but I’ll admit there might be a quick, easy city route from South End that I don’t know about.
Much better living location for Waltham is Waltham (duh!)/Watertown/Belmont/Somerville/Cambridge/Medford/Newton. But those are a bit more “burb”-y.
Waltham is a typical burb. There’s good running/cycling to be had there but the population is fairly dense. Once you get past I-95 riding and running gets even nicer.
FWIW, just spent two days in Boston and what amazed me was that just to the west of the I-95 out towards Lincoln and Concord are some amazing roads for riding. Now inside the loop of the I-95 it’s bedlam and chaos, like any big city is, but I was amazed at how quickly the transition was to some really nice riding. Beautiful, tree lined roads the roll and curve and turn all- over the place - and car drivers who would wait to pass when it was safe( a rarity these days) Sweet!
Boston locals would have more idea of what I am talking about, but this was very good riding.
Most of the time that commute won’t be bad since you will be reverse commuting. Probably 20-25 minutes.
Mission Hill is not a great part of town, and parking in the S. End is challenging most times. How often do you expect to hang out with your friends? Personally, I’d be living out near work somewhere and commuting to visit your friends when you wanted.
Sounds like you ought to visit your friends who live here and check it all out for yourself before making any decisions.
Best of luck with your decision. I have been here in the Boston area since 1999 after living in the NYC Metro area, Raleigh, Atlanta and Miami. Relative to other areas of the country the cost of living here is sucks. Sure it is less than SF and NYC but because the traffic in and out of the city sucks you want to try to live close to where you work unless you like long painful commutes. Waltham is on 95 and home to a large number of corporate offices and is about 30 minutes (depending on traffic) from downtown. If you are single you will probably want to live in Boston or close to the city. Good living, crap commute. If you have kids, then Waltham is close to Concord, Bedford, Newton, Lexington, Winchester, Weston - all towns with great schools and communities but you can easily pay $800K+ for a three bedroom, 2.5 bath house on a small piece of property that needs some work.
The recreation here is great. I am heading up to New Hampshire this weekend for Mooseman. Skiing in the winter is great and there are numerous tri, running, cycling and swim groups in the area. Personally I think that any affluent metro area has the demographic to support events and activities (NYC, DC, ATL, LA, SF, MIA). Personally I loved living in Raleigh. The climate kicks ass. Still a reasonable commute to the beach (2 hours). Affordable for a professional family to live close to city (Cary, Garner); close to one of best little-big airports (RDU), close to education (NCSU, UNC, Duke), healthcare, and an abundance of professional jobs and a good tri/run/bike scene. I can only comment because I have lived in both Boston and Raleigh. Sure there are other great areas but this is my experience. If you need any more details, PM me or post here and I will do my best to help you out.
The pain of that commute is a strictly a function of how flexible your arrival and departure hours are. It can really stink during peak hours or it can be a breeze. I live in Cambridge, no more than 5 minutes from the Pike and driving to the heart of the tech/vc community in Waltham takes 25 minutes without traffic and can easily be 40-45 with traffic. From the South End you can add at least another 5 minutes to get out of the city and x minutes for finding parking if you don’t buy a spot.
The running in the heart of Waltham - near all of the jobs - is not awesome, but there is a reservoir that may have trails. The riding from Waltham will stink for a bit, but you can pretty quickly be on the sweet roads that Fleck references. Concord gets a lot of attention, but continuing northwest from there into groton and into southern, nh is also really nice. If I were working in Waltham and desperate to be near the city I would choose Cambridge - the riverside, cambridgeport and harvard sq areas can get you on the pike super fast. If I weren’t desperate to live in the city, I would look to live in the burbs with nice riding and running out my front door and an easier commute.
Note - if you are still in the market for a lady friend or, for that matter, any sort of partner, you obviously can’t live in Waltham or the burbs.
