what exactly is so bad about running in the northeast?

I drove into the seaport in Boston almost everyday and Manhattan/Brooklyn same day twice a week. There is parking if you plan it right. Anywhere you are unfamiliar with its going to be horrible until after it is over then you'll wonder what all the fuss was about. Was I comfortable my first day into Manhattan on 2nd Avenue, absolutely not, but by the second week I wasn't even thinking about it. Life's about the journey right?

 

OP, Wait til you run a few loads into the Bronx or parts of Queens and Brooklyn and you'll have a change of attitude...

 

Besides traffic,weather, parking, tolls etc. the streets. They were laid out in the horse and buggy days. The towns grew into cities, but the streets are still only slightly wider then alleys.