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Hi, everyone!

So who ISN'T originally from Massachusetts? If not, from where and what brought you to MA?

I'll be the first to say, me! I'm from Virginia ('tis home for me... it definitely took some getting used to up here) and grad school pretty much brought me here. But my church community and the general local history are keeping me here about 2 (or more?) years after graduation though (9 more months!). :)

Boston has definitely grown on me. I love it!

Best,
Chelsea :)

I was born in Buffalo, did most of my growing up in Pa., went to school in New York, and moved to Boston after graduation for work. The job disappeared six months later, but I stuck around, and I'm still here 12 years later. Boston's grown on me too. :)

I went to college in western NY! Two hours south of Buffalo. It was "oh so fun" during the winter. haha (I love the snow, so I couldn't complain too much.)

Chelsea :)

I hear you about the snow. What I don't get is why, after enduring winters in Pa. and NY, I chose to live in Boston instead of someplace warm and slush-free. Oh well, no accounting for taste, I guess. ;)

I moved here from Houston, Texas. I moved here about 4 months ago (after I got married). My husband is origionally from Palo Alto, CA, he moved out here b/c of a job.

I like Boston, it is a nice city, but I'm NOT looking forward to the winters.

-Kindli

Well, maybe we'll get fortunate this year too and have another very mild winter! (I'll try not to curse it and bring on the snow. :D) Boston in the winter though has its pretty moments (there are better moments outside the city, I will admit).

Speaking of outside the city, so far, I'm not a fan of the apple picking places north of Boston (specifically around Concord). Maybe I got spoiled in western NY... but paying $15 for a dinky bag of apples is not cool! Can anyone recommend a great place for apple picking where you pay by the pound and NOT by the bag?

Chelsea :)

I'm originally from New York City, but I've been in the Boston area for 18 years now, so it almost feels like home now ;-)

The primary reason I wound up here was because my college girlfriend (now my wife) landed a job in Boston.

Regarding apple picking, I know you pay by the pound at Marino's in Natick. They've also got a little train ride and a petting zoo, which is nice for the kids. But end up paying $1.50 per pound and there's a per head admission charge on top of that. So, I doubt you'd wind up saving money there.

We certainly haven't been to all the orchards around here, but I would expect that the closer you are to Boston the higher the prices will be, regardless of whether you're paying by the bag or by the pound. It's supply and demand; compared to western NY, we have a lot more people competing for the apples.

Born, raised, married and continuing to live in Western Massachusetts. The only thing I don't like about it is driving to work in the ice storms.

There are plenty of places to pick apples around here too!

Born in Portland, Maine; have lived also in California, New Hampshire and keep ending up in Massachusetts. I love New England, it's home, but I dream of leaving the burbs for wilder parts.

BEST apple-picking experience is Gould Hill in Contoocook, New Hampshire. Large orchards on top of a small mountains with lovely views. You can bring your picnic lunch...worth the drive and make it a day event. Stop at some of the used book stores in Bradford or Henniker on the trip back.

Any favorite Massachusetts authors?

I was born in Philadelphia and moved around a lot as a kid, to various suburbs of Detroit with some years in Buenos Aires, Argentina in between. Ended up in Delaware for high school and came to Boston for college. I've been here for about 7 years so far - I stuck around because I never saw anything of the city while I was in school. It wasn't until I'd graduated college that I managed to visit the inside of the BPL!