Boston or Atlanta for a new job

[Rloop]

Hi all,

Just received a great VP level job offer that would require relocation from Austin, TX. Normally I would quickly jump on this, but I now have a wife and a 15 month old boy, so I would appreciate your help in thinking this through.

CEO of the company wants this position to be near HQ in the Woburn, MA area. The guy I would report to wants this to be in Atlanta (North West area of 285). I have been given an opportunity to influence this decision based on where we would prefer to live.

I have lived in large cities (San Fran, Northern Virginia) so I know what that is like. But I know little about these two cities other than a bit of web surfing and a few business trips over the years.

I swore I would never go back to the snow belt, but how cold and snowy is Boston? Wife thinks Boston has more to offer culturally. I am curious about the education system for my son. We think we could place our son in Austin public schools (Lakeway area) because they seem to be very good, and I know several good private schools exist. What about public and private schools in Boston and Atlanta?

Wife wants to go back to work in a few years, she is in materials procurement and supply chain for technology companies. Boston seems good for this, what about Atlanta?

Any thoughts and your experience are appreciated!

Lou

[stomachmonkey]

Tough choice.

Coming from Austin the Atlanta heat won't be a shocker but the humidity will make it uncomfortable.

Nice people in Atlanta.

I love the NE so I'd opt for Boston.

No familiarity with school systems in Atlanta.

Public schools in the NE tend to be pretty good.

In Boston you'll pay more for good school district in terms of getting less house for your money.

End of day if this were my decision then good public schools would be priority number one.

You can make any house a home.

A good school district is one of the things that will help maintain resale value on your home.

[id10t]

Neither for me, but of the 2 I think Atlanta...

[Hugh R]

Atlanta is humid, but then so is Austin. You'll get more house in Atlanta for the $.

[widgeon13]

Both are nice cities but I prefer Boston and schools should be good in the area. The kicker would be that real estate will cost more in the Boston area. Winters aren't too bad.

[MotoSook]

Atlanta offers a lot of options for living and when your wife is ready for work, I bet Altanta will offer her more options too.

Boston is cool and I've never sent more than a week there but I'd have to l'd way out of the city to feel like I'm not a sardine...and I am use to Chicago!

[Talewinds]

Spent time in both...
No question, Boston.

[MotoSook]

Btw: congrats on the job!

[Chocaholic]

If the weather isn't a concern...I'd vote for Boston. Lived in Atlanta for years. Very homogenous. Chain everything, traffic, impersonal, etc. Boston is lightyears ahead of Atlanta culturally. Just my 2 cents (never lived in Boston). MIT, Harvard, Boston Coll, U Mass, etc.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Boston:

people aren't very friendly, especially when measured against the Midwest

Schools are some of the best, if not the best, in the country

Woburn office means you could live in a number of nice places in the Boston area, or Marblehead or even NH

Restaurants are some of the worst in the country

Summers are nice, winters aren't that bad at all.

Culturally, Boston is not Manhattan, I would say more on par with Chicago

No deals on houses even in these times.

Infrastructure, with the exception of the new tunnel, is old, and even that it looks like they built it in 1955.

Boston (itself) could be a world class city. it just isn't. Wellesley, Newton, Weston, Marblehead (among others) are however, some of the best places in the country to raise a family.



Atlanta, I would think, must have great BBQ. I would choose Atlanta.

[stomachmonkey]

Was thinking about this on the way to lunch.

Don't know what industry or what your role would be but the CEO wants it to be in Mass.

Why?

I can see the guy you'd report to wanting you to be in his locale.

How long has he been in his position? What is his title? During your interview did you get any vibe from the CEO re your bosses future?

Is there anything going on in your industry or the company that might mean a shift in business away from Atlanta at some point in the future?

Also consider if you chose Boston would that require travel to Atlanta? How much/often and for how long at a stretch?

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

Schools are some of the best, if not the best, in the country

LI are better.

[red-beard]

Not to throw this into PARF, but you may also want to consider your position in the political spectrum.

I'd love to live in Boston for a few years. I lived in the opposite end of the state and spent some time there and a lot of time in Cape Cod.

But I expect that my political slant would be an issue, unless I commuted from New Hampshire.

[Rloop]

Great info everyone!

Politically I am more suited to Texas, but have been OK in places like San Fran. New Hamphshire may work -- will need to check on communtes into Woburn. I think I can figure it out with the traffic feature on google maps.

Regarding the CEO and my future boss, they have been trying to get my future boss to Boston for a long time. My gut says most of the decision makers are in Boston, so that might be the better location proffesionally. This company has ended up in several locations because of acquisitions over time, but Boston is HQ for the USA and for International. BTW, my industry is wireless - cell phone related. I am an engineer and an operations guy, and have engineered and operated wireless systems worldwide.

Good to hear about public schools in Boston. Also several comments that winter isn't too bad. Anyone able to compare with Northern Virginia?

Thanks to all, Lou

[Monza_dh]

I grew up here and still live in Boston and you will find it all here both good and bad. Crime wont be as bad as Atlanta (though we just had a 5 person drug slaying over the weekend) the burbs have some of the best communities and public shools in the country and can be a great place to settle down.

Real Estate is pricey but you wont see another drop here for a while. in some locations prices are holding steady or on the rise If you are in high tech or biotech there a boatload of companes and opportunities here if you stay for the long haul and people have an internal drive for work that I do not find in many other locations in the US.

Traffic sucks, Atlanta does as well however you will never hit 120 in the summer and you'll get a culturaly diverse NE city (without the hassle of say NYC) with great sports, museums and great 4 season outdoor activities starting only 1/2 hr away. If you were single I would say Atlanta, raising a family I would say Boston.

I think the most important peice is that the HQ is in Boston and assume you would have more opportuniites moving up the ladder being close to the mother ship.

Boston.com


Good luck.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Rloop

......

Regarding the CEO and my future boss, they have been trying to get my future boss to Boston for a long time. My gut says most of the decision makers are in Boston, so that might be the better location proffesionally. This company has ended up in several locations because of acquisitions over time, but Boston is HQ for the USA and for International...

That's a big plus in the Boston column.

Atlanta may just be delaying the inevitable.

I've seen valuable people get left behind in corporate moves. Not that they weren't good. The bean counters are not too concerned and in all honesty unless the company moves to East Bum**** they stand a good chance of finding local replacement talent and they know it.

Just something to think about.

[Monza_dh]

sorry, forgot to post some pics of the local weather, one P-car related found on the web!!

Famous Blizzard of '78:

[Shaun @ Tru6]

January 2005 we got a little snow.

[Deschodt]

You're gonna miss Austin, I bet.... But I vote Boston too...

[Edit] Personally, I'd stay in Austin ! Better place to raise a kid, really nice city and beautiful area of the country, less hectic and fast paced than Boston - better weather too. But I'm not a rat-race-corporate type, so feel free to ignore me and take the promotion ;-)

[scottmandue]

Never been to Atlanta but have worked in Boston a few times.

If the opportunity presented itself I would considerer moving there, a lot to like about the city.

Traffic is epic bad (coming from a native Los Angeleno) however mass transit if really good (again coming from a MT challenger L.A. boy)

if I were moving there I would find housing walking distance to a train stop.