Why Don't Nh And Mass Get Along (Boston, Springfield: 2009, houses)

[FinkieMcGee]

Originally Posted by Valerie C

<sigh...>
If only we could charge at the border and collect taxes on all the items that are bought tax free...

Yeah, then Nashua would become a ghost town.

[RLCMA]

I've never heard of MA and NH people hating each other. You must know a lot of negative people if this is the way you feel since this assumption is just silly.

[thenewNewEnglander]

Wow..
I'm impressed. Thoughtful and incisive. Well worded even.

But my bottom line is unchanged. We're all New Englanders. And I personally feel we should be coming together more effectively than we do. I understand all the issues that you mentioned, and man... I feel bad for you. Its like people moving in next to a farm and then complaining about the smell of manure- and trying to get the farm closed. Its wrong. Personally I like the smell of manure.
And I'm not disputing the fact you are different. And yes- I'm very familar with the fact that you are in fact the 3rd largest democratic deliberative body in the world and that if California had your per capita rate of reps in their house it would be something like 12,000. I know that democracy is a verb, not so much a noun in New Hampshire. And I love you for it. I also understand not everyone is like me. But please understand not all people from Mass are driving in BMW's and wanting streetlights and public kindergarten.

All I can ask is that you find a compassionate way to educate the ignorant folks who dont quite know what they bought into.

And dont build a wall between us. I think we have more in common then most people realize or want to believe. I mean I also pride Mass as a home to diversity. We have the same kinda folk that you see at your local cornerstore... and so so so many more. We arent some homogneous cultural pressure cooker. We're an extremely diverse place... And for God's sake... somebody has to do it.

[thenewNewEnglander]

They do charge at the border.... its called how many tolls can you fit in a tiny stretch of highway. Let's see how they feel about not having a toll revenue. The reality is people from Massachusetts contribute to your schools and police simply by going to Maine for the weekend.

[caphillsea77]

They are both small states with different tax structures. NH has a lower cost of living & lower taxes and more rural but Mass is where the jobs are and is more urban/suburban. In the big schemme of things you could combine NH & Mass together and fit them 50 times into Texas or Montana, so in reality they are New England states that share more simalarities than differences. By comparison northern and southern California are worlds apart.

[Skwidy]

Caphillsea77, I'm not sure your analogy is as appropriate in that southern California is worlds apart from pretty much everywhere else in the country!!

[seamusnh]

Originally Posted by Skwidy

in reality they are New England states that share more simalarities than differences. By comparison northern and southern California are worlds apart.

Having lived in MA and NH, I disagree. They are very different in terms of politics and culture. Check the track records of each state in terms of electing local, state, and national polititicians. NH is the only New England state that grew (population) in the 90's and the only one predicted to grow this decade. The economy of NH is healthier than that of MA and the other New England states.

[Ladeebug59]

Some of what you describe here sounds very familiar. It is reminiscent of the tension and resentment that many Upstate New Yorkers feel toward people from New York City & LI. Often calles Cidiots, ....these folks move furthur and further upstate, adding to traffic problems, driving up local taxes and Real Estate costs so that natives from around here can't even afford to buy a modest home to raise their family. People from other states (esp in the South), assume if you are from NY, it automatically means that you must be from the City. Maybe it has more to do with the City-ites infiltrating into rural areas, thus, causing conflict. I am sure that historically, this has been a common problem, Generating accusations on Bad Attitudes and causing Arrogance. I wonder if this is a common problem, esp when there is a major metropolitan area and people slowly spilling out into the surrounding areas. I just thought I would mention it here, perhaps it is more common in specific areas of the Country as well. Are their more places experiencing regional discord? If So, it would be interesting to hear where and with whom....

[CityGirl52]

I have to tell you guys something really funny that happened to our family when we first moved to New Hampshire FROM Massachusetts. It was back in the middle 70's. My parents were out and my 2 younger sisters and I were home with our 2 dogs. One of the dogs got out and here in No. Hampton there's a lease law. Well, this guy down the street innocently happened to be walking by. The dog barked and barked out in the yard at him. I finally got the dog in the house and this guy came marching up our driveway, along the walk way and grabbed at the front storm door as hard as he could. He starts yelling at the top of his lungs, "Get out of here all of you, go back to where you came from!" So needless to say, my sisters and I had a field day with this because we're from the City of Boston originally and chewed him up good. We told him to "Get the H*** off this property SIR NOW." He got off all right, then later on my mother called his wife up and told her that if her husband EVER dared step foot on our property again or ever touched MY daughters she'd call the Attorney General's office and the State Police to arrest him. My mother was furious. We weren't as upset, but she was quite upset and to this day can't stop reminiscing about that moment that we would just as soon forget! This neighbor gentleman would walk around our walk way every time he took a walk for years after that episode. He was petrified of my mother! We couldn't stop laughing about it all after that one. My mother is this little itty bitty woman about 83 pounds! He was this big giant tall guy!

Well, the reason why I'm telling you this story is because years later when this gentleman passed away? Where was he from originally according to his obituary? Lowell, Massachusetts. You read it right. He lived in No. Hampton for years and years but where was he from? The same exact state as us.

Living in NH we only met 2 natives in all these years of living here. Now my nieces and nephews are born and raised here.

It happens all over the country now with this entitlement. I know SO many people that resent the yuppies that move to the City of Boston. Where are they from? New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, California, all over the country. They're from all walks of life too. That's life now in a nutshell. That's the way it is everywhere. I don't know who these people think they are ranting and raving about them either. It's not going to do any good because it's running rampant all over the USA! People are from everywhere and it's in us to move around, more now than ever before! Hey, look at the people that went out west in the early part of our history! SO many high tailed it out west it's not even funny. If those people that live there now did a background history check or a family tree? There relatives are probably from New England & New York originally.

Okay, just my two cents again, I'll stop...

[Amybcb]

I have no problem with NH - it's a nice state. But I think that NH has a problem with MA as noted in the heated reply above. I agree that some MA people can be true "m*******s" but we are not all like that.