Is Mass stressful or not? (Boston, Cambridge: transplants, real estate, house)

[bostongymjunkie]

In some ways seems to be another question which evokes opinions that are underwritten or influenced by political views. But for others I'm sure is grounded firmly in the reality of their lives.
https://www.boston.com/community/rea...1=hp_secondary

[BOORGONG]

I always thought attending mass was meant to be soothing.

[massnative71]

Much of the whiners in the "Why are yous" made me yawn. Much of the starry eyes in the "Why aren't yous" made me want to projectile vomit. Both so predictable...

[BostonBornMassMade]

“Every aspect of life here is stressful,” exclaimed Joel from Lexington, while Brian from Waltham agreed that “the Bay State has no relaxing qualities,” adding, “I am counting down the days until I move to Florida.”

All in all, 74% of the more than 500 Boston.com readers who responded graded themselves at 6 or higher on a scale of 1 to 10 for their Massachusetts stress level, with the highest number (19%) placing themselves at an 8, and 18% rating themselves as “OFF THE CHARTS.”

Traffic, overpopulated, mean, entitled M*******s. I have been here for over 20 years and I have hated every stressful minute of it. Good jobs though.” — Juliette, Stow

“Every aspect of life here is stressful … The ridiculous traffic and obnoxious drivers. The cost of living — food, housing and taxes. Constant pressure to keep up with the Joneses. People here are ‘cold.’ Everyone is constantly on-the-go.” — Joel, Lexington

“The people. Transplants especially, who think of Mass. culture as a caricature and everyone here should assimilate to some sort of generic ideology.” — “Joe Six Pack,” Cambridge

Most of this I agree with. Transplants think MA is a caricature and they’re annoying as they only do or know of the most expensive and borrigg by things and if you don’t do what they think is ‘MA’ they look at you like you have two heads . A lot of locals in the suburbs are entitled and mean and I see that behavior/mindset very clearly in this board. It also mentions the east stressed parts of the state are the most well-heeled also a visible sentiment on this board. And despite what some might say in my travels and what I read on CvC that is not the case everywhere.

Many entitled people who really are unwilling to compromise due to the pervasive culture of competition and culture clash at nearly every avenue. We see this in the north end and with the Michelle wu anti-vaxxers. Due to the highly intellectual nature of the state people will go to extreme lengths to intellectualize their gripes to the point it’s asinine trying to talk to them.

Massachusetts is fast paced and everything is competitive. The job, schools, roads, cultures compete with each other. On top there is a facade tho at we are all in. Together as m*******s but it’s very untrue. Also everything takes way too long to do on a legislative level and the state doesn’t do enough to empower younger/poorer people. Rather it provides free and less than welfare-request services to keep you dependent.

On the flip side I like the access to mountains and nature in general and the destressed me so much when I lived there, I also like how most towns have a walkable area and there’s a lot of history so as a history person that sort of soothes my mind. Additionally people are cold but they’re certainly genuine and reliable as friends- another destressor. I also found reprieve i. Knowing there so many social programs and free this or that if you need it and or are very broke/temporarily poor. I can also rest assured the politicians won’t do anything too bad or irresponsible (see: Larry Hogan’s cancellation of the Redline subway here in Baltimore, smh). I also enjoy the ethnic diversity and pockets that allow you to discover new cultures and ‘escape’ pretty easily.

In MA if you’re not a part of the dominate greater Boston suburban culture you probably find it stressful.

Realistically I don’t know if I’d be more stressed or less if I moved to MA from MD. this state can be stressful too (overpolicing /ticketing/ trash/traffic (cameras)/ ‘phony people’/ crime/trash/fees/ legit group think (not fake group think like MA.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Not too much of this was political. People complained chiefly about competition in general, high COL, weather, traffic and mean or annoying people. Hard for middle class people.

^in other words what anyone who doesn’t live in MA or wants to leave MA complains about. None of that is new and it’s all very consistent and oft-repeated.

With just two people complaining about politics.

[Remy11]

I didn't read the article and am just going by the headline, but for me, yes, it's stressful to live here and that ALL comes down to the traffic. As I've mentioned on comments and posts here on city-data, I literally have had to pass up multiple higher-paying jobs because I refuse to deal with the Boston/128 traffic. It's such a bummer to me that the traffic is so bad it affects our incomes and therefore our livelihoods. Besides the traffic, I don't find it particularity stressful, no. However, I'm more of a city person who enjoys the hustle and bustle of busy places.

[P Larsen]

We gripe therefore we are...

A lot of the quotes have the "The food is terrible/And the portions are too small" quality about them indicating the complainers are their own problem. For example, the first two sentences of the following are in tension with the last two sentences....:

“The pace. Everybody is in a rush. We pride ourselves on getting things done even if they are not properly done. And the drivers — how some of these people got their driver’s license is beyond me. There needs to be a PSA that it is OK to turn right unless there is a sign that you can’t turn on red.”

Anyone who imagines the weather in eastern MA is "terrible" *seven months* of the year is bonkers.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

“The people. Transplants especially, who think of Mass. culture as a caricature and everyone here should assimilate to some sort of generic ideology.” — “Joe Six Pack,” Cambridge

Most of this I agree with. Transplants think MA is a caricature and they’re annoying as they only do or know of the most expensive and borrigg by things and if you don’t do what they think is ‘MA’ they look at you like you have two heads

I try not to get worked up about what clueless transplants think, but I admit that it becomes grating when you are constantly surrounded by it and there's no apparent escape.

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

I can also rest assured the politicians won’t do anything too bad or irresponsible (see: Larry Hogan’s cancellation of the Redline subway here in Baltimore, smh).

Not familiar with that ordeal, but I find some of the smug "we have politicians that care" comments to be full blown nauseating. You know that these people are either politicians themselves, have family who are, or otherwise suffer a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome. Anybody who travels to any extent, understands that this is one of the most mismanaged states in the country.



Massachusetts loves to put on this whole "welcoming" front which is a bunch of full on baloney and insult to anyone's intelligence. You want to be "welcoming", start by paving some of these damn roads and maybe promote a more comprehensive variety of housing. Stop making things so cost prohibitive for small businesses. State beaches are now charging $40/day to park for out of state vehicles. I repeat, FORTY DOLLARS! Rhode Island charges the same rate to everybody. Most of the rest of the country, beach access is free. But at least we're an "enlightened blue state"!

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Realistically I don’t know if I’d be more stressed or less if I moved to MA from MD. this state can be stressful too (overpolicing /ticketing/ trash/traffic (cameras)/ ‘phony people’/ crime/trash/fees/ legit group think (not fake group think like MA.

What is fake group think? How is it different from "legit" group think???

[msRB311]

I think it depends on where you are living in MA. Not everyone has traffic.

There is plenty of stress in terms of schools but not everyone has kids.

Different things stress out different people.

the high real estate costs must be stressful to the majority of people. Even people who have no problems paying for a nice house in a nice school district still say, wow, i could be living somewhere else for a lot less.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by massnative71

What is fake group think? How is it different from "legit" group think???

In MA there are certain Boston Strong/M******* things we're all supposed to like be a part of I guess. And things like accents dunks, sports etc. What tourists talk about. It doesn't really exist. People in MA are independent-minded but for some reason these fake-uniting ethos exists for tourism i guess or remnants of a different time.

In MD there's a lot more unity and depending on the county there too much of it. Not enough variety in opinion/viewpoint in Eastern Shore MD/Western MD. Or even most of Prince Georges County people are more social and IMO care too much about hwat others think. And when you have a differing opinion people can be legit beffudled or think you're being needlessly divisive. Its bizzare for such a diverse state.