<p>helpmeout, Cambridge is not exactly a stand alone college town and it has a ghetto sandwiched between Harvard and MIT. Walking in that area at night is not prudent. And Boston is not a college town. It is a major misconception and myth that a city like Boston can be a college town. To be a college town, you have to (1) be a town and (2) have a dominent university that pretty much permeates all aspect of city life. Additionally, in a good college town, the town and gown relationship will be a healthy one. Boston fails miserably in all three counts. Ann Arbor is one of the top 5 college towns in the US, while Boston is not even a college town, and if it were, it would not be a good one, let alone a great one. Now if one likes large cities, Ann Arbor and Boston are not in the samer league. Boston is a large city while Ann Arbor is not. But as far as college towns go, and this thread is about college towns, Ann Arbor destroys Boston. It is not even close.</p>
<p>Also, I have spent a lot of time in Boston in the winter months. Boston is almost as windy, slightly warmer but it is wetter and snowier. I did not notice a significant different. Ann Arbor certainly does not make Boston feel like San Francisco. Sorry, but that is simply not accurate. New York or Philadelphia have slightly more pleasant winters than Ann Arbor, Boston does not.</p>