Yeah, I'm sure my 40+ years up there are nothing compared to your...what twenty something? 
Like I said...everyone opinion is different. Come back to me when you've spent 40 years up there and tell me how clean it is, how the weather is, how the economy is. (btw...you put words in my mouth-post and exagerated what I stated.) The cities I stated in my post are neighboring cities. Each one just about touches Boston.Every major city has certain sorrounding cities that are lower class, and what makes Boston unique is that none of those areas run in to the metro parts of Boston. They are not "in" Boston...Boston is it's own city. They are the subs of Boston and have more problems then the subs of say (I'll list the big cities of FL) Tallahassee, Palm Beach, Orlando, Daytona, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale and probably Miami. I also didn't state that Florida cities rival Boston architecture and history. Maybe you should read my post again. What the hell are you talking about regarding white trash population in Florida? ROFLMAO...your time must have been spent in more rural areas (dead center of Florida) and not in the major cities. While you were down here, did you speak to anyone? I've been living here over 3 years now and like I said, well over half the people I have met are from the North East. This state exploded in the last 10 years in population. I wonder where all the people came from and why? To be truthful, I hear the same story over and over again. Boston, New York, New Jersey, Penns., Conn., etc...all hating the winters, hating the weather and wanting to be somewhere warm and sunny. They don't call this the Sunshine state for nothing. 
First off - you exaggerated heavily on your assessment of Boston weather.....I think you said the winters are somehow getting longer , its below 60 seventy percent of the time, warm weather is only in weekly spurts - ( it's been in the 80's for almost two months now)
You clearly didn't live within the city when you lived in MA, and if you did what part? I have been living in Boston for pretty much my entire life, and I guess things have changed vastly since you left, as pretty much nothing you said about the city is true. Also, I made the statement that in the major metro parts of the city, there is no "bad" areas. Unlike in other city's, where you run into bad neighboorhodds every other block. Miami and New York are notorious for this. Again, the cities you listed are the surrounding cities and the only thing they touch is a the far outskirts of Boston... Again, this is a rarity, and an asset of the city. I don't see how you cannot understand that you can walk from the waterfront downtown - Fenway across the city, and not run in to a single bad area. You can't do that in places like Miami or New York. Why are you leaving suburbs like Wellesley, Newton, Cambridge, Brighton and Lexington out of the disccussion? Not talking about Beacon hill, Back bay Copley or Newbury? Many of the highest income areas in America.....You said back bay was ok at times, right, some of the most expensive real estate in the country is like that for no reason!? MA is constantly ranked in the top 10 when it comes to median income.
http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/28/real_estate/wealthiest_states/As for major crime, Miami and Orlando have Boston beat by ALOT....and I can't compare the smaller cities you listed, because they are just that small cities. Thats like comparing apples to grape fruits.
Again, as far as climate goes - Florida has Boston beat. But thats pretty much it. I have been to Tampa, Miami, Orlando, Sarasota, Hollywood, Ft Lauderdale, Clear Water and Jacksonville.... I know about the backwoods population that lives in the suburbs of cities like Tampa. I have been going to these places ( especially Miami) for a lot longer than 3 years. Miami is a wonderful city, and all the money is concentrated in a few areas, people don't know about the other side of Miami, when you get off the beach, Ocean or Collins. Do you know that Miami is considered to be one of the top cities in America when it comes to violence and murder? Also, the housing economy, and local economy in many parts of Florida are shot. Higher gas prices mean less tourists = bad economy, and it's not getting better. Shit, there are entire cities in Florida based on sports teams spring training. The city the redsox train in depends on them to run their economy. I am willing to bet most of the people you meet in Florida already earned the bulk of thier money in a city like NYC or Boston.
It's all subjective, but the best place to live in America needs more than a great climate IMO. I didn't say Boston was the best btw, I said it was top five.
