Moving to Boston - what should I look for?

[Bob Noel]

From North Andover, you're almost an hour from Boston during rush hour(s). I go to school in North Andover, but commute from the Worcester area.

Avoid the temptation to live in Lawrence or Lowell. There are reasons the rent is low.

The most important thing you need to know about driving is that when you are at an intersection, and the car coming the opposite direction is turning left (across your path) he WILL go in front of you. He'll be found at fault, you you'll still be out one car.

another driving tidbit - don't jump the green light. There may be more than one car zipping through the intersection just after the light turns red.

Around the Boston area there are relatively few rotaries. Which is good, because most drivers don't act they know that the car in the rotary has the right of way. West of Worcester things are a bit better.

 

[Russell Danson]

If you are living in North Andover. Lawrence will be the closest airport. Manchester will require a ride up route 93 (30 miles) which can be a pain at the wrong time of day. About 36 miles up 495/95 (have to watch for beach traffic + toll) is Pease (KPSM). Nice loooong runway (10,000 ft). Hampton is an option if you like grass runways (nice atmoshpere).

 

[CRLBernstein]

I love Boston. Hate Bruins fans, Sox fans, Celts fans, Pats fans, but love Boston. Hate the drivers too. And the crazy, former cow-path roads. But i love Boston.

As a New Yorker attending college in this city, I can give a huge +1 to that!

 

[Arnold]

yeah, at 26' wide it wasn't a runway but rather a wide centerline.

So much of doing anything well is confidence. When I was teaching at BED some students would find it difficult to land on the centerline. I had learned at small fields and realized that the reason they did not land on the centerline was not because they couldn't, but because they did not think they could or did not think they needed to.

To cure them of either of these I took them to Tew-Mac before they soloed. They would marvel at how narrow the runway was and I would tell them not to worry about it, just land the airplane. Invariably it was a safe landing. We would do a few more then back to BED. On short final I would remind them that they had just demonstrated the ability to land on the center line and I expected similar precision in all future landings.

Worked great!

 

[silver-eagle]

LWM is actually IN No Andover. EAA106 is a very active chapter whose hangar in at LWM. They may even have space (or someone you can share). PM me your email address and I'll send you a couple of newsletters.
BED doesn't charge for landing; they CHARGE for leaving. They even tried to charge me one day when I flew past the airport.
Nashua (ASH) isn't a bad trip from No Andover. It is a nice airport.
MA charges annually for registering your plane. A single (under 2500 GVW) is $166. Add $100 or more as you add weight. By the way, the program is now managed by MA Registry, the same group you register your car with and quite noted for wasting your time waiting in lines. MA Registry is now a division of MA DOT.

 

[Ted]

To cure them of either of these I took them to Tew-Mac before they soloed. They would marvel at how narrow the runway was and I would tell them not to worry about it, just land the airplane. Invariably it was a safe landing. We would do a few more then back to BED. On short final I would remind them that they had just demonstrated the ability to land on the center line and I expected similar precision in all future landings.

My instructor did the same, worked well. I learned at an airport where I could practically land the 172 on the width of the runway.

 

[Bob Noel]

So much of doing anything well is confidence. When I was teaching at BED some students would find it difficult to land on the centerline. I had learned at small fields and realized that the reason they did not land on the centerline was not because they couldn't, but because they did not think they could or did not think they needed to.

To cure them of either of these I took them to Tew-Mac before they soloed. They would marvel at how narrow the runway was and I would tell them not to worry about it, just land the airplane. Invariably it was a safe landing. We would do a few more then back to BED. On short final I would remind them that they had just demonstrated the ability to land on the center line and I expected similar precision in all future landings.

Worked great!

yeah, my CFII was getting a little annoyed at me landing (just) to the left of the centerline of 29 at KBED. So during some of my instrument training we went to tew-mac and, of course, I landed on the centerline. He said something like "see, you can land on the centerline" and I replied something like"yeah, when I really need to".

 

[silver-eagle]

A couple of newsletters from the local EAA chapter.... You'll note that EAA106 is pretty busy. They host a couple of Young Eagles events every year. They are one of the EAA's B17 stops which is usually the same weekend as the annual pig roast. And the roster includes people from all over New England.

 

[Steve Foley]

yeah, my CFII was getting a little annoyed at me landing (just) to the left of the centerline of 29 at KBED. So during some of my instrument training we went to tew-mac and, of course, I landed on the centerline. He said something like "see, you can land on the centerline" and I replied something like"yeah, when I really need to".

I did my primary training at ORH (Worcester, MA) with a 150' x 7000' runway, but when I bought a plane, I based it in Spencer with a 50' x 1930' runway. I visited Worcester after a few months and wondered what the bumps were when I landed. It turns out it was the centerline lights, that I had never hit before.

 

[pilot_dude]

A way out

 

[Ghery]

You should look for...
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Cars, coming RIGHT AT YOU, from EVERYWHERE.

Seriously, Boston drivers are legendary. Nowhere near as bad as some overseas places, but among the scariest in the US.

After living in the Boston area in 1969 I had long wondered why Boston drivers were so bad. Driving in Rome in 1992 it came to me in a flash. They have lots of Italians in Boston. It must be hereditary.

1. Bullet proof vest.
2. More life insurance.
3. Colt 1911 45 Auto.
4. Good car alarm.
5. Locking lug nuts.

Good luck with that and their gun laws. But, I agree, I'd want my 1911A1, too.

I lived in China for a while ... made Mexico City look like Mayberry. The Chinese don't try to kill you, they don't even see you and don't care.

The one place I've feared for my life riding in a taxi was Shanghai. No argument there.

wrt the firearm laws here, I don't quite know. Frankly I wasn't paying close attention to the Class A or Class B requirements. I was only interested in getting the FID card so that I could take possession of my father's rifle.

Why do you need government permission to exercise a Constitutional right?

MA is one of those places that you couldn't pay me enough to live there.

Amen.

Nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

 

[cessna182b]

After living in the Boston area in 1969 I had long wondered why Boston drivers were so bad. Driving in Rome in 1992 it came to me in a flash. They have lots of Italians in Boston. It must be hereditary.

I've driven all over Europe (including Rome). The worst I've seen was in Paris.

QUOTE Good luck with that and their gun laws. But, I agree, I'd want my 1911A1, too.

No comment.

QUOTE The one place I've feared for my life riding in a taxi was Shanghai. No argument there.

Ditto Taipei. Actually, I had a worse experience in Delhi. I was on my way to the airport in the middle of the night - in a black taxi. The generator was not working - so he was driving on the battery, with no lights. In the middle of a major intersection, the ignition switch (hanging by it's wires) flew apart, and we stopped dead. There were big trucks roaring by on all sides. Of course the driver had no flashlight, so he proceeded to locate the parts and reassemble the switch by feel. It seemed to take forever, but he succeeded, started up and continued to the airport.

QUOTE Why do you need government permission to exercise a Constitutional right?

Agree.

Amen.

QUOTE:Nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

Agree. My daughter is going to college there. When she was home on break I asked her if she would want to live there permanently. She said NO!.

Dave

 

[Bob Noel]

Agree. My daughter is going to college there. When she was home on break I asked her if she would want to live there permanently. She said NO!.

Dave

At the risk of going SZ, the recent US Census shows the relative loss for massachusetts. So it seems a lot of people agree with your daughter.

 

[Arnold]

I did my primary training at ORH (Worcester, MA) with a 150' x 7000' runway, but when I bought a plane, I based it in Spencer with a 50' x 1930' runway. I visited Worcester after a few months and wondered what the bumps were when I landed. It turns out it was the centerline lights, that I had never hit before.

Chuckle.

 

[jmcsherry]

At the risk of going SZ, the recent US Census shows the relative loss for massachusetts. So it seems a lot of people agree with your daughter.

Hmm. I learned to drive while in high school in the DC area; we thought the drivers there were pushy. I have driven a few trips into Boston proper, and to the metro area (Newton, Quincy, Hull) visiting family, several times. I think the Boston traffic is difficult, but not an order of magnitude off from the rest of the East coast metro areas.
As far as living in Boston, I think a good bit of that decision will involve whether the person grew up in a city or in a more rural or suburban environment. There is a good deal to enjoy in DC, Baltimore, Philly, NYC, or Boston. Living in any of these cities is a very different mindset from living in any town I know in Iowa or Kentucky. Now, living in the Boston area - that is a different call. Lots of suburbs are like lots of other suburbs anywhere. And the T works pretty well.
Flying into any of the airports in the BOS area (other than Logan of course) has never been a problem. But others have more experience about being based there.