#massachusetts things

[thirstywhitedad]

pulled into Dunkin for my daily $2 iced coffee and I’m in the parking lot getting ready to smoke a bowl and the guy next to me is rolling a joint

[lucid-girl]

King Richards faire is always a great time😊✨👑

[quixoticanarchy]

Hello semi-patron saint of the mbta! I am actually moving to boston and will be almost entirely reliant on the bus system and maybe the orange line (but all the places i want to go are on the green line.... 🥺). do you have any general recommendations? things to do/not do/watch out for on the bus? (i am a country bumpkin and lack all social skills so jot that down)

thank you tremendously for any knowledge you wish to bestow!! in supplication i give you this fruit 🍎🍉🍊🍋🥝🍐🫐🍇

Thank you for the offering, I accept the fruit :) I have no idea if this is helpful but I like transit systems a normal amount

Idk how familiar you are with any other buses and trains, but I mean the mbta generally works like other transit systems in most regards. I’m always torn between dire complaints and protesting that at least it’s better than a lot of places. Boston (and nyc) do have a certain hm,, interpersonal public coldness, I would say, so don’t expect to talk to people. Or make eye contact. Or smile. Results may vary and I used to run little social interaction experiments on the mbta in high school, but by and large Bostonians in public do not want you to interact with them. They might help you if you need it but they won’t small-talk.

Specifics I will try to put under a cut lol sorry if it doesn’t work

As far as the T goes I like the orange line, so that’s good. It usually functions except for a couple times it’s caught fire. I’ve also heard the best random subway musicians playing in orange line stations. Also you can at least connect directly to the green line from orange. The green line is.. not my beloved. I’ve taken it more than any other and despite the fact that Boston has had snow for longer than it’s been a city, does the snow disrupt aboveground green line service every year? Yes. The downtown green line stops are pretty close together so if you’re okay with walking, you don’t *need* to take too many trains around there. And the classic/historic/touristy downtown stuff is pretty walkable also, and close to transit options. The B/C/D/E green lines are quite slow, and D is fond of perpetually being under construction, but sometimes that’s inevitable.

The red line goes to some useful or fun places, it either works pretty well or not well at all. South station is useful and has silver line connections including to the airport. (The silver line is a bus pretending to be a good replacement for a removed train line.. long story.) North station is not as useful imo and no, you can’t go directly from north to south station. 🙃 The blue line is a bit irritating to connect to but it does go to a nice salt marsh.

Buses... they are present. They.. work, though not always on their intended schedules. The only buses that have never betrayed me are the 39 and the 86. There are many parts of the city the trains don’t reach, so it’s very good to know the buses, and sometimes their routes are more direct than trains, which are on more of a spoke model. Also they’re cheaper than trains. I’ve commuted by bus and train and it’s all doable, just give yourself spare time.

Anyway this is far too long but I feel strongly about buses and trains and I think they’re a good way to get to know a place. I took every train to each end of their respective lines, just to see what was there (mostly parking lots tbh). Long story short Boston transit has many irritating quirks but it does more or less work, and also apparently I miss it

[lile-the-dino]

You know you live in America when a cop is directing traffic at the Kentucky Fried chicken drive thru on a Thursday night 😌

[kylo-ren-jepsen]

I somehow put Dunkin' Free Donut Friday on my calendar

[writeitinsharpie]

Rule 1 of driving in Massachusetts: speed through the yellow light so you don't get caught by the red

[whyarethishappen]

just Massachusetts things: when you go to Papa Gino's and get a steak bomb and your hands smell like onions for a week

[thirstywhitedad]

Tell them YOU. MEAN. BUSINESS.

Call 1-800-WIN-WIN-1, the law offices of Mark E. Salamone, right now.