Moving to NE (Boston)

We (wife and kid) might be moving to Boston for work real soon here. Probably will try and find a place outside the city with a reasonable commute time. What’s the deal with NE? We are coming from So Cal.

How important is it to “rust proof” your truck ?
What type of off roading do you guys have ? Woodland trails?
How terrible is summer humidity and heat ?
Can you still hike / mountain bike in winter?
What is fishing like for fresh water and ocean?
Not as many “restrictive” laws like CA I assume (smog , fish and game permits , hunting)? For example can one configure their sporting rifle with a pistol grip and detachable magazine (Mass law) ?
The advice I have been given so far is get read for cold and they keep mentioning “seasons” . The cold is zero problem for me. At least I think so . We’ve been going to our mountains (Sierras) here , every winter for decades so winter driving and dealing with snow and ice isn’t completely foreign to me.

Sorry for all the questions, just want to get the scoop for issues that are important to me and I don’t think my nerd co-works will have answers

 

All around the north east they use rock salt on roads. Rust proofing is very important. I was in Buffalo NY all last winter and shipped my 19 4runner from Hawaii to Seattle then drive across the country. I didn’t rust proof but I got an unlimited car wash pass and used it almost every day.

 

Boston proper? Jan, Feb and the beginning of march is going to be cold. You can hike in the winter, short days and crampons or snow shoes. If you can do the Cape Cod you are in a different "planting zone" so it will be a little warmer. The summers are great. Spring and fall too. Just going to be more rain and cloudy days than I think you may be use too. NH gun laws are nothing like Mass. Getting a permit is a chore in Mass. NH you don't even need one but get one anyway.

 

Hunting In Ma. is good but limited to shot gun, black powder, or bow, if you have a disability you may use a cross bow.
I live on the south coast, it is not as cold as Boston. With traffic could be a two hour drive, 50 min if you don't get traffic.
Gun laws are a bit strange but if you already own it you should be ok. You will need to get a gun license. We have the best fishing in the country from tuna to flounder. Fresh water is also great, Ma has a great stocking program with trout, salmon, pike, large and small mouth bass. BUTT if i had a choice I would live in NH and drive down to Boston every day. Property and rent is Very High in the Boston Area. You will have to watch out that you don't get in a bad Neighborhood. stay away from Rox berry or Brocton. Middleboro is a good bet they have a train to Boston

 

How important is it to “rust proof” your truck ? Many people use Fluid Film or something similar to coat the underside of the truck to protect it. There is a member on TW who charges a VERY reasonable price for applying it and he does it in his driveway. You can always apply it yourself but that can be a bit of a messy pain in the butt.

Check out the New England BS thread for an introduction to some of the people and flavor of New England.

New England B.S. Thread

What type of off roading do you guys have ? Woodland trails? New England is relatively small in comparison to CA, depending on how much traveling you did in So. Cal. I live in Maine, about a half hour north of Portland. It takes me about 2 hours, depending on traffic, to get to Boston. You can off road to your hearts content in many places in New England that will not be an unreasonable distance from where you decide you will settle.

How terrible is summer humidity and heat ? Again, depends on where you live. Closer to the ocean helps a lot and you can do what most people do when it gets hot, visit Maine! Most of the time it is really not that bad, but when it is bad....

Can you still hike / mountain bike in winter? Hike, yes, but you will have to take necessary precautions. People have died and continue to die because they attempt hikes which they are not prepared well enough for. But there is plenty of information and help to allow you to prepare and be successful. Many people actually prefer winter hiking, less crowded, more challenging, etc. Plus there are plenty of other outdoor winter activities as well. Mountain biking might be more difficult as snow can make that difficult but once again, it depends on where you end up living.

What is fishing like for fresh water and ocean? About as good as it gets.

Not as many “restrictive” laws like CA I assume (smog , fish and game permits , hunting)? For example can one configure their sporting rifle with a pistol grip and detachable magazine (Mass law) ? I have no idea. Others will have to chime in. Maybe post the question in the New England BS forum above.

The advice I have been given so far is get read for cold and they keep mentioning “seasons” . The cold is zero problem for me. At least I think so . We’ve been going to our mountains (Sierras) here , every winter for decades so winter driving and dealing with snow and ice isn’t completely foreign to me. They say the change of seasons is what keeps the mind sharp. I do not know about that, but there are definitely seasons in New England. In fact, different seasons are what many people like most about living here. One big difference for you will be spring. In So Cal., spring comes in Feb. In Boston, April to May is more like it. It gets dark here right now by about 4:30pm. Not sure how early it gets dark where you live. As for driving in snow, I like finding an empty, unplowed parking lot to "practice" in at the beginning of the season to refresh my skills at the beginning of the season. I try to stay off the roads as much as possible the first couple storms as all of the "idiots" come out and drive like a maniac and I do not want to be collateral damage for them. In all my years driving in New England, I have never be unable to get where I needed to go because of road conditions. Generally speaking, the road crews do an amazing job keeping the roads clean.

For information on the climate, check out this web site:

https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/boston/massachusetts/united-states/usma0046

Keep in mind that depending on how far north or south of Boston you choose to live, it can make a difference in the climate that you will experience. Proximity to the ocean can have a big impact on the weather and temps.

Welcome to New England!

 

If you value the 2A at all live in ME or NH and commute. Just don't bring CA values and voting to those states. Here is a good forum on the idiocy of Mass firearm laws: https://www.northeastshooters.com/xen/forums/massachusetts-laws.81/

This pic is true:

 

I would set homestead around a 30-40 min commute as the prices in and close to a Boston are up there!!!!!!
There farther away from city. Better prices fit homes
Yes we are humid in summer most of the time and we are in the 90’s for average summer time heat. I did rust proof my taco, I just used rattle can DuPont spray on. Total cost 65.00 Amazon. But you need a lift to do it right hunting is ok...Northern central mass has good woods.

FYI. the MassPike is a total nightmare in morning commute so be aware
I love 54 miles from Boston and if I leave at 7 am for work. Plan on a 1.5 hour drive
If I leave at 6:00am. It is a 1 hour drive

 

I would suggest rustproofing depending how old your rig is ,there are locals here who do it usually during the year but that's easy to get.

There is some offroading in the area but not sure about MA exactly.

You'll be fine with summer here if you lived in CA

You can do those activities of course just not as warmly.

Can't really speak to the gun laws but as the prior post said, the BS thread has a few people who know a lot about the subject.

 

How important is it to “rust proof” your truck? Extremely. New England states use some VERY caustic deicing chemicals - NOT pure rock salt.

What type of off roading do you guys have? Woodland trails? Limited. Perhaps some in northern VT & NH & northwestern ME. I'll let others fill you in on that as I do very little off-roading other than on my own land.

How terrible is summer humidity and heat? Probably as bad as FL but of shorter duration. Not to sound like a tree-hugger but climate change seems to be adding to the duration.

Can you still hike / mountain bike in winter? I believe so but that's not something I can really speak knowingly about.

What is fishing like for fresh water and ocean? Fresh water - pretty good but mostly stocked fish. Don't know about salt water fishing.

Not as many “restrictive” laws like CA I assume (smog , fish and game permits , hunting)? For example can one configure their sporting rifle with a pistol grip and detachable magazine (Mass law)? Pistol grip - ABSOLUTELY NOT. 10 round mags max (unless tubular rim-fire) - at least that's the case in CT. Yes, you do need a fishing license (state-by-state). Same for hunting. CCL will be tough to get in MA.

The advice I have been given so far is get read for cold and they keep mentioning “seasons” . The cold is zero problem for me. At least I think so . We’ve been going to our mountains (Sierras) here , every winter for decades so winter driving and dealing with snow and ice isn’t completely foreign to me. Winter has been fickle the past 5 or so years. Minimal snow, usually followed by rain. DOTs use deicing chemicals in advance of a storm so roads can be treacherously slushy until plowed (IF plowed).

Welcome to New England. It'll be a bit of a culture change for ya. Some say we're kinda stand-offish Perhaps so initially, but it takes time to foster a true & honest friendship. Neighborhoods vary - in some areas everyone knows their neighbors, other areas they don't even know who lives next door. Be prepared for taxes - Income, property & sales are the biggies.

When moving to a new area I would always recommend renting for a year or 2 to get a feel for the region and what will work for you & yours.

Where will you be working?

 

Tell us your budget on how much you want to spend, buy or rent, house, condo, town house, then I can make some suggestions on where to look at for residence.

 

Definitely not gonna bring that with me! I don't understand it, never have, never will.

You'd be surprised how many"right leaning" people there are in CA (especially in well off areas like Orange County & San Diego). I mean if you drive up and down my street right now , people still have their "Trump 2020" banners up .

Humm , I didn't know about the Mass , gun permit thing! Permits are not at all what I'm used to. CA requires no permit unless you CCW (just compliance with some off roster pistols and assault rifles need to be configured so that they are not "scary").

Lot's of people talking about living in NH then driving into the city. That might not be so bad? East coast public transportation is a lot better (trains and such) so do a lot of folks just do that? Seems like this commute and traffic thing is going to be worse vs North county San Diego.

Thanks for all the advice. I'm worried the assault rifle and 2A discussions would scare my coworkers



edit* working in the "seaport district". 800k budget for a house.

 

While I don't know about public transport in southern NH, there are plenty of folks that do the commute. Probably from ME too as it is just a push down 95. NH, ME, and VT are constitutional carry. VT has mag bans though. NH and ME are the places to go for firearm enjoying folks.
Real estate in NH has gone through the roof with the whole covid silliness, but 800K would work. City Data forums has decent info to search through in their NH sub forum.

 

Did anyone tell this guy about the traffic yet? I live in Ohio and love going to Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard but the traffic I have seen between Boston and NYC and even through Massachusetts is terrible. Bumper to bumper on the interstates and I don't think we got over 35MPH on most of it. Coming from California he maybe used to that. Still a great area to vacation. Next trip there I am thinking about driving through at night.

 

Rust? I could make a mint if I opened an oil bath drive-thru. Drive thru 4’ of fluid film

 

Hummm, so if I reside in the “live free or die “ state , and commute... I’ll die in traffic instead.

 

Wouldn’t get too concerned with traffic while commuting atleast not this year I take the mass pike into Boston and it’s not nearly as bad as pre covid although I do leave at around 530 and head back around 2-3. Commuting in the city itself is a nightmare, most poorly laid out and most confusing city. I certainly wouldn’t recommend moving into the city as you don’t get much for what you pay for. I like the westboro northboro southboro area it’s not a far commute to the city middle/upper class good schooling and you can get some damn privacy.

 

With the work from home shift, traffic from southern NH is not bad, snow aside. I commute to about 25 miles north of Boston from southern NH. Downtown Boston will be a haul, but I knew people who did it. I used the commuter rail when I worked in boston and rented on the rail in Mass. There are a lot nice places around. Renting in the north end of boston would be nice. Little Italian restaurants and coffee shops, great way to start the morning. The fish stocking program is great in Mass. Does not cost much for an out of state license

 

For the most part, Boston roads were not laid out. They were originally paths along with cattle was driven. They twist and turn without any rationale. Sometimes you have to turn to stay on the same street because if you go straight you are on another road altogether. I worked in and for the City of Boston for 35 years and still had hard time finding places on occasion.

The OP said he's going to be working in the Seaport. Which used to be the waterfront of South Boston, but is now way upscale. Parking is going to be expensive, and if you're coming from the west or south it can be a PITA to get to. It's a bit better from the north.

Gun laws are complex and confusing. You need a License to Carry for mere possession of a handgun or "high capacity" rifle. If you only have guns like tube magazine, pump, single shot, long guns, you need a Firearms Identification Card.

LTC and FID cards are issued by the police chief of each city and town, not the county. MA is "may issue" and the chiefs have a wide range of discretion on issuing permits. It's better than it was, although right now some cities and towns have stopped issuing new permits because of Covid. That's being litigated in federal court, but probably won't change soon.

Like CA, MA has a roster for firearms. BTW, in MA "firearms" means hand guns. Go figure. Unlike CA, once a firearm is on the roster it stays there. The good news is that you can bring any firearms you own with you even if they aren't on the roster. You have, I think 90 days to apply for an LTC. Make sure that any firearms you bring are unloaded and locked in a safe until you get your LTC.

Other good news is if you move into the state with firearms you do not have to register them with the state. They encourage it, but the law does not require it.

Someone else mentioned Northeast Shooters. It's a good forum for licensing and ownership information. There are a lot of smart people over there who are experienced with the intricacies of MA firearms law.

If you end up in New Hampshire and get a NH Pistol License be aware that there is NO reciprocity with any other state in New England. Especially MA. If you cross into MA with a firearm and somehow end up involved with the police, you will be arrested. Fortunately, VT, and ME do not require licenses, so you can carry there.

 

You poor bastard. Where are you moving to? "Boston" covers basically....All of southern Maine, southern NH, eastern MA, and RI.

rust proofing. @jpereira2

Like I said, for us "Boston" is basically all of New England up until about Burlington, VT which is sort of it's own area that is a bit "outside" the range of "Boston area" and is more so connected to Montreal as a support hub, even though it's a different country. CT has a split somewhere around hartford that is either Boston or NYC supported.

OH, and housing prices. But, you're coming from expensive so you'll be used to it. Don't look at similar properties in Michigan, you'll regret it.

edit: you said you have an 800k house budget. Jesus. You lucky bastard. I'm in the wrong line of work. You can get into the Boston area within subway MBTA range for that.

 

Some accent training is in order.

https://youtu.be/i7ivtztCZ64