Boston is a much smaller city so yes it wouldn’t be as busy as nyc. That said the market is booming right now across the country. Boston in particular has an inordinately high number of architectural firms due its proximity to the schools. These firms are usually smaller though, not the outposts or headquarters of international firms. A connection through one of those schools could prove promising for a job. There are certainly more jobs passed around via the Cambridge schools than through online posts when it comes to Boston specifically.

All that said she may have to wait and network aggressively to find something in Boston. Vs nyc which is typically the busiest city in the country for architects where one can easily find work - especially in this current market - without having a formal connection.

NYC obviously would have more firms and more international work, so she wouldn't necessarily have to switch to the Imperial System and learn the local codes. 

She would probably find work in either city, but in NYC she has a better shot of working on international projects if that's what she's looking for.

Thank you both for the responses! We will definitely try to work a connection through the university if we do end up in Boston, and it's good to hear the market is booming stateside. Thanks again. 

Well, it's good for now - rumor mill has some firms skittish.  For what it's worth, the Boston firms seem to have their act together (lower turnover, better distribution of experience), the NYC firms are all over the board.  High-end residential is prevalent in both, though the money in NYC means there's a bigger client pool.