Do you miss massachusetts? (Boston, Framingham: option to buy, live in, to move)

[FrozenAngel]

Originally Posted by puffle

Hi Florida, If a Californian like me can take the winters than so should you. Nothing more beautiful than the first snow to a girl use to constant sun. Personally, I think I acclimated to the winter because I am always warm and enjoyed the cold for a change. I also enjoyed the change! California's weather is pretty predictable which to me, gets very boring. The only unpredictable thing about California is when the next earthquake will hit. The California threads are probably some of the most negative on Citi-data,most of which I agree on. If you have a family, I think that New England and most of the East Coast is a much better environment to raise kids than California especially since Ca. schools are the worst in the nation, particularly L.A. Hope you find the right place for you.

It's funny that a friend was just here visiting from CA and he said he hated that it never rains in CA. He said you never have an excuse to not be able to finish your outside work cuz of the rain. You have so many more excuses to be lazy with New England weather. Funny, I NEVER thought about that before!

[puffle]

Originally Posted by FrozenAngel

It's funny that a friend was just here visiting from CA and he said he hated that it never rains in CA. He said you never have an excuse to not be able to finish your outside work cuz of the rain. You have so many more excuses to be lazy with New England weather. Funny, I NEVER thought about that before!

I love it when it rains which is rarely, because it puts me in the mood to be creative indoors, to clean and organize,read and just be, which is more difficult when it is sunny all the time. I actually love to bundle up instead of having to strip down to keep cool. Today was a scorcher...I felt like my eyeballs were going to melt and that I would go up in flames. Was probably about 105. It is 9:15 p.m. and 90.

[findingmesomeday]

Originally Posted by baystater

Hard time No. You speak the truth. Colleges here focus on educating our youth. Some of the colleges down south and Midwest would rather have a good football program than education.

Hmmmm...........I think students and teachers at the following schools just *might* disagree with you:

1. UC Berkeley
2. Notre Dame
3. Univ of Washington
4. Univ of Oregon
5. USC
6. UNC
7. Duke
8. Clemson
9. Univ of Michigan

This is one aspect of MA that just kills me. It's part of the "my you-know-what doesn't stink" program. Granted there are wonderful schools here. But I think the 'brain drain' going on right now should offer us a clue as to what's really happening. Where are our brightest kids going to college? The overwhelming majority are going out of state.

BTW, I went to college in Boston and even the hoity toity Ivy League schools here and in New England in general are NOT immune when it comes to ice hockey. I can think of several people with whom I went to college who couldn't string two sentences together but were pushed through the program simply in hopes of a winning hockey season.

[baystater]

Originally Posted by NChomesomeday

Hmmmm...........I think students and teachers at the following schools just *might* disagree with you:

1. UC Berkeley
2. Notre Dame
3. Univ of Washington
4. Univ of Oregon
5. USC
6. UNC
7. Duke
8. Clemson
9. Univ of Michigan

This is one aspect of MA that just kills me. It's part of the "my you-know-what doesn't stink" program. Granted there are wonderful schools here. But I think the 'brain drain' going on right now should offer us a clue as to what's really happening. Where are our brightest kids going to college? The overwhelming majority are going out of state.

BTW, I went to college in Boston and even the hoity toity Ivy League schools here and in New England in general are NOT immune when it comes to ice hockey. I can think of several people with whom I went to college who couldn't string two sentences together but were pushed through the program simply in hopes of a winning hockey season.

1. UC Berkeley
3. Univ of Washington
4. Univ of Oregon

I said the South and Midwest not the west coast. And of course there are always some that are pushed through here in Ma. And how about Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida teams in general. Yeah bastions of higher Ed. Granted Thing Florida schools has gotten better through the years.

[findingmesomeday]

Ok, so take out those three. And I never came to the defense of Nebraska, TX, Oklahoma or Florida though I agree with you about Florida. Is it Univ. of Florida that's getting very competitive these days?

I maintain Michigan and Notre Dame though. Two big football schools with solid academics.

[baystater]

Originally Posted by NChomesomeday

Ok, so take out those three. And I never came to the defense of Nebraska, TX, Oklahoma or Florida though I agree with you about Florida. Is it Univ. of Florida that's getting very competitive these days?

I maintain Michigan and Notre Dame though. Two big football schools with solid academics.

fair enough.

[mkal]

My husband and i are fans of the Patriots. Living in Ottawa, Canada, we miss the games and the coverage after the game. Now that we are relocating to NC, its going to get even tougher to watch the games.

Also, spending time in Quincy market used to be great. I miss the mountains of NH as well. The crisp fall day and the sweet smell of the earth..not sure if we will find that in NC.

[paradiddle]

Originally Posted by mkal

My husband and i are fans of the Patriots. Living in Ottawa, Canada, we miss the games and the coverage after the game. Now that we are relocating to NC, its going to get even tougher to watch the games.

Also, spending time in Quincy market used to be great. I miss the mountains of NH as well. The crisp fall day and the sweet smell of the earth..not sure if we will find that in NC.

We live in FL and love Red Sox. We got the MLB/cable tv package and watch all the Red Sox games. I think they have the same for NFL. You will probably get a lot of Patriot games on national TV anyway. We go to the local sports bar, there are usually other New Englanders there when the Pats play.

We miss all that too but we have new memories here. Like the local Xmas parade here that we watch in our shorts while it's 75 deg. Going to Spring training games in March.

[Robinson527]

I have traveled to different parts of the country (particularly the south) and during high school and college considered other parts of the country to live in but I truly believe I would be miserable if I left Massachusetts. I think the furthest I could go would be southeastern NH since that is where I went to college and loved it just as much as MA.

But the one thing that bothers me the most about this thread are the extremes of some of the opinions. Obviously though to the other posters, everyone has preferences about where they want to live based on what the value the most in their lives. If what you value is a big yard and house and expensive car then you might choose to live somewhere else that has a lower cost for living. Or if you hate the cold, or particular accents. Berating each other seems a bit much...it seems like telling someone they are stupid for liking or not liking the taste of something or a preference for song or books. It is all based on personal opinions.

Also, as a person with pretty bad allergies I have to point out that this state has a wide variety of temps/air qualities depending on the day and month and season so it seems bizarre to categorize the entire state as poorly effecting your health. Also this state has such a wide range of living conditions, from rural to suburban to urban that you would be so stressed out or anxiety filled in every town in the state is very odd.

As for money the state also varies. Close friends of mine, three years out of college and with decent middle class jobs have recently purchased a three bedroom colonial with garage, hot tub, decent sized yard, huge kitchen, dining room and living room and 2 1/2 baths, and the house is only ten years old and in a very nice development and close to the highway for about 260,000. We are only 40 minutes from Boston. If you are willing to put forward some time and effort and really analyze the housing market you will find something that fits you. As it is right now, the housing market is on a downturn and many people are dropping their asking prices to be able to sell.

On a side note, NH does have taxes, not sure who said they didn't...as they have very very high property tax. In fact, I recall many NH homeowners on the MA/NH border where I live putting up signs listing their astronomically high property tax as a protest against an increased rate hike. And you have to remember that for all these taxes we have in MA - we have a LOT of services. I just graduated from law school and went on the state health care (for free) and it has proven very helpful while I am struggling through the post-bar exam job competition with other bar exam takers. MA has better air quality than many states, better water quality (Boston was recently rated as having the best tap water quality for any major city in the country) and some of the best public schools in the entire country. As for garbage and dumping fees...I guess it is all a matter of how much you care or don't care for the environment. Our roads and road projects (the big dig) might not be the best in the country...but you balance it against other things that we do have such as services for the elderly and Veterans among other things.

As for the football team comments...I don't think that midwestern and western states are obsessed with their college teams because the schools value sports over education necessarily (although my Contemporary Issues in Sports class in college would disagree with that statement) but rather that those states either have mediocre professional teams or NO professional teams. Therefore all they DO have to cheer for is highschool and college sports.


I also have lived very close to Boston my entire life and I do not have a MA accent at all - as verified by my southern cousin, nor do many of my friends. It is hit or miss, not an entire commonwealth full.

Finally...as for the pleasantness or lack of pleasantness of New Englanders/MA citizens.....I don't WANT to make eye contact with you. I say hello to people I know and/or like. If I had to say hello to every darn person I passed in the street I would have no time to live my own life. Join a damn club or socialize at work/school. I don't befriend random strangers in the street.

[Chianti]

The point about midwestern states not having pro teams is absurd.

I lived in Dallas, Houston and Atlanta. All 3 have every pro sports. But they pro sports take a back seat to college sports. Why? Because college sports kick butt. If you did not attend a D1 university with bigtime athletics you will never understand where I'm coming from. There simply is nothing like going to a college football game in the Big 12 or SEC. I've been to a lot of NFL games and they don't compare to college games at all.