September 1

While the date may seem innocuous in other places, even evincing pleasant images of barbecues or the excitement of a baseball season's twilight, September 1 is a giant on/off switch in Boston. The metro area boasts something around 60 colleges and universities, and the student population lives in the multi-family houses that take the place of apartment buildings in this part of the country. You'd think things would get more crowded with a flood of tourists over the summer. But for natives, it's the other way around. On September 1, the population bulges with students and sucks the last breaths of summer to bring on not only a harsh winter, but all those kids.

The way Bostonians view the arrival of September 1 is best explained through a graphic by Leif Jones:



The most significant pivot on this date is the flipping of apartments. I can't verify this, but about 98.7% of all apartments in the Boston area rotate on September 1. In some ways it sounds like a massive collusion amongst owners, forcing the renters into a crowded market for higher prices. The competition is so fierce that you're forced to pay first, last, security, realtor's fee, and about anything else you can think of in one large payment minutes after deciding to live the next 12 (or 9) months in one space. I've lived in a number of apartments in the Boston area, and if you want to have fun with a real estate agent, show up on August 10 and talk about finding an apartment for September 1. I did this a few years in a row, and each time--with different agents--they broke out into a sweat and told me I was too late. Every time, I got an apartment.

Still, you'd be better off sleeping on someone's couch and grabbing something October 1, when prices ease up a bit and you're not milling around someone's living space at the same time as other prospective renters. If you don't, you're in a lifelong spiral around this date. Even if you're someone who's not moving because of anything academic, you're subject to this date because it's the starting point of a life of renting. The first year, you'll rent on September 1 for 12 months. So guess what? Next year when you're looking to switch apartments because you're sick of dealing with your roommate's? When it's time for a new apartment you leave when your lease has expired, again hinging on the same date as last year: September 1.

Directions

Getting around Massachusetts and particularly Metro Boston can be a real challenge. Arrow distributes a 264-page guide of the Metro Boston area (and similar guides for the Cape and Western Mass). This is a sacred, spiral-bound piece of driving equipment necessary for any adventure on the state or city thruways. Boston is famous for having roads built on cow paths, because of the spaghetti-bowl look of them. However, the truth is even more complicated.

To me, a quick look describes it. Below is New York city with its famous grid system, all blocks squared off nicely and even worse, they're numbered in order.


And Boston:


Believe it or not, the two screens above are the same resolution. Boston is a tangled web. When you consider how much is under construction at any given time, the headache just gets worse. Because of its complexity, a Bostonian can (needs to) spout out multiple sets of directions to one particular destination. He or she can discuss the pros and cons of traffic conditions, lights, and construction, too. When I first moved to Boston, I witnessed several of these brain cramps as some Quincy natives spoke at length about driving from one part of town to another (in Quincy). It takes skill and a vast knowledgebase to comfortably navigate these roads, memorize all the one-ways, and understand how a wrong turn can cost you 10 or 20 minutes before you can turn around and make your way back. Once I began to understand some of these roads, I found discussions like this stimulating.

If you can speak for 30 minutes on the different ways of going from Central Square to the North End, you've got hard-earned respect.

Boston Left

Ever heard of the Jersey stop? Massachusetts has its own patented maneuver as well: the Boston Left. Yes, these moves are technically illegal (failure to yield), but someone new to the area must be well-versed for survival.

There are two types of lefts that qualify as Boston ones. The first is in a T intersection, where a driver is trying to turn left onto a well-traveled (i.e. crowded) road. The only way this can be done in a dense metropolis like Boston of course, is to go halfway and block one lane of traffic. Whether you are the driver or the victim being blocked, remember that you have the right of way.

The second type of Boston Left comes at a cross intersection. The situation is otherwise much the same: there is simply too much traffic to nicely make a left turn. No matter what, there's going to be traffic. So, the only way to complete a left turn is to cut off some sort of artery and block people from moving forward. For definition 2, this means waiting until a green light at the intersection, and flooring it--the driver cuts off traffic that is coming from the opposite direction. This squeezes in a quick turn before people are really moving. One driver pulling a Boston Left is acceptable, two drivers doing this is pushing it, and three means you're justified in getting mad.