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El Barto
= Song DB Master =
USA
4020 Posts |
 Posted - 01/19/2004 : 21:14:53
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Is Boston a good place to live? Nice place? Dumpy? Detroit is a shithole...surrounding areas are OK. But is Boston as a whole a neat place to live? Is it possible for a group of people to rent a house outside the city for a decent price?
 "I joined the Cult of Clops / If I were you, I'd sleep with one eye open." |
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realmeanmotorscutor
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1764 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2004 : 21:38:46
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Boston is a great place to live depending on the individual. I live outside of Boston (Lynn) and I loved the area for a long time. There's plenty to do and lot's of people to meet. While I have a certain love for Lynn and aspects of Boston I'm ready to move to a nicer place like North Adams. There are many places that are called "Boston" but aren't truly Boston. I don't know much about Rent but I'm sure there are some reasonable places. Again, it depends where you look. I understand that Brookline is quite expensive, for example. Anyhoo, I've been no help. Why are you thinking of moving here?
 "I joined the Cult of Popeye / The CoF required my good eye" |
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jimmy
= Cult of Ray =
USA
876 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2004 : 23:10:07
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| I know a lot of people who moved out there from western mass. All of them ended up renting houses around the city (somerville, cambridge, lynn), ussually with 4 or 5 people. I hear it's hard to find a job out there, but I guess it's that way everywhere. All of them like living there. |
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Atheist4Catholics
= Cult of Ray =
USA
925 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2004 : 23:57:45
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I fucking love Boston. Getting a cheap house may be a problem though. Boston rent tends to not go down very much until you're 45 minutes out of the city. It's not like Manhattan where Brooklyn is much cheaper than downtown. That said, there are bargains if you search for them. I've got a nice 1.5 bedroom in Cambridge for $1000 a month which ain't too shabby. I'm literally 5 minutes from downtown Boston.
If you're looking for a nice surrounding area that's reasonably priced and not swarming with college kids then check out Somerville and Jamaica Plain (though JP has gotten more hip and pricey recently). Stay far away from Dorchester and Roxbury (Roxbury is the Harlem of Boston) though West Roxbury is very nice.
Let me know if you're coming up and I'll show you around. I have a good perspective having moved from the Shippensburg area to Boston.
 "Join the Cult of Frank / or The Clops gets it!" |
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ramona
"FB Quote Mistress"
USA
3988 Posts |
Posted - 01/20/2004 : 07:54:03
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Roslindale is another up and coming area - now that JP (where I live) has gotten more and more crowded and desireable (although there are still deals and a lot of large homes that are rented out floor by floor) - with places to rent. I grew up spending the summers in Cambridge and have lived in Jamaica Plain for nine years (time flies) and I love it here. There is a big musician community and a lot of families and artists, and a large pond right in the middle. JP (which is actually part of Boston, unlike the others mentioned here) is like a small town in the big city (I can't leave my house without seeing someone I know) but so close to the "actual" city as well. I can see downtown from my house.
Also, there are lots of parks in Boston and it is close to the ocean and many lovely beaches. Glochester, about an hour away, has one of my favorite beaches in the world. There are over 200 colleges in the Boston area, so it is a big student/young city. There is a lot of diversity and I can say VERY CLEARLY that it is nothing like Detroit. Since my parents are both from there and I have spent a lot of time there, I can say it DOES NOT compare.
All that said, it is fucking cold right now and the winter can be very snowy and chilly and I definetly prefer summer, but it's all still fabulous.
Okay, I will stop now. 
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"Music does not drag me down. Music lifts me up." - Frank Black |
Edited by - ramona on 01/20/2004 07:57:11 |
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Adnan_le_Terrible
* Dog in the Sand *
France
1973 Posts |
Posted - 01/20/2004 : 08:20:47
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Stop it!
Now I wish I was living in Boston.
Round round, up and down, through the streets of your town. |
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El Barto
= Song DB Master =
USA
4020 Posts |
Posted - 01/20/2004 : 16:10:39
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Shit, I totally forgot you moved from Shippensburg to Boston, that's right! That'd be somewhat of a situation, although I'm living in State College now. The Bennies have been planning to move out there, and I just thought about the posibility of me following them, even if I don't play with them...just cause I have nothing going on in my life, I'm not attached to anything, so as long as I have a job, food, and shelter, I'm a happy camper. I'm just at a crossroads in my life and need to figure out where the hell to go. Hopefully I'd be able to transfer out to a Best Buy out there, cause I'm awesome at what I do, but we'll see...thanks for the info guys. Maybe I'll be a fellow Bostonian some day.
"I joined the Cult of Clops / If I were you, I'd sleep with one eye open." |
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ramona
"FB Quote Mistress"
USA
3988 Posts |
Posted - 01/20/2004 : 16:33:06
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Just one more good thing about Boston is that it also has a great public transportation system - which many cities (like Detroit) do not. www.mbta.com
That is all.
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"Music does not drag me down. Music lifts me up." - Frank Black |
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Johnny Yen
= Cult of Ray =
USA
408 Posts |
Posted - 01/20/2004 : 20:20:40
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you can't get off your stop
like poor charlie on the MTA....
Boston's museum of science is Co-oo-coool. And the skanky old aquarium is always full of randy penguins. Can't beat that. OOOH, and that take out indian food place in quincy market can't be beat. whazzit called, Bombay Gardens?
Plus Cambridge has the dynamic club duo of MIddle East downstairs and TT The Bears. AND there's that nice co-op with the cute counter girls right nearby. hoo boy. |
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Atheist4Catholics
= Cult of Ray =
USA
925 Posts |
Posted - 01/21/2004 : 15:01:22
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quote:
Originally posted by ramona
Just one more good thing about Boston is that it also has a great public transportation system - which many cities (like Detroit) do not. www.mbta.com
That is all.
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"Music does not drag me down. Music lifts me up." - Frank Black
I wouldn't call it "great". The damn thing closes down around midnight/12:30AM which in a college town is just asking for drunk driving. When local bands play here the headliners sometimes go on first because the club clears out at midnight so everyone can catch the train. It's also a retarded color coded system that is really hard to get used to at first. Having commuted daily into Manhattan for a few years I much prefer the NYC subway system. Seeing how El Barto is coming from buttfuck PA where there is probably one cab driver and everyone knows his name (as is the case in Shippensburg) then the MBTA will be a welcome sight.
By the way Jim, did you know a Ra Kligge at Shipp?
Also, there are many Best Buy's around.
 www.angelfire.com/rock3/a4c/icon_cot.gif" border="0"> "Join the Cult of Frank / or The Clops gets it!" |
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El Barto
= Song DB Master =
USA
4020 Posts |
Posted - 01/21/2004 : 15:16:33
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Never met anyone named Ra in Shipp...didn't go to college there, though...I'm not a big fan of public transportation, even though I really don't like driving. I only took a subway once to and from DC and I got sick. I get motion sickness pretty easily, so that didn't help me at all. We'll see how that works out.
I saw that there are a number of Best Buys within Boston and around...like, 5 of them or something. Hopefully I can get into one of them. The biggest thing I'm concerned about is getting a job, really. Can't live without a job!
What about college...I hear there's a lot of colleges there. Are there any community colleges in case I decide to take some classes?
"I joined the Cult of Clops / If I were you, I'd sleep with one eye open." |
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ramona
"FB Quote Mistress"
USA
3988 Posts |
Posted - 01/21/2004 : 15:27:15
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I think the subway system is extreamly fabulous compared to the NONE that many other cities have. I don't have a car and I can basically get anywhere I need to via the train. Yeah, sometimes I have to wait awhile, but I always get there. I also think the whole layout is pretty easy to understand. It's like a compass and the middle is the heart of the city - and there are inbound and outbound trains. It makes sense to me.
That said, the buses could definetly use some work.
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"Music does not drag me down. Music lifts me up." - Frank Black |
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ramona
"FB Quote Mistress"
USA
3988 Posts |
Posted - 01/21/2004 : 15:29:14
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PS. Harvard University has an extension school where anyone can take classes but there are also community colleges, like Bunker Hill, around. Like I said - over 200 schools here - if you want to take classes, you certainly could.
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"Music does not drag me down. Music lifts me up." - Frank Black |
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Atheist4Catholics
= Cult of Ray =
USA
925 Posts |
Posted - 01/21/2004 : 16:43:00
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quote:
Originally posted by ramona
I think the subway system is extreamly fabulous compared to the NONE that many other cities have. I don't have a car and I can basically get anywhere I need to via the train. Yeah, sometimes I have to wait awhile, but I always get there. I also think the whole layout is pretty easy to understand. It's like a compass and the middle is the heart of the city - and there are inbound and outbound trains. It makes sense to me.
That said, the buses could definetly use some work.
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"Music does not drag me down. Music lifts me up." - Frank Black
Outbound and Inbound don't make as much sense as "Uptown" and "Downtown" especially when the train system is a giant wagon wheel around the city. If you're used to NYC trains you'll laugh at how slow Boston trains move, especially the Green Line which is basically a trolley. It is a decent system and of course, much better than nothing. I drive most places, but I also have a death wish.
Yeah Em, the buses ceratinly suck.
"Join the Cult of Frank / or The Clops gets it!" |
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El Barto
= Song DB Master =
USA
4020 Posts |
Posted - 01/21/2004 : 18:20:44
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Do I need to be all signed up and everything or would it be possible to just like, I don't know, talk to someone and pay for a couple classes? Like, cause if I decide in July that I want to take classes, could I start taking classes (certain classes) in the fall? I don't know much about college, obviously...
"I joined the Cult of Clops / If I were you, I'd sleep with one eye open." |
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ramona
"FB Quote Mistress"
USA
3988 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 06:54:38
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I don't know either. I would check the websites. They should give you all the info you need. This lists all the colleges (or many of them) in Boston - http://www.searchboston.com/dir/Education/Colleges_and_Universities/
As for Inbound vs Outbound - I think it makes sense in terms of the design of the system. If you want to go IN you are going Inbound and so forth. There really isn't an Uptown and Downtown in Boston, so that wouldn't really apply.
And the green line is a joke - I agree.
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"Music does not drag me down. Music lifts me up." - Frank Black |
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Cult_Of_Frank
= Black Noise Maker =
Canada
11674 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 06:57:09
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How's the Big Dig coming along?
 "Join the Cult of Frank / And you'll be enlightened" |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 07:16:58
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quote:
Originally posted by El Barto
The biggest thing I'm concerned about is getting a job, really. Can't live without a job!
that's not true. all you need is love, man. |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 07:20:41
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| don't get me started about Public Transportation systems.. i fucking WISH we had some public transportation here. i'm so sick of driving. (ok, i have to go.. gotta get into my 1 hour commute to work. bye) |
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ramona
"FB Quote Mistress"
USA
3988 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 07:31:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Cult_Of_Frank
How's the Big Dig coming along?
"Join the Cult of Frank / And you'll be enlightened"
http://www.bigdig.com/
They have moved the central artery under ground which is a big step, and also opened up the Lenny Zakam bridge. So, it is moving along. Should be lovely when it is done - sometime in 2043. 
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"Music does not drag me down. Music lifts me up." - Frank Black |
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Cult_Of_Frank
= Black Noise Maker =
Canada
11674 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 08:16:00
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Yeah, I popped by the site after I asked... just thought you might have some interesting perspective as residents/users. Having the central artery down there now is pretty huge, though. Did they build it big enough, do you think? Are you being taxed up the wazoo for it? Should they have left an above-ground freeway (as opposed to highway) for local traffic? That sort of stuff...
"Join the Cult of Frank / And you'll be enlightened" |
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El Barto
= Song DB Master =
USA
4020 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 11:08:38
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Two random thoughts: what's the tax rate in MA and how far from the ocean is Boston? Thanks for all the info so far, guys and gal.
"I joined the Cult of Clops / If I were you, I'd sleep with one eye open." |
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GoddessTheory
= Cult of Ray =
USA
675 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 11:11:49
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quote:
Originally posted by El Barto
Two random thoughts: what's the tax rate in MA and how far from the ocean is Boston? Thanks for all the info so far, guys and gal.
"I joined the Cult of Clops / If I were you, I'd sleep with one eye open."
http://www.mass.gov/portal/index.jsp?pageID=mg2homepage&L=1&L0=Home&sid=massgov2
This site might help.
They had a Tea Party somewhere in there. |
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El Barto
= Song DB Master =
USA
4020 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 11:19:44
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:( I'm dumb. I forgot.
"I joined the Cult of Clops / If I were you, I'd sleep with one eye open." |
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Carolynanna
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Canada
6556 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 11:32:20
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Um ya, I decided I got nuthin;)
Sometimes I'm so full of shit that it should be a crime.... |
Edited by - Carolynanna on 01/22/2004 12:08:45 |
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ramona
"FB Quote Mistress"
USA
3988 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 12:26:31
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quote:
Originally posted by El Barto
Two random thoughts: what's the tax rate in MA and how far from the ocean is Boston? Thanks for all the info so far, guys and gal.
"I joined the Cult of Clops / If I were you, I'd sleep with one eye open."
Do you mean how far is Boston to a BEACH? Because it is RIGHT BY the ocean. Downtown includes a shipyard and an aquarium which is right on the water. There is a "waterfront" etc. And there are Boston beaches, but for nicer areas (like Cape Ann which I mentioned and Cape Cod) you have to drive a bit. Like 30/40 minutes or so.
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"Music does not drag me down. Music lifts me up." - Frank Black |
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El Barto
= Song DB Master =
USA
4020 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 14:50:11
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Yeah, I guess I meant to a beach (if it makes me look smarter).
"I joined the Cult of Clops / If I were you, I'd sleep with one eye open." |
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ramona
"FB Quote Mistress"
USA
3988 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 14:54:36
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Suuuuuuuuuure.
Anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours to a beach, depending on where you want to go. I will try to find some pictures.
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"Music does not drag me down. Music lifts me up." - Frank Black |
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Broken Face
-= Forum Pistolero =-
USA
5155 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 14:58:40
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public transportation in pittsburgh is the jokiest joke that ever joked. its really so sad - i have to wait an inordinate ammount of time to get anywhere because i'm po'.
-brian
- "I joined the Cult of Frank / And they tried to cut off my nuts and make me put in a blue jumpsuit"
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mcmikey
= Cult of Ray =
799 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 15:08:17
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quote:
Originally posted by ramona
Suuuuuuuuuure.
Anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours to a beach, depending on where you want to go. I will try to find some pictures.
pictures? of a beach? do you have that little faith in El Barto that you assume he's never seen a beach!?!?!?!
I dreamed I dream |
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El Barto
= Song DB Master =
USA
4020 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 15:10:55
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I lived in Michigan, home of the Great Lakes. Some say the lake beach isn't the same as the ocean beach. I say, a beach is a beach. I've only been to an ocean beach once at night...when I was on tour with the Bennies, we snuck onto the beach in NJ at night. I was in the ocean. It was great.
"I joined the Cult of Clops / If I were you, I'd sleep with one eye open." |
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darwin
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
USA
5448 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 15:34:16
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quote:
Originally posted by El Barto
I say, a beach is a beach.
Just like a mountain is a mountain? Or, a river is river?
Not all beaches are equal. And I would hate to think that a beach in NJ is representing how nice ocean beaches can be. |
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ramona
"FB Quote Mistress"
USA
3988 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 16:44:04
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Oh, a lake does not compare to the ocean. I'm sorry. It just doesn't.
I meant pictures of the beaches HERE and the proximity of Boston to water. If someone is considering MOVING somewhere and they want to learn about the place - sometimes pictures actually help.
Sheesh, y'all are so grumpy.
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"Music does not drag me down. Music lifts me up." - Frank Black |
Edited by - ramona on 01/22/2004 16:45:32 |
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realmeanmotorscutor
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1764 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 16:53:43
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lake and ocean beaches are vastly different
"I joined the Cult of Popeye / The CoF required my good eye" |
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ramona
"FB Quote Mistress"
USA
3988 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 19:53:57
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This is the beach I love. You can't tell me this is the same as a lake. There is just no way!
Oh, this is about 45 minutes from Boston. Beauty!
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"Music does not drag me down. Music lifts me up." - Frank Black |
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The King Of Karaoke
> Teenager of the Year <
USA
3759 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2004 : 22:47:47
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El Barto,
Make sure you move into Boston itself or damn close by, or don't move at all! I moved out to California after living in Ma most of my life. I figured if this didn't pan out and I had to move back it would be in Boston itself.
Boston is lots of fun! Great music scene (which I miss), but I like it out here better. Don't end up too far outside Boston in "suburbia hell". That's where I lived.
I went back over the summer. There were a hell of a lot more ladies than when I lived there. Even my buddies wife was commenting on how many beautiful women had moved there in the past three years. I found this information disturbing because I moved out here, three years ago.
Mass exodus from the west coast due to my presence?... Most likely.
Note to self: get ass itchin' ointment...fer ass...that's.. uh?...itchin'! |
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