Boston - Tell me more

Raptor.45:

I grew up in a close suburb of Boston and know the city very well. In terms of a lifestyle perspective I can shed some light. Boston and its suburbs are an amazing place to settle down and have a family. It's also a fun place to grow up or go to college at. But as a big heads up the city blows for a young working single person and is not even remotely comparable to NYC. The bars are terrible and all close at 2am (lots of random puritan rules still in place which require them to). The roadway consists of paved over 18th century horse paths and consequently are a nightmare for getting around. The T (subway/public transpo) is a mess and not convenient at all for getting around. Restaurants and other attractions don't compare to NYC. Not nearly as many young people.

Also the T stops running a little after midnight and cabs are few and far between, sketchy, don't take plastic, and very expensive compared to NYC so good luck getting home after the 1:30am last call haha.

Also interested in this

Alright so I currently on Consulting in Boston (Duff can help with IB and a few others) but I can give you my perspective. Nightlife is tame compared to NYC. The T shuts down at 1:30 and cabs are non-existent after that. There are bars and places to go but not even in the same league as NYC. The finance community is fairly close knit but it is spread out throughout the city (Copley/Back bay vs. Financial District vs. Cambridge). For living I would go back bay or beacon hill (where myself and Patrick are) if you can find a place.

Let me know if you need anything else

Definitely less dense in terms of finance professionals, with the exception of the Financial District (which itself isn't that large). You will notice a lot funds have offices on the outskirts of the city or in the suburbs (Waltham comes to mind).

Boston is really tiny compared to NYC. Where you end up living will be entirely dependent on your personal preferences, but a sizeable portion of the city will be within half hour walking distance of your office, if that's something that is important to you (excluded would be Back Bay, Fenway/Kenmore, South End, and any of the suburbs). Cambridge is a really easy commute on the Red Line. I think general consensus is to avoid anything too far down the Green Line. Southie and the North End are really popular with young people. Beacon Hill is a great area if you are looking to class it up a bit.

I work downtown but am living in the burbs at the moment. I'll probably be moving the the fall and will most likely be targeting North End, Beacon Hill and maybe Cambridge or the Seaport. None of those places have all that much in common except they are easy commutes to work.

Edit: Forgot nightlife. Not much in common with NYC. Everything starts and ends earlier due to transportation. There are a lot of mediocre bars/lounges that will intentionally create lines at the door and deny people without proper attire and footwear. They generally charge NYC drink prices and love to have a cover fee. This was pretty foreign to me coming from NYC, with the exception of Meatpacking.

I'm more of a dive bar guy myself, and there are plenty of those all over Boston. I'll buy you a beer once you get to town.

Thanks a ton, I appreciate the insight. Some very helpful stuff.

Another thing I would like to know is events/happy hours. In NY it seems that almost every night, some broker is hosting a happy hour or some sort of event. Are those frequent in Boston? Conferences, charities, happy hour's, etc? I've heard of the Boston Hedge Fund group but am not familiar with any of the events that they host.

Happy hours aren't allowed here which isn't great. However now that it's getting warmer there are some really fun outdoor bars in the Back Bay. Not sure where you went to school but getting connected with young alumni groups in Boston is a good start, my school has one and I've met a bunch of people through that.

Yea, no happy hours in Boston - some places discount the food instead to get around it somewhat. Happy to provide further advice if you want to pm me, I can recommend a great real estate agent too, if you're looking.

most of the information are already discussed and beaten to death. always remember to use the search option before you post information like this. Check your PM for the list.

I am also looking for any personal info anyone may have on these companies. Any work experience or knowledge from friends as well.

It may help to add that I am not from Boston, so that is why I don't know much about its career opportunities.

some people really dislike boston, I'm pretty partial to it so take my post with that

Boston has some of the best fund management jobs out there...Fidelity/Wellington/Putnam are all based/have big offices there.

Boston has limited banking/trading jobs...some boutiques/MM shops have decent offices here like Harris Williams..

PE jobs are pretty good, but not NY. There's a number of higher end MM PE shops as well as Bain Cap.

Consulting jobs are prevalent, BCG/Bain are both HQ'ed in Boston and McK has a decent sized office. Other places like Monitor are there too.

All in all Boston is somewhat like NY but smaller. Cost of living is lower, but not that much lower. I'd say an apartment that would go for 2.25k in NY would go for 1.5k in Boston. For example, you can live in a luxury hi-rise in Boston and get a 2bedroom2bath for around 3k in a very good area.

Boston nightlife is ok, but it is not NY by any measure...everything closes at 2 AM...

breakinginnew gives a good idea about the city. Not quite sure about a 2br2ba for 3k in a luxury hi-rise though...

Boston is definitely not a banking center as compared to NYC. A lot more on the custody and fund/asset management side. Really depends on what you are looking to do. What is your background?

For S&T or IB, NYC would be the better option.

PE, VC and HF are much more prevalent in the Boston area. Banking does exist, but very few BB have banking offices in Boston (lots have S&T, research, but not your traditional banking). A lot of MM banks have regional offices in the area, including RayJay, Jefferies, TWP, Piper, etc. Lots of smaller shops as well, like Revolution Partners.

background: new york, born and raised, have lived in boston for about 4 years (college onwards)

nightlife: not horrendous, i.e. it exists. some decent clubs, alot of bars, scene changes every couple years. big thing that sucks is clubs are basically open from 11-2. Everything closes at 2. :( Does not compare to NY

restaurants: Some great restaurants in Boston, though obviously there are less options than in NY, tons of great stuff to find.

apartments: not really cheap, but significantly cheaper than NYC. again, main issue is lack of options; there aren't tons of nice condos that you can rent. Generally, the nicer buildings in boston that have rentals are apartment buildings. (not individual owners)Very diff from NYC in that sense.

transportation: boston must have been designed by a bunch of retarded drunk people. Traffic is terrible at times and it's really because alot of the lights aren't synchronized properly and there are tons of one-way streets in the wrong places. Avoid driving in Boston...it sucks, and the people are called MASSHOLES for a reason. T (subway) is okay, does not compare to NYC subway. Walking is okay to get around most of boston and cabs are okay. (not always easy to find)

weather: schizo. changes all the time, not much unlike NY though in terms of absolute temperature, though the winters tend to be worse.

I'd say on pretty much any subject the main disadvantage to Boston is the number of options available just cause its smaller.

breakinginnew pretty much described bos for you. it's a much quieter city that closes early. if you love italian food, you will be eating in the north end a lot. there also a bunch of great sushi places and reasonable prices on them too all over the city. i personally love Fugakyu and go at least twice a month. i use yelp.com for most of my dining recommendations and its very accurate for boston.

driving definitely sucks in boston and is way more confusing than nyc, but not as crazy in terms of cabs trying to get around you in impossible ways.

stay away from the suburbs unless you're married.

bad for raising families unless you're in certain neighborhoods, good for students

is it just me or is boston actually a really small city? i feel like there are very few places to go shopping (newbury, pru, malls, harvard square, a few shops on boylston, and that's pretty much it), and the restaurants are not that great, imo. it's a great place for college students due to the abundance of dorms, frats, and (relatively) cheap pizza/burger/chinese places. but i'd be pretty bored if i had to live there after college...NYC is way mo' betta!!!

Boston is a pretty small city, it takes one exit on 93 to get from the South End to the North End.

The cab experience in Boston in general is terrible. The lack of cabs during peak hours is horrendous. If you go to Government Center bars on a Fri/Sat night you will never find a cab. The drivers say they avoid the places with a lot of people because they don't want to deal with the drunk idiots. And you will find a ton of belligerent massholes talking about da FACKIN BROOINZ DYOOOD. The cab drivers will curse you out if you attempt to pay with a credit card because they don't want to pay the little fee and have to wait an extra day to get their cash. This is unlike NY where the cab drivers encourage you to use the cc machine and don't talk crap about your mother if you do choose to.

NY > Boston in most aspects but Boston does have its moments. You can get a pretty nice sized Brownstone in a quiet neighborhood for MUCH cheaper than NY. Great seafood too and there's definitely a good assortment of cuisines

Yeah, I always thought Boston would be pretty big until I went there. Right around the bay is pretty awesome, but the city shrinks in size drastically. I think it would be a cool place to work and live, but you have to have your expectations in check. Nothing can compare to NYC, but if you go into it with the mindset that this will be a smaller city, with its own cool features, you will be ok.

Great place to live as a student. Otherwise, not so much.

Entry-level jobs seem scarce, and competition seems fierce.

It's like this everywhere!

Yes, it's like that everywhere. Every city in the US is a bad city to begin a career in until you break in. Boston seems as good as anywhere else -- I personally love the city and there are plenty of good HF / PE / VC jobs to be had, as well as some good AM and MF shops.

Boston is a great place to start, build, or even finish a career. There are a ton of premier employers for a multitude of different career paths. The VC/PE scene is extremely robust, the population is youthful and educated (due to so many great schools in the area), and it is quite safe. It isn't the financial mecca that New York is, but definitely not a poor choice for a young professional.

VC scene in Boston is fierce

I know this may not be the answer you want but you might find this insightful:

Boston has one of the highest density of schools and many top students but only an average amount of hiring IB firms. The competition for these positions are tough especially since MIT and Harvard are right next door. Most firms here hope to snag a student right across the river and call it a day. Then you have BC and BU kids who search for off cycle positions during the school year. I would argue these schools have a pretty strong hold on recruiting.

Boston has a bigger consulting culture than IB culture - Bain, BCG, LEK, Monitor, Navigant and plenty of HBS professors opening up shop. As you can figure consultants are bigger prestige whores when it comes to recruiting.

PE is also big in Boston. Follows with the HBS and consulting cultures in the area. Also Cambridge is a tech and biopharma hub that attract investors. You'd be more likely to snag a job if you have a good understanding of those industries. Also most of the local IBs have a team focused on tech.

It's a small city. Network network network. Join the BSAS. Try to chat up financier bars. Crash the plenty of recruiting events.

Shoot for smaller firms with unstructured recruiting

PM me, I can point you to a few firms who are hiring. Whether you actually have a good chance or not is entirely luck of the draw, since as couchy said, it's a very competitive space here.