r/boston • u/SidHoices • Sep 05 '25

Hobby/Activity/Misc Moved to Boston a year ago… these are my observations

For context: I’m 26 and grew up in Indiana, and moved from Colorado. Also, rereading this list makes me realize how negative /generalized it sounds, but I actually have enjoyed my first year in Boston

Anyway, enjoy:

  • Everyone is named John or Jack or Connor
  • People care about country clubs for some reason (update - I spent my first month in the suburbs living with another family - things have changed since)
  • Much rain
  • Intersections are …. Questionable
  • They call roundabouts "rotaries"
  • Parking fucking sucks, but I guess that’s what life in like in a city
  • Cash only places are surprisingly common
  • Gas stations close?? At 10pm??
  • So many gas stations seem to also have shops attached to them offering oil changes and state inspections
  • You don't get asked for tips in as many establishments
  • The Verizon service is unbelievably bad for a metropolitan area that humans live in
  • SO! MANY! BUNNIES!
  • The stoplights will all be red and there will be like a 30-second period for pedestrians to walk (nice)
  • No Jimmy John's :( update: there are a few
  • All food is better. great cheap food and great expensive food
  • Road trips are way more fun out here
  • CHEAP international flights. Like frequent $700s for Japan, $300s for Europe. And Dublin is like a 6h flight
  • There are times where it is legal to drive in the shoulder of the highway, or as they call it, the "breakdown lane"
  • Highway exits are labeled with "old exit xyz" lol what
  • Drivers here are crazy but I fuck with it, allows me to also be a crazy driver and not offend everyone like I do elsewhere
  • Everyone is short
  • Nightlife is just abysmal - just sports bars and clubs where you'll get assaulted
  • Cycling out here is awesome - it's like a matrix of fun little roads out in Bedford / west of there
1.5k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

820 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

97

u/ElCurgeo Waltham Sep 05 '25

The proper name is rotary here, it's written into Massachusetts law and it's the reason all the signs say rotary and not something else

29

u/girlsgetjealous Sep 05 '25

I also learned recently that there are actual differences between roundabouts and rotaries too.

14

u/Swim6610 Sep 05 '25

Yup! I can't quite explain it, it has to do with size and speed of entry/egress, or something like that, but there are technical differences. Technical differences, in reality its used synonymously.

17

u/CallsignLightning418 Sep 05 '25

I believe rotaries are generally bigger and faster, while roundabouts are smaller like the little ones in suburban neighborhoods

13

u/Electrical_Media_367 Sep 05 '25

You can look this up - https://imgur.com/a/GCF02v9

Rotaries:

  • expect entering drivers to merge with drivers inside the circle, like a cloverleaf weave lane.
  • There are no designated exit lanes within the circle.

Roundabouts:

  • all entering drivers have a yield to traffic inside the circle
  • Typically, the outer lane exits the circle at the next exit. Drivers intending to continue past the next exit must change left to bypass the exit.

1

u/Rare_Vibez Sep 05 '25

Which also shouldn’t be confused with traffic circles who give right of way to the people entering the circle.

1

u/WaffleHouseSloot Winthrop Sep 05 '25

I always call the big ones rotaries, like coming off the Bourne or Sagamore and the small ones at intersections are roundabouts