Ibby, why did you find Columbia to be different? What differentiated it from the rest of the "soul crushing"? I have been down there many times in the past few years on business, and I saw very little that was dissimilar from the area of NJ I live in (Princeton-Trenton area).
Badger found a site (bestplaces.net) that does COL comparisons, and the Columbia vs. Boston comparison can be seen
here. They're roughly equivalent; Boston is cheaper, even, once you factor in that health care is covered by our employers. We have crunched the numbers and we should be able to swing it comfortably in either area.
To be honest, I was
hoping for a slightly more Boston-positive viewpoint... I saw Columbia as being more of what we are living in now, and boredom is a large motivator in our decision.
Please, educate me.