Calling all Bostonians

I don't live in Boston, but I live about 45 minutes north of there and do visit regularly.

1. Is the T all underground?

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No. The green line runs all the way out to Needham, I think. Mostly above ground. They do have a website that you might find helpful - http://www.mbta.com/

2. Do people get off and walk home, mostly, or do they take a taxi or bus -- for ex, in very bad weather or late at night?

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This I can't answer, as I don't live there. However, I do think that a lot of people in Boston have cars, a much higher percentage than people who live in New York, for example. My brother lived in Slummerville (actually Somerville) and walked to work, but he did have a car.

3. What time in Sept/Oct do the leaves change on your trees, in general. By what date/week have they mostly fallen off?

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Well, I think probably late October in that area, we had a fall foliage festival in a town about an hour north of here when we lived up there, and it was on Columbus Day. Columbus day is a great foliage weekend for mid New Hampshire, so I'd think Boston might be a week or so later. They'd be mostly off our trees by Halloween.

4. Symphony Hall: where's the best seat/section for a wealthy older person in a wheelchair (with a party of 4) to sit?

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No clue on this one, hopefully someone else can help. Try their website for a seating chart? http://www.bso.org/bso/index.jsp?id=bcat5220002

bylinebree said:

1. Is the T all underground?

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Like jeseymour said, a great deal of the green line is above ground with the exception of the central Boston stops (Kenmore through North Station? Something like that, not looking at a map right now.) But parts of all the lines are above ground, the red line is above ground south of JFK/UMass, the blue line is above except for a few stops downtown and I'm not an orange line girl but I'm pretty sure most of the stops toward either end are above ground on that line as well.

2. Do people get off and walk home, mostly, or do they take a taxi or bus -- for ex, in very bad weather or late at night?

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It depends how far you live from a stop. I lived in Charlestown for awhile and took the bus from the T, because the closest stop was a long walk up or down a hill away. When I lived in the North End I just walked to the closest T stop. (Really, unless there was bad weather I walked everywhere. In nice weather it's not difficult to walk clear across town.)

3. What time in Sept/Oct do the leaves change on your trees, in general. By what date/week have they mostly fallen off?

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It varies, depending on the weather. Leaves can start changing in September but not be full-blown color until late October. (I got married in mid-October '06, with photos taken on Boston Common. The trees are still mostly green with a few pops of color.) They're mostly gone by mid-November, but again, it depends on the weather for any particular year. If you google for "New England foliage" you can probably find charts with general dates.

4. Symphony Hall: where's the best seat/section for a wealthy older person in a wheelchair (with a party of 4) to sit?

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For the BSO or the Boston Pops? The Pops sets up cabaret style with tables. The BSO has fairly standard theatre-like seating on the floor, and then there are two balcony sections that are open for both. I'm not sure if the balconies are wheelchair accessible or not, but the Symphony Hall website would probably have that info.


Hope that helps! I grew up south of Boston, lived in Boston proper for about 5 years and now live north of Boston. I'm happy to answer any questions I can, feel free to PM me if you'd like.

First off, you need to understand how Boston is structured. There's the downtown area, which is mainly business, then there are residential areas. Beacon Hill is so different from the South End as to how people live that you can't make generalities that make sense. For example, when we lived in Beacon Hill I had to move the car every day to deal with parking restrictions, and could parallel park in spaces you won't believe. When we lived in Dorchester, I had off street parking and you could leave your car on the street for a week without moving it.

Then you have outlying towns like Braintree, Somerville, Revere, and Cambridge that aren't technically part of Boston, but are very similar to Boston's neighborhoods.

bylinebree said:

Yo there, Hub-dwellers! I'm a westerner & mountain-dweller who is researching Beantown, so I have a few q's for you:

1. Is the T all underground? In the downtown area, yes. The rest of it, no. The Green Line is a streetcar line, and runs right down the street. The Red Line and Orange Line are basically interurbans, and run on dedicated paths above ground for most of their distance. Blue Line has a dedicated line, but actually runs more like a street car than an interurban.

Interurbans were trains/subways that aren't really commuter rail, aren't really subways, and aren't streetcars. Outside of New England, they would run quite the distance. Chicago's line that goes into Indiana is the last "real" interurban. Streetcars and subways tend to have stops that are fairly close together.

2. Do people get off and walk home, mostly, or do they take a taxi or bus -- for ex, in very bad weather or late at night? Depends upon the area and the distance from the station and how the bus line runs. Cabs aren't usually used. And whether you wanted to wait on the bus. Most people who live in cities are walkers. I could give you a better answer if I knew what neighborhood you're talking about.

3. What time in Sept/Oct do the leaves change on your trees, in general. By what date/week have they mostly fallen off? They start changing color in early September and finish falling off sometime in November. But to be honest with you, if you live in Boston you don't especially notice it.

4. Symphony Hall: where's the best seat/section for a wealthy older person in a wheelchair (with a party of 4) to sit? All I remember on this is that it didn't seem to be likely to be very handicapped accessible. I'd call up the box office. Remember that Symphony Hall was built a long time ago, before our consciciousness was raised.

These some for starters. Got others if you got the time, too.
Thanks for bearing with my ignorance of your beautiful city - and for any help you can give!

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Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

bylinebree said:

It's been forever (okay, a month just) but thanks for your help here! Sorry I've lagged so much, alot going on with me (inside and out LOL)

I got a little discouraged with my book when I read a romance novel by an author whose book is also set in Boston.

But that's not all! The heroine also drove a VOLVO (an easy fix really - just Find/Replace word). There was a culinary theme, though mine is via the guy, not the girl. The hero is also rich tho' otherwise very different. But the last straw was the Grandfather -- mine is a partial invalid TOO. (On top of all this, the author lived in Beantown so she really, really writes like she knows it, gag me : )

I kind of shut-down for awhile to regroup. So much for thinking my stuff was sooo original!!!! But I'm not giving up.

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There is room for more than one book set in Boston.

(1) what elements in a story, in crafting the setting in Boston, would make you really FEEL like it put you there, felt real??

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Attempted murder of a pedestrian by a driver. While Boston drivers aren't all that bad, there is little caring for pedestrians; cabbies are the worst.

(2) Chocolate: besides Boston Cream Pie, what do Bostonians like? Are there any chocolate treats that you guys love, that are peculiar to your area?

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You can put anything there, but more interesting is that Boston has the country's highest per capita consumption of ice cream, and that runs twelve months. You might want to mention Brigham's Ice Cream, and have someone order some in February. It does break the grayness of that month.

PeterL said:

There is room for more than one book set in Boston.



Attempted murder of a pedestrian by a driver. While Boston drivers aren't all that bad, there is little caring for pedestrians; cabbies are the worst.

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Heh. Good point. I had some guy in a beemer almost hit me when I was crossing (with the signal!) in a crosswalk. F**ker had the nerve to curse *me* out.

You can put anything there, but more interesting is that Boston has the country's highest per capita consumption of ice cream, and that runs twelve months. You might want to mention Brigham's Ice Cream, and have someone order some in February. It does break the grayness of that month.

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Another good point, but I'd maybe suggest JP Licks (There's a nice one in Back Bay) instead of Brigham's - I think of Brigham's as a mall chain.

bylinebree said:

It's been forever (okay, a month just) but thanks for your help here! Sorry I've lagged so much, alot going on with me (inside and out LOL)

I got a little discouraged with my book when I read a romance novel by an author whose book is also set in Boston.

But that's not all! The heroine also drove a VOLVO (an easy fix really - just Find/Replace word). There was a culinary theme, though mine is via the guy, not the girl. The hero is also rich tho' otherwise very different. But the last straw was the Grandfather -- mine is a partial invalid TOO. (On top of all this, the author lived in Beantown so she really, really writes like she knows it, gag me : )

I kind of shut-down for awhile to regroup. So much for thinking my stuff was sooo original!!!! But I'm not giving up.

Here's 2 Bostonian questions for you all though: (1) what elements in a story, in crafting the setting in Boston, would make you really FEEL like it put you there, felt real?? The soon-to-be college student who gets his U-haul stuck under a bridge of Storrow Drive (annual story), the Green Monster and anything to do with the Red Sox, the Citgo sign, Kenmore Square, the Boston Marathon and resulting traffic problems, the lack of straight streets, the Pru, jogging along the Charles, the Smoot measurements on the Mass Ave bridge to Cambridge, the incredible amount of music and entertainment, the T and the unique odors of each of the underground stations, Dunkin Donuts and not Starbucks.

My hero lives in Back Bay in a large brownstone (yes, he's wealthy but not Brahmin) My heroine lives in farther out in a Fenway-like, multi-ethnic neighborhood in a brownstone (she's a nurse-practitioner). A couple of features of those neighborhoods would be:

Back bay -- twice or three times a week of trash pickup, parking permits, selling parking permits to outsiders, moving your car two or three times a week (or more) for street cleaning, Newbury Street, BPL (Boston Public Library), no off-street parking (easily costs $50,000 plus), gas street lighting, the Mass. Ave division, booting of vehicles, double and triple parking, the stop lights

Fenway -- once a week trash pickup, one or two times a week moving your car, the gardens in the Fenway, the smell, traffic problems on game days, Kenmore Square, hookers

(2) Chocolate: besides Boston Cream Pie, what do Bostonians like? Are there any chocolate treats that you guys love, that are peculiar to your area? Brigham Ice Cream. I'm not sure Boston Cream Pie is that well liked. More fish than a lot of places.

Thanks again & may stubborn persistent never leave you, either!

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I haven't lived in Boston for many years, but those are some of the things I'd think about. Peter Parker has written a lot about Boston in his Spencer series.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

I haven't lived in Boston for many years, but those are some of the things I'd think about. Peter Parker has written a lot about Boston in his Spencer series.

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Uh, Jim, I bow to your superior knowledge in most subjects, but this one I know. It's not Peter Parker, it's Robert B. Parker. And it's Spenser, with an S. Another author who writes about Boston would be Dennis Lehane.

raburrell said:

Heh. Good point. I had some guy in a beemer almost hit me when I was crossing (with the signal!) in a crosswalk. F**ker had the nerve to curse *me* out.

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I don't often walk in Boston any more, but your experience

Another good point, but I'd maybe suggest JP Licks (There's a nice one in Back Bay) instead of Brigham's - I think of Brigham's as a mall chain.

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I have never heard of JP Licks. Brigham's is somewhat traditional, having been arounf for close to a century. I tried to find out the Brigham's locations, because I don't know of any in malls, but they don't list the locations. An argument about where to go for ice cream might be even better.

PeterL said:

I have never heard of JP Licks. Brigham's is somewhat traditional, having been arounf for close to a century. I tried to find out the Brigham's locations, because I don't know of any in malls, but they don't list the locations. An argument about where to go for ice cream might be even better.

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There's one in Back Bay, right near the Virgin store at the end of Newbury. I think many of the rest are in JP (Jamaica Plains). Maybe it's just my personal bias against Brigham's - I don't like their ice cream.

Other stuff... the statue of Make Way for Ducklings, the accent, (oh LORD the accent), the Swan Boats in the Public Garden...

I have never heard of JP Licks. Brigham's is somewhat traditional, having been arounf for close to a century. I tried to find out the Brigham's locations, because I don't know of any in malls, but they don't list the locations. An argument about where to go for ice cream might be even better.

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There's also Friendly's. But if they have a car, and they want really good ice cream, they have to go to Kimball's. It's in Westford. My mother drove there from Attleboro in the fifties to get ice cream, and we drove there from Hollis, NH in the 70s to get ice cream, and it's still worth the drive for ice cream lovers.

jeseymour said:

There's also Friendly's. But if they have a car, and they want really good ice cream, they have to go to Kimball's. It's in Westford. My mother drove there from Attleboro in the fifties to get ice cream, and we drove there from Hollis, NH in the 70s to get ice cream, and it's still worth the drive for ice cream lovers.

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Yes, Kimball's is worth the drive. It's on Rte 110between two exit from 495, so it's very easy to get to.

bylinebree said:

(1) what elements in a story, in crafting the setting in Boston, would make you really FEEL like it put you there, felt real??

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The layout of the streets. They're liked paved cow paths. Some start out with one name, switch names after a while, and then maybe switch to a third name or go back to the original one. If you're not from there, you *will* get lost.

The drivers are terrible (or so I'm told; being from a huge metro area myself, I don't really notice a difference), and they're on the horn A LOT (this I do notice). The percentage of dented cars on the road is also high.

Something you might notice if you're downtown is the duck tours. I can't remember the official name, but they're tourist buses that, as I recall, look like ducks and can go in the water like boats as well as drive around on the streets.

There's a large Irish community. Respect for identifiable priests used to be high in the area, but I don't know if that's still the case after all the scandals in the Catholic Church.

Oh, and then there's the harbor tunnel and the Big Dig...

jeseymour said:

Uh, Jim, I bow to your superior knowledge in most subjects, but this one I know. It's not Peter Parker, it's Robert B. Parker. And it's Spenser, with an S. Another author who writes about Boston would be Dennis Lehane.

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Yes, Peter Parker is Spiderman. Robert B. Parker is an awesome detective novelist. It's easy to confuse the two, though.

Something you might notice if you're downtown is the duck tours. I can't remember the official name, but they're tourist buses that, as I recall, look like ducks and can go in the water like boats as well as drive around on the streets.

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They don't look like ducks. They're amphibious landing vehicles from WWII. I've been on the duck tour, twice. My kids all went to Boston for their fifth grade trips.

http://www.bostonducktours.com/

Ravenlocks said:

The layout of the streets. They're liked paved cow paths. Some start out with one name, switch names after a while, and then maybe switch to a third name or go back to the original one. If you're not from there, you *will* get lost.

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In Back Bay, it's easy - everything's alphabetical. Arlington, Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, Exeter, Fairfield, Gloucester, Hereford. (Cross streets aren't alphabetical though - Columbus, Boylston, Newbury, Commonwealth, Marlboro)

In Fenway... not so much. Southie is worse. I swear, J Street comes after O Street or something ridonkulous like that.

Then of course, there are the highways. You can be on 93 heading south (aka 128), then somehow, without warning you end up on 95 North. I've lived here all my life, had a GPS, and somehow *still* managed to do that once.

bylinebree said:

Hey, one more question (can't promise it's the last tho')

If you had a gourmet chocolate candy business in the Boston area, and lived in Back Bay, where is a good place to locate the factory and/or offices?

I thought maybe south in Dorchester or such, since Baker's started there - a kind of tie-in to real history.

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Actually, Dorchester would be a fairly good location, if one did not have a manufacturing location attached to the retail store, in which case having everything in the Back Bay would be an excellent idea.

bylinebree said:

So...ridonkulous? Is that a common Beantown phrase or just new to me? Love it.

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I don't know about it being a Boston phrase, but "wicked" is what we use around heyah. As in wicked good, wicked bad, wicked gross, or just plain wicked. I think wicked is more common the further north you go, as in downeast Maine, but it's common throughout New England.

bylinebree said:

But I hadn't even dealt with in the story for some reason, not thinking like a biz person.
It would make sense to have the store in Back Bay to shorten the tranport costs. What about rent though, isn't it sky-high?

From a biz standpoint, it seems like the offices/factory should be in the same building or complex, but the store would be in a better retail area (like BB).

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Rent would be a problem, and it has gotten worse over time. Is the business old? If it has been there for decades, then it might have bought the building when prices were only absurd.