Boston First Impressions + Our First Month Living in New England | 5 Things to Do in Boston10/18/2020 You can find my Boston First Impressions + 5 Things to Do in Boston video on YouTube! September 2020 Lucas and I are entirely new to the northeast side of the United States. I have been to the northeast twice -- once when I was in high school for a family road trip from Toronto to Washington D.C., and the other was last spring 2019 for a business trip (we were in Boston for only half a day). Lucas, on the other hand, has never been to the northeast prior to our military relocation. That said, our first month living in Boston made for an interesting one as we learned to adjust to all the changes and new norms. To hear about our first impressions of our new city, followed by some fun touristy things to do in Boston -- keep on reading! Our First Impressions of Boston (as PNW-Raised Seattleites) We officially moved to Boston in early September due to Lucas’ report date. Although moving in general wasn’t originally in our newly wed plan, I’m grateful for the timing. We were able to road trip across the country during the summer, and we arrived in Boston right at the very beginning of the most beautiful time of year in New England - fall! Fall Foliage Pictures don’t do it justice. There’s just something about the trees here in the northeast… maybe I’m just used to Washington’s evergreen trees, but to me, it’s fascinating to see all the tree branches mesh together in a way that creates a much more dense array of colors than what fall is like in Washington State. Flatter Terrain The weather has also been beautiful for the past month! Due to the terrain being much flatter in Boston (compared to Seattle), the blue skies seem much grander, and they’re just that -- actually blue! I’m not saying that there are never any blue skies in Washington State, but let’s be honest that most days of the year, we saw overcast skies in the PNW. Therefore, I have learned that blue skies are to be celebrated! Last month, there was the occasional cloudy day in Boston, but by the afternoon, the skies cleared up. Housing with Charm In addition to the weather, the housing and architecture here are definitely different than the modern/contemporary style of the northwest. Almost every house has black shutters by their windows, and brick is also very commonly seen. It depends on what part of Boston you’re in, but by now, Lucas and I have absolutely started to fall in love with the New England charm. Enriched History Boston is known to be very historic. Although most homes are newly renovated, we’ve noticed that it's not uncommon for houses to be built in the 1800s or early 1900s. Boston is also known for many firsts -- it’s home to the first college in North America (Harvard), the first American lighthouse, the first chocolate factory in the US, the first Dunkin Donuts, and the first American subway (still in use today). I won’t dive too much more into the city’s history in this blog post (I could go on for a while… lol), but given that it was the city where the Boston Tea Party and Boston Massacre took place, Boston is known by many to be the birthplace of the American Revolution. East Coast Driving and Boston Accents A couple more honest first impressions that Lucas and I experienced in Boston: East Coast drivers drive much faster than West Coast drivers, and Boston accents are more prominent than we thought! Truthfully, Lucas and I probably stick out like sore thumbs here in the northeast… lol! The words, “Harvard Yard,” “lobster,” “daughter,” “father,” “door,” and “chowder,” are only a few of the words we’ve noticed that are said differently here! And on a random note, the good news is that two of the words I listed (lobster and chowder), are INCREDIBLE in the northeast! Will we ever be Patriots fans? VERY unlikely (#GoHawks), but we may entertain a Red Sox game or two ;) Things to Do in Boston Our first month spent in Boston was filled with touristy adventures to help us get a kick-start at experiencing our new city. Did we finish furnishing our apartment and unpacking all of our belongings within the first month? Absolutely not… lol. We figured that we’d have plenty of time to settle-in to our apartment once the weather gets colder. For now, we wanted to embrace the beautiful fall weather that consisted of sunshine and cloudless skies! There are a TON of fun things to do in Boston, but here are 5 Things To Do in Boston (based on what we experienced during our first month living here!):
The PNW will always be home, and we are very ready to return once we are able to do so. However, I have to be honest with you that we’re slowly falling in love with New England’s charm. As we continue to explore, we end up finding more things to celebrate in the northeast! Can’t wait to see what else we find and experience!
Cheers to our first month living in New England! Gen
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