Random Observations

My Boston kids- notice the RS shirt, the Celtics hat and the local softball team shirt. 

Some random observations in the 2 weeks since living here.  We live in Chelmsford, Mass- which is around 30 miles from Boston. We are less than 10 miles from the NH border... so maybe we live more of a NH lifestyle here- I'm not sure. So my observations can't be for "Boston" per say- it might be totally different there.

I grew up in Western Pa- went to college in NW Pa and have lived in Columbus for 16 years. Other than the fact that Western Pa has more "local" eateries and smaller towns, I never felt there was a huge difference in things there. Cost of living was similar, stores were similar, etc.  I have found that this area is very different from what I am used to in the Mid-West (can't speak for any other part of the country).

Nothing is BIG here. The grocery stores are small (even the ones that say Supermarket are smaller than the Westerville Giant Eagle, which I never thought was that big). The Walmarts are smaller, The malls are much more spread out and smaller... it seems most "big box" stores here are smaller by nature. It's very interesting- and causes me to go to more stores! 

Eggs are brown. In my local grocery I can literally only buy one kind/carton of egg that is white. I didn't even bother- I just bought brown. But, they are also cheaper. So, that's good. 

People talk funny. haha. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

No one swims apparently.  Well, that's not entirely true- but public pools are very few and far between. The ones they do have are TINY.  Most people who are into that kind of thing join private Swim/Tennis clubs. We don't play tennis so not sure that will be our thing. Not to mention the fact that there is a wait list at pretty much every club and it costs about 3x what I was used to paying in Ohio. ahem. Guess we'll see what we decide to do. There are lots of public pond/lake/river beaches. And, we are only about an hour away from an Ocean beach. 

They haven't really jumped on the fro-yo craze here. I remember when Orange Leaf opened in Westerville the line was out the door for weeks.  We went to the OL here when it was on it's 5th day and only one other person was in there. We went again last night- same thing.  Also saw a different Fro-Yo place on Friday near where we were eating that appeared to also be new- and also practically empty.  But- all of the farm hard ice cream places do a kickin' business.  Maybe it's all what you know.

They are really really serious about their garbage and recycling.  We got a SEVEN PAGE booklet from the town about our garbage and recycling rules. SEVEN PAGES.  Why can't we just put our trash out each week and call it a day?  Not to mention the fact that our driveway is about 1/4 of a mile long and our cans have to go the WHOLE WAY TO THE END. eek. Stuff you don't consider when buying a house. ;)

Everyone warned me about the price of things here- that it would be so much more expensive.  While some things (like property, utilities and insurance) are- the vast majority of things seem to be the same, or in some cases, cheaper.  Groceries and Gas I thought for sure would kill us and they are actually probably slightly cheaper than Oh (I guess no overhead for huge stores!) Kids activities and camps do seem a bit higher, but not hugely.  So, overall I am pleasantly surprised about that. 

I think that's it for now.  

We found a softball team for Amelia and games start tonight! Yay! Great way to meet people.

Also- I know people have asked to see pictures. I will take some. It's just that the house isn't nearly "ready" or how I want it to look, but it will be a long time before it is. Considering we keep having one problem after another to fix- we haven't had a lot of time or money for "details". Plus I want to live in it for awhile before I decide some things like paint.