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I also recognize that Boston isn’t exactly known for rolling out the welcome mat.
“Massachusetts consistently ranks amongst the top 10 states for out-migration. You think about U-Hauls leaving Massachusetts, not entering Massachusetts,” said John Boyd Jr., the principal of corporate site selection firm The Boyd Co. “The big challenges that many of our relocating clients face leaving the South for New England and for Massachusetts has to do with taxes. The cost-of-living/affordability is a major challenge for relocating Southerners into Boston.”
If you are a Southerner considering a move to Boston, fret not about fitting in. (The cost of living is not something I can help you with. Sorry.)
While outsiders moving to Boston tend to work in high-salaried fields like the life sciences and tech, there are still plenty of reasons why people of all backgrounds want to live here — and have done so successfully.
What’s the secret to going from “outsider” to belonging here?
Don’t be someone you’re not.
I spent my first few years up here wandering the campus of Boston College mindful of never, ever saying a certain four-letter word: “y’all.”
Big mistake.
Fast-forward 17 years, and “y’all” emerges in every third sentence I utter.
“I always love being a little different. When I moved here, there was practically no one else from the South,” said Elizabeth Erdreich-White, an art consultant who grew up in Alabama and moved to Boston in the late 1980s after stints in New Orleans, New York City, and Paris.
Moving here from down South must have been a culture shock. Some advice:
“A person here will say, ‘Go north on I-93 and take Exit 24.’ I would say, ‘You go past the baker’s house, and you turn left, and then there’s that white fence that’s no longer there,’” Erdreich-White said with a laugh. “When I give directions, it’s a story, and people up here give directions like a proper person.”
But don’t be afraid to continue the Southern tradition of small talk in other social venues, whether it’s with a waiter or a bank teller or a group of strangers at a party. It can pay off in new friends and work connections.
“I’m interested in other people, genuinely,” Erdreich-White said. “That’s been a cool thing for me personally and in my business.”
Embracing one’s Southern-ness can be quite the party trick, too.
The late, great Vogue and Newsweek writer Julia Reed of Greenville, Miss., famously scored a gig at The New York Times by serving Southern food at a dinner party.
Pimento cheese, ham biscuits, smoked pulled pork, fried okra — you’d be surprised at how even the most uptight Yankee will break into a smile after a few courses of Southern fare.
Don’t like what’s served? Like Bostonians, Southerners don’t refrain from expressing their displeasure.
For “The Devil Wears Prada” fans: Southern culinary critique follows the same “pursed lips = catastrophe” formula as Miranda Priestley fashion reviews. In the South, a relative may bite into a biscuit, purse her lips, and deliver a faux compliment like “The added cheddar was a bold choice, dear.”
Here in Boston, sarcasm reigns supreme.
“Boston is famous for its sarcasm, and then you have Southern versions of that like ‘bless your heart” and clutching the pearls,” said Jonathan Soroff, a longtime Boston social columnist who lived in the South while attending Duke University in Durham, N.C. “There’s a similarity in terms of humor.”
It’s true.
A born-and-bred Beacon Hill resident regaled a dinner party I attended with a story about running into a former neighbor.
“I’m sorry, but I thought you had died!” the former neighbor said.
“I just moved to the Back Bay.”
“Well, isn’t that worse?”
Boston Brahmins like that former neighbor no longer run the show, however. Today, it’s a city fueled by a variety of industries and points of power, from health care to higher education to finance and technology.
“When I was young, Boston was the city of tribes,” Soroff added. “All of that has completely changed.”
According to Erdreich-White, “Boston has evolved.”
“What has kept me here is that I love how it’s now a way more diverse mix of people,” she said, “but there’s still the fact you can live in a city that’s got the assets of a city but that still feels small.”
For some, Boston is just a four-year waiting room; it’s the place you go to college and then move on. But for others, yours truly included, the city strikes the right balance of small town (or even European) charm with cosmopolitan features like the Boston Symphony Orchestra, art museums, great restaurants, and a major airport.
The high cost of living drives people away, but “Boston continues to kind of reinvent itself,” Boyd said. “It’s an attractive city for young professionals given the cultural amenities, the diverse nightlife, professional sports, the beach and coastal living opportunities, and access to high-paying jobs.”
Southerners can even rejoice in the tailgate culture, whether it’s college football at Boston College or the New England Patriots. Of course, it was a lot more fun to watch when Matt Ryan and Tom Brady played for those teams.
Nobody interviewed for this story is wearing rose-colored glasses while they sip their sweet tea. They recognize Boston still has a way to go in terms of fully embracing inclusivity, but there are plenty of signs the city is shedding its cold reputation.
Maybe the influx of Southerners has something to do with that?
But at the end of the day: Neither Southerners nor Bostonians pronounce their R’s.
There’s just a lot of difference in the delivery, y’all.
Send comments to camsperance@gmail.com. Subscribe to the Globe’s free real estate newsletter — our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design — at Boston.com/address-newsletter. Follow us on X @globehomes.
Send comments to camsperance@gmail.com. Subscribe to our newsletter on Boston.com/realestate and follow Address @globehomes.
Surprise: Another weekend and there’s more rain on the way. It’s bad enough we’ve had to post a First Alert.
For now, we’ll watch as clouds thicken today. We’ll squeeze out some drops later this afternoon and evening.
A weather maker is winding up in Canada, wrapping in cold air. All of that is going to dive down to New England.
We’re in the thick of it tomorrow. Rain will be coming at us in bursts with some dry time in between. Winds will likely push past 50 mph in Boston.

Those winds will eat away at temperatures; with wind chills barely above freezing. And no – not just in the morning – but the afternoon, too!
It’s so cold there’s the threat of snow as that rain bumps into colder air over the Berkshires, Worcester Hills and southern New Hampshire right up to Mount Washington.
The snow isn’t going to pile up but just know there could be some flakes flying over our highest hills.
The blue on our Futurecast map marks the spots where snow could mix with rain.
Rain spins out by Saturday evening but not before dumping about half an inch over Boston.
We’ll try to salvage the rest of the weekend with temperatures in the upper 60s by Sunday. Still, there’s the threat of bits and pieces of rain.
By the way, this isn’t any weekend, it’s the last weekend of spring. Meteorological summer starts on June 1.
The first day of summer remains drab and dreary with more rain chances and temperatures in the low 60 on Monday.
Federal immigration demands are once again centered on Massachusetts.
The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday sent three letters to Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox, Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins and Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden demanding, among other things, information on how many ICE detainers BPD has received and declined to honor from 2022 to 2026 and any communication between the three departments related to immigration.
House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said in a statement that “releasing repeat criminals back to the streets solely because of their immigration status is crazy, and that’s exactly what Boston is doing.”
But Democrats push back on that framing.
“You’re familiar with Jim Jordan and his antics,” said Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey. “This is more circus, it’s more theater and it’s not making our community safe.”
A spokesperson for the City of Boston wrote, “the city has provided this information many times…” going on to say “…these policies are part of keeping Boston the safest major city in America.”
The letters call for the documents to be sent to the House Judiciary Committee by June 10th at 5:00 pm. District Attorney Hayden’s office told NBC 10 they are reviewing the letter, neither Commissioner Cox or Sheriff Tompkins responded to requests for comment.
On the Market
At first glance, Joan Bennett Kennedy’s Back Bay home may not appear all that unusual, but the endless stories held within its walls illustrate how a sacred space became one woman’s shelter from the storm.
After divorcing Ted Kennedy in 1982, Bennett Kennedy returned to Boston and moved into 250 Beacon St. #10, and remained there for more than four decades until her death at age 89 in October. Now, her three-bedroom, three-bathroom home, which measures 2,075 square feet, is on the market at $2.59 million.
“Her home really played an important part in the transformation of her life,” her son, Ted Kennedy Jr., told the Globe. “She was a newly divorced woman coming back, trying to reestablish her roots in Boston, and she had her music, which was part of her unique identity, apart from being married to my father. She was seeking to reinvent herself and live on her own terms.”
It was there at 250 Beacon where Bennett Kennedy restarted her life. She earned a master’s degree in music education at 44, and became a staple on the Boston classical music scene, thanks to her lifelong dedication to the piano. But it was also where she faced significant struggles, ranging from depression to alcoholism. She didn’t hide her battles at a time when they weren’t commonly discussed.
“She paved the way for many other women who were suffering in silence,” said Kennedy Jr. “The Boston community just took her in and provided her with friendship and support.”
The circa-1925 building features an elegant lobby that leads to the elevators. Inside the fifth-floor unit, a foyer flows into a hallway and into the spacious living room, where hardwood floors run throughout and a wood-burning fireplace sits under a unique carved mantel surrounded by marble. But it’s the windows that capture the eyes, with views of the treetops and the Charles River in the distance.
“She would sit at her piano in the condo every afternoon for hours,” said Kennedy, who noted that the home later served as the spot where his mother penned “The Joy of Classical Music,” a guide for introducing classical music to families. Prominent musical figures, including John Williams, Seiji Ozawa, and Arthur Fiedler, were frequent guests.
The open floor plan continues in the dining area and library, filled with built-in bookcases and oversized windows.
The living room fireplace is two-sided; on its opposite side is the primary bedroom suite, with built-in bookshelves and a massive bay window with beautiful views. The primary suite features an en-suite bathroom with a pink vanity.
“These front rooms, all three of them, the amount of glass and the size of these windows are just magnificent,” said Linda Barrett of Douglas Elliman, who has the listing and knew Kennedy for years. “Being on the fifth floor, she sat right at the tree line, looking at the Charles River.”
A second of three full bathrooms has elegant marble tiles and a step-in shower. Across the hallway are two closets for storage and the galley kitchen with green/blue cabinetry and stainless steel appliances.


There are three bedrooms, one with teal carpeting and ample built-in storage.
The home has central air, and the building has a live-in superintendent. The fee is $1,725.39 per month. The piano is not included as part of the sale.
Our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design, with expert advice and insider neighborhood knowledge.
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