I've never been. Are bicycles illegal there?

Yes.

One of the first search results for Boston bicycle declares it the fourth best biking city in the US, so you're going to need to be more specific about whatever criticism you're exaggerating.

Boston sometimes gets 2 feet of snow in a single day, and often has sub-freezing temperatures. People just get on with life (but not really on e-bikes).

Do people in Boston drive in 2 feet of snow?

yeah dude they drive through 2 feet of snow, uphill, both ways.

actually there are snow plows, like everywhere else on earth where it snows.

After a 2 foot snowfall ends, secondary roads are usually passable within ~6-12 hours, depending on how much snow was removed during the storm. Major roads will almost always remain passable during the entire snow event. Essential stores and services almost never close as people can move around despite the weather (and except for a few hours immediately after, are expected to).

Sidewalks and bike paths will take days to be down to pavement and some bike paths aren’t salted or plowed at all so become safe to use again when the snow naturally melts.

> Sidewalks and bike paths will take days to be down to pavement and some bike paths aren’t salted or plowed at all so become safe to use again when the snow naturally melts.

This is a choice, not an inevitability.

From my perspective as an individual living 8-9 miles from the office, there is no practical difference. It’s not like I’m going to go out and shovel it.

> […] and often has sub-freezing temperatures.

So does Finland. See "Why Canadians Can't Bike in the Winter (but Finnish people can)":

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU

Also "Why Winter Cities Need to Reconsider Car Dependence":

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFkI3eglT1M

If things can be taken car of so cars can operate in winter there's no reason why they can't be for bicycles (as someone who lives in Toronto, Canada).

If you slide a front tire 12” to 18” on a car, nothing much happens. If you do that on a bike, something very much happens.

The standards of snow removal needed to permit 2 wheel vehicles to operate safely are quite a bit stricter than those for 4 wheelers.

So the three times a year that happens, you find a different way to work or WFH. Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good. Minneapolis gets a decent bike share in winter. If they can bundle up and ride, it's positively simply for Bostonians to do it.

Search results do not match reality.

Boston is great for recreational biking for part of the year, sure. There are lovely bike trails.

But it is not great for commuting on a bike, nearly ever. And definitely not during winter.