Conservatives? (Boston, Lawrence, Andover: felony, attorney, neighborhoods)

[CaseyB]

Please, let's keep this thread on the subject of conservatives in Massachusetts - not on national politics.

Cinaed, yes, there are a good amount of conservatives still living here. Of course, there will be more in some areas of the state than others, so if you are serious about relocating, we can offer suggestions.

[clevedark]

I thought that UMASS offered free tuition to students whose grades were at a certain level.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by clevedark

I thought that UMASS offered free tuition to students whose grades were at a certain level.

It's tied to the student's MCAS scores. You can get free tuition at any state school. It doesn't cover room and board or fees.

John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Program - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[clevedark]

Right. It's amazing how much the room, board, and fees are.

[neil0311]

To bring this back to Massachusetts and keep on the mod's good side....here is another example of tone deaf, big spending, liberalism in action.

Decision on SUV shows Patrick, state officials out of touch with constituents - Sentinel & Enterprise

While a huge increase in the gas tax and raising tolls on the MA Pike and bridges are both being considered and likely passed, "Cadillac Deval" is defending the purchase of a new $50K SUV dedicated to his State Police detail.

I was a conservative in MA who paid my taxes and wrote my elected representatives for the 15 years I lived in the state. I got tired of the tone deaf nature of both my state government and my US Senators and US Representatives. Ballot initiatives passed by overwhelming margins (income tax rollback and bilingual education for example) were rolled back by the Beacon Hill "know-better-than-you" crowd, and the emphasis during any tough time was always to figure out what new fees and taxes to institute, even if the "rainy day fund" was overflowing.

The comment was made earlier that the reason that the state budget in MA is so huge for only 6.5 million people was because incomes are so much higher in MA. That comment misses the point and underscores why conservatives have left MA in droves. Spending is viewed as the right of government, and the money is viewed as the property of the state. If all the cronyism and waste in agencies such as Massport, the Turnpike Auth, and throughout the state was reduced or eliminated, the state budget could be reduced significantly without any reduction in "services." Flat screen TVs for prisons and the absurd social spending (sex changes for convicts...remember that one?) could be curtailed and brought in line with most states and the budget reduced significantly. The reason that doesn't happen is because many people in MA are socialist or think with those tendencies. Add to that the politically correct movement that has turned common sense on its ear and advocates that anyone with a different opinion on policies like allowing homosexual marriage is a "hater" or they use other ad hominem attacks. So much for "diversity."

MA has become a state of one party rule with a dwindling population of conservatives. I'm a Libertarian, and many people of similar belief have left MA and moved to NH or other states. Increasingly, Massachusetts, and Boston in particular, is the home of academic liberals and the left. You see it in the representation elected and the lack of opposition to left leaning politics.

[CoastalMaine]

Originally Posted by neil0311

To bring this back to Massachusetts and keep on the mod's good side....here is another example of tone deaf, big spending, liberalism in action.

Decision on SUV shows Patrick, state officials out of touch with constituents - Sentinel & Enterprise

While a huge increase in the gas tax and raising tolls on the MA Pike and bridges are both being considered and likely passed, "Cadillac Deval" is defending the purchase of a new $50K SUV dedicated to his State Police detail.

I was a conservative in MA who paid my taxes and wrote my elected representatives for the 15 years I lived in the state. I got tired of the tone deaf nature of both my state government and my US Senators and US Representatives. Ballot initiatives passed by overwhelming margins (income tax rollback and bilingual education for example) were rolled back by the Beacon Hill "know-better-than-you" crowd, and the emphasis during any tough time was always to figure out what new fees and taxes to institute, even if the "rainy day fund" was overflowing.

The comment was made earlier that the reason that the state budget in MA is so huge for only 6.5 million people was because incomes are so much higher in MA. That comment misses the point and underscores why conservatives have left MA in droves. Spending is viewed as the right of government, and the money is viewed as the property of the state. If all the cronyism and waste in agencies such as Massport, the Turnpike Auth, and throughout the state was reduced or eliminated, the state budget could be reduced significantly without any reduction in "services." Flat screen TVs for prisons and the absurd social spending (sex changes for convicts...remember that one?) could be curtailed and brought in line with most states and the budget reduced significantly. The reason that doesn't happen is because many people in MA are socialist or think with those tendencies. Add to that the politically correct movement that has turned common sense on its ear and advocates that anyone with a different opinion on policies like allowing homosexual marriage is a "hater" or they use other ad hominem attacks. So much for "diversity."

MA has become a state of one party rule with a dwindling population of conservatives. I'm a Libertarian, and many people of similar belief have left MA and moved to NH or other states. Increasingly, Massachusetts, and Boston in particular, is the home of academic liberals and the left. You see it in the representation elected and the lack of opposition to left leaning politics.

Ya buddy!!! Great post!!!

[Cinaed]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

Please, let's keep this thread on the subject of conservatives in Massachusetts - not on national politics.

Cinaed, yes, there are a good amount of conservatives still living here. Of course, there will be more in some areas of the state than others, so if you are serious about relocating, we can offer suggestions.

THANK YOU!

Okay, so where would a person look if they seek some moderation? Im not extremely conservative but I really don't care to live in and extremely liberral area where a large portion of that crowd prefers to identify themselves as socialists.

[jayrandom]

You must remember that what you call moderate depends a lot on where you stand, so what may be moderate for me may be liberal for someone else and conservative for a third person.

That being said, I think you'll do fine here. With the exception of the urban core of the city and some very particular well-to-do suburbs, you'll have a hard time finding folks who would self-identify as socialist. If you stick to the suburbs, you should be able to avoid such people completely. Even if you don't avoid them, people generally leave strangers alone. It's a New England thing to basically mind your own business. Even the kids that canvass for signatures for liberal groups in various parts of Cambridge will leave you alone if you tell them to or pretend like your in a hurry. There are plenty of conservatives here and although they tend to stay quiet about it, if you seek them out I'm sure you'll be able to find more than you'll need and you can ignore socialists altogether. Now, depending on your field you may find your workplace leans further than the left than you would like--say if you were an English Professor or something--but you're probably going to run in to that wherever you go.

Now, if your concern is more philosophical and less "I don't want to get hassled by liberals" than Massachusetts may not be the place for you. It's a squarely democratic state and will probably be so for the foreseeable future. If you are fiscally and socially conservative and its important that your state government is, too, look elsewhere.

Check out this thread:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/massa...ar-boston.html

[CaseyB]

Conservative areas in eastern Mass. include a large part of Cape Cod, a great deal of the south shore, southern norfolk county, parts of the Merrimack valley, and a portion of Essex county.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by Cinaed

THANK YOU!

Okay, so where would a person look if they seek some moderation? Im not extremely conservative but I really don't care to live in and extremely liberral area where a large portion of that crowd prefers to identify themselves as socialists.

If it's not too personal, I'm curious about why you want to leave Alaska, and why you are interested in Massachusetts. The reason I ask is that this info could help give a picture of the details you do and don't want in a place to live, which would help with the question of whether MA, or parts of MA, would fit.

Really good post by JayRandom. I agree that generally the politics in the suburbs will be less in-your-face and more moderate than they would be in Cambridge or much of the central city area of Boston. There are exceptions: Concord is known for having a leftward bent, and Lexington has been known to have been referred to in the Boston area as "The People's Republic of . . ." Also, many highly urban suburbs have a heavy base of blue-collar Democrats. While that crowd tends to be pretty conservative in their overall views, they can be pretty vociferous about their support for the Democratic party. In general, though, the suburbs tend toward being moderate, albeit often with more inclination to lean toward the left a bit if they lean either way.

It really depends on the local community. Another statement where JayR. was right on was with the distinction between the views of people around you in everyday life and the overall tone of politics in this state. CaseyB provided a good basic list of areas that tend to be more conservative. Which of these might interest you depends on the individual town. Some of these areas have kind of a working class to middle class character--lots of mainstream conservative views--while others are centers of old-money, blue-blood Republicanism. There's definitely a difference between these kinds of communities in ways that go beyond politics. That's actually a good thing, because it means you have a variety of choices.

Be aware, though, that JayR. hit it straight on with the observation about the overall political tone or philosophy. This state is heavily Democratic. If you live here and lean to the right, you do have to get used to the idea that when you vote Republican the vast majority of the time you are simply letting your one voice be heard and nothing more, because you will be voting for the losing candidate. That's when there is even a Republican on the ballot, which with some frequency there will not be in state-level elections. You also have to get used to the idea that there is a lot of cumbersome state government here, with layer upon layer of bureaucracy, much of which does little if anything to provide real services to the public, but which all too often serves more to provide taxpayer-funded jobs for political hacks. Whether MA would be a good fit would also depend on which issues are of particular concern to you. I hope not to start an issue-specific debate here, but the fact that you now live in one of the two states that allow concealed carry of a firearm without the requirement of a permit lends itself to pointing out, as an example, that someone who strongly feels the need to exercise the right to concealed carry most likely would be uncomfortable in MA.

Regarding ValerieC's suggestion of New Hampshire, it does make sense that if you're considering the North Shore Boston suburbs, you might look a little farther north to a nearby state with politics that have historically been moderate, with a libertarian slant. Be careful about this, however. As the Boston suburbs extend into NH, that state shows signs of leaning further to the left. That is a complicated issue, though. Many people feel that NH has not really skewed to the left, or that it has but that the influx of Boston-area people is not the reason. If the idea of checking out NH holds interest, you might post on the NH forum and see what people there have to say about the future of that state's politics.

As for MA, several posts here give a pretty good picture: Various local communities, including many suburbs, tend to be more moderate than some other communities, and you can find plenty of individuals who are on the conservative side, but the state's politics overall would be a poor fit for someone who would be uncomfortable with a leftward lean to the state's politics overall.