Alabama

Question: I'm moving from alabama to boston and i was wondering if i'm going to lose my accent?

(Posted by: I ♥ U on 2010-01-18 10:33:23)

And if Boston is worth moving to?

Posted by: Geology Rock Star on 2010-01-18, 12:56:10

You might lose a bit of it, as well as pick up a bit of the New England accent as well Boston has a lot to offer. There are many things to do in the city. However the weather will be a huge shock, especially the winter time. The drivers here are very aggressive, and you may consider the locals to be rude (we can be rude, but will be friendly once you get to know us) The previous answerer said there will be a real culture shock and that person is correct. Attitudes and values are very different in Boston than they are in Alabama

Posted by: okayokayokay on 2010-01-18, 12:14:32

My mother came from Alabama and still has a residue of her accent. If you move here be prepared for a culture shock. You'll make a little bit more money but be prepared for things to be a bit more expensive.

Posted by: Matt on 2010-01-18, 15:27:57

Frankly, you'd better try to or you may get some rude stares...kind of like when New Englanders speak with their accents in the Deep South!

Posted by: Dannigirl on 2010-01-18, 16:40:20

I love Boston, depending on what and why your going there will determine if its worth it or not. I lived the most of my life then moved to FL. I just could not take the winters anymore Oh and I did not loose my accent.

Posted by: Melissa E on 2010-01-18, 18:49:14

Probably gradually, over time. Then when you make a return visit you'll pick it right back up again like you never lost it. And yes, it is well worth moving to, especially once the economy really gets going again! You'll probably hate our winters (we do too!) but IMHO you can't beat a New England summer!

Posted by: Chris J on 2010-01-20, 21:15:30

Yea you might lose some of it. But I doubt you will lose all of it. Especially if you go back to Alabama multiple times during the year to visit. Boston is worth moving to for education or a career in science/ law. But if you're here for something else, it might not be the best place for you. It all really depends on the individual and how comfortable they feel here. By the way, the winters are AWFUL. You can't believe how awful it is. Even when you live here, you will still be asking, "How the hell can it be so cold!???! "

Posted by: Jas on 2010-01-21, 20:10:13

I grew up in Boston and it is worth it depending on why you are moving there. If it's education then you will have a pretty good experience. It will be cold as hell but you will adjust to it. Southern accents are not that strange in Boston. There are plenty of people with ties to the south and lots of southerners who've moved there as far back as slavery up until now. Most people who relocate there do it due to family ties, to go to the best schools in the country or to for their medical careers. Or they live in surrounding smaller or more rural states and towns and want to move to a bigger city. Don't expect people to be polite, hold doors for you or say yes ma'am and no ma'am. In fact they will ask that you promptly cease calling them sir or ma'am. To northerners (especially Boston) they associate those niceties with the elderly and do not want to be addressed as an elderly person if they are not at least in their 60's or 70's. So saying yes ma'am and ma'am or yes sir or no sir to anyone other than someone in their 60's and above will most likely be taken as a not-so-serious insult and they might correct you and asked to be addressed by name instead. Expect people to speak there minds with no holding back at all. Bostonians black and white and other are very outspoken which comes off as rude but is seen as excercizing the right to free speach. Overall when you make a friend in Boston it will be a friend for life Bostonians are seemingly rude and outspoken but will be a friend for life. We keep it real at all times. Boston is also very diverse. Dispite popular belief Boston is comprised of lots of African Americans, Jamaican, Haitian, Cape Verdeans (aka Portugese) , Italian, Irish who control most things there, German, Jewish. Puerto Rican, Dominican and a lot more. So be prepared to be exposed to lots of different cultures once you learn your way around the metro areas. I love Boston, live in Atlanta now and will be relocating back to Boston. Boston will offer you far more job security than most places in the south due to solid employment laws but it's also very expensive. Lastly in the south I've leaned that being polite and patient might get you a job in the south but being polite and patient and not aggressive will get you "left behind " in the north. If you are not very persistent and very aggressive it will be taken that you don't really want the job and someone more aggressive and persistent will be chosen over you. So drop the southern niceties when looking for a job. Be professionally aggressive. P.S. Racism there is NOT "so thick you can cut it with a knife " It exists but not like that. It will be different from southern racism but there are no race wars about to happen, that's an over exaggeration of the real level of racism besides African American Bostonians are quick to put that in check anyway. Our racists are well trained in the consequences of their actions and words, don't let the media reports fool you to think that African Americans there are just passively hoping for change. We take change into our own hands litterally but these days there is hardly any extreme racism going on any more than any place else in the U.S.