Extremely nervous about moving to Bedford...insight appreciated-- (Boston, Worcester: appointed, homes)

[Miker2069]

Originally Posted by packedandready

packed and ready is feeling a bit better.

Question: Do things shut down when there is a foot of snow on the ground or do those high taxes pay for the roads to be clear. In other words, how much snow does it take for people to be shut in? Do I need to buy a treadmill because the gyms will close b/c of snow?

I grew up where shops either are closed on Sunday or open at 1pm.

I live in the middle of the Mojave desert at the moment, the closest Target is 70 miles away. This area has taught me alot about what I *really* need and what I can do without--but Im really excited to not have to plan a trip once a week to Palm Springs just to do basic shopping. Is Bedford more of a village or are there "big box" stores, and if not, how close are they? Im just thinking of getting settled in and what is nearby. thanks...and I really appreciate the honesty. Id rather be informed than surprised.

Oh, and I have visited Martha's Vineyard in the past...people were very nice but I assumed it was just typical of a vacation-y type location.

Hmm living in Bedford, you'll be a stones throw from the Burlington Mall and Woburn Mall, a Target, etc. I think most everything is within 30 minutes even in traffic. I lived in Woburn which isn't that far from Bedford, and pretty much everything was always 5-15 minutes away.

New Englanders are pretty hardy so it'll take a lot to close down, I'd say the gym would maybe delay opening to wait for the plows and salt trucks to do their jobs, but that's it.

Most towns seem to always under estimate what they need for their snow plow budget- there where many complaints of plow contractors who didn't get paid until summer time for winter work. I think your tax money is going elsewhere (I'm purposely not getting revd up about taxes )

[puffle]

Originally Posted by packedandready

packed and ready is feeling a bit better.

Question: Do things shut down when there is a foot of snow on the ground or do those high taxes pay for the roads to be clear. In other words, how much snow does it take for people to be shut in? Do I need to buy a treadmill because the gyms will close b/c of snow?

I grew up where shops either are closed on Sunday or open at 1pm.

I live in the middle of the Mojave desert at the moment, the closest Target is 70 miles away. This area has taught me alot about what I *really* need and what I can do without--but Im really excited to not have to plan a trip once a week to Palm Springs just to do basic shopping. Is Bedford more of a village or are there "big box" stores, and if not, how close are they? Im just thinking of getting settled in and what is nearby. thanks...and I really appreciate the honesty. Id rather be informed than surprised.

Oh, and I have visited Martha's Vineyard in the past...people were very nice but I assumed it was just typical of a vacation-y type location.

Bedford is definetly a village. No Big Box stores. It has a drive-thru CVS,a Stop and Shop market,Whole Foods which is next to Marshalls and close to TJ Max. A few Mom and Pop restaurants and pizza places but that's about it. Lexington is more active especially for kids but still a pretty simple downtown area with a few chain restaurants,Peet's Coffee and a Starbuck's right next door. There isn't any WalMart or Kmart nearby but there is a Costco about ten minutes away in Woburn? Very safe and peaceful.

[Cart24]

Originally Posted by Stockholmaren

I’ll feel right at home then, nobody bothering me at the checkouts J I rather just get in and out of the store – it took me a long time to adjust to people at the checkouts asking me how I was doing and everything.

Also, are taxes really that bad in MA? To me it seems like there is a pretty low sales tax, property tax rates not too high, no city taxes, and the income tax isn’t that bad either. I know they charge high taxes on items like cars, but I thought I read somewhere that the tax rate in MA is about the middle of the pack of all the states or am I mistaken?

Here is the overall tax burden rankings for 2007, Massachusetts ranks 28th overall, so statistically it is really not bad at all.

http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lis...3.exclude.html

We are also moving to Mass in July and when we were looking at where to move (since we are not really fans of where we currently live, Orlando) It came down to either moving back to Toronto, where we grew up, or trying out Massachusetts. Well we choose Massachusetts for many reasons, and the substantially lower tax burden compared to Ontario was one of the reasons.

Just like anything in life, everything is relative and from what we grew up around Massachusetts is a breath of fresh air tax burden wise.

[smarty]

Of course. MA is fairly good at getting you with fees instead of tax. I wonder if there is a comparison of fees amongst states.

[puffle]

Originally Posted by smarty

Of course. MA is fairly good at getting you with fees instead of tax. I wonder if there is a comparison of fees amongst states.

Insurance is less and so is the excise car tax than in California which has expensive car registration instead of excise tax. Just compared everything today with Ma. car insurance rates and tax.

[surfingatwork]

Originally Posted by packedandready

packed and ready is feeling a bit better.

Question: Do things shut down when there is a foot of snow on the ground or do those high taxes pay for the roads to be clear. In other words, how much snow does it take for people to be shut in? Do I need to buy a treadmill because the gyms will close b/c of snow?

I grew up where shops either are closed on Sunday or open at 1pm.

I live in the middle of the Mojave desert at the moment, the closest Target is 70 miles away. This area has taught me alot about what I *really* need and what I can do without--but Im really excited to not have to plan a trip once a week to Palm Springs just to do basic shopping. Is Bedford more of a village or are there "big box" stores, and if not, how close are they? Im just thinking of getting settled in and what is nearby. thanks...and I really appreciate the honesty. Id rather be informed than surprised.

Oh, and I have visited Martha's Vineyard in the past...people were very nice but I assumed it was just typical of a vacation-y type location.

mmm... a foot of snow would shut down schools, 3 feet maybe offices would close, each town varies in how well they plow but your taxes do pay for all the streets to be taken care of. depending upon what type of street you live on (main street vs tiny little side street) and how much traffic it gets will determine how fast you get plowed but eventually all public streets are plowed. If we get 3 feet of snow most places (like say a gym) will open late but will eventually open (unless of course they loose power or we get hit with a nor'easter then not much opens. If you don't have a snowblower and have to shovel a driveway you won't want to go to the gym after shoveling a foot of snow.

As a few others pointed out most stores stay open until 6 or 7 on sundays (holiday time they'll stay open until 11 on a sunday). If target is 70 miles from you now you'll be shocked at how close everything is to you once you move to bedford, which is more like a village than anything else.

[*anonymous]

Originally Posted by airedaly

Don't pay any attention to Hazelcat's posting - there is always one miserable person in the crowd who tries to ruin it for everyone else. Did you ever watch the saturday night live segment "Debbie Downer" with Rachel Dratch? That's what Hazelcat is trying to do. Ruin life for everyone else because she is so miserable.

Massachusetts is a beautiful state, with lots of wonderful people and so much to do. And, again, you make your life what you want it to be. Sitting at home complaining never made anyone happy.

Full of bigoted jerks with no individuality and nothing going for it but a baseball time who won the world series only because they just let blacks on their team, and of course narrow minded rich *******s who shop at whole foods

[findingmesomeday]

Actually, I'm surprised at how easily the schools close for snow at times. I think it comes down to the forecasts. If the superintendent thinks it's going to be dangerous having the kids on the busses going or if they think they'll be forced to do an early release, they'll just cancel school. It's easier that way. Each town is its own school district so one town might not have school but the next town over might. Snow days are made up at the end of the year which is why my kids will be in school until June 20 this year.

Taxes: On the surface, they seem ok, but property tax overrides, excise taxes, use fees and other hidden fees earn it the well deserved name of "Taxachusetts". I just paid almost $70 to get my son his driver's license and $40 to renew mine. His learner's permit was $30.

Rudeness: I don't think the people are that rude, though they are definitely more reserved than in most other parts of the country (except Oregon). My husband (an Oregon native) hates the people here though. I have to admit that my town is very cliquish but I've just learned to ignore those folks and find my own friends.

I love Lexington. Don't know much about Bedford.

There is no spring. Be prepared for a very long winter, a cold, muddy, rainy spring (as I type this, it's 55 degrees outside and I have the heat on in my house) and then a short but hot and humid summer. The payoff is fall. It's absolutely gorgeous.

Massachusetts is the most liberal placed I've ever lived. It doesn't bother me, but it drives my conservative hubby nuts. Cambridge is the hotbed of liberalism.

[Stockholmaren]

Originally Posted by mattncind

Here is the overall tax burden rankings for 2007, Massachusetts ranks 28th overall, so statistically it is really not bad at all.

http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lis...3.exclude.html

We are also moving to Mass in July and when we were looking at where to move (since we are not really fans of where we currently live, Orlando) It came down to either moving back to Toronto, where we grew up, or trying out Massachusetts. Well we choose Massachusetts for many reasons, and the substantially lower tax burden compared to Ontario was one of the reasons.

Just like anything in life, everything is relative and from what we grew up around Massachusetts is a breath of fresh air tax burden wise.

I think this is what I may have read in the past so thank you for posting that link. I also found another list that has a breakdown for the cities with the different rates. Boston is slightly above the average.

CNNMoney.com: Big city taxes 2005, by rank

[gajennie]

Hi packedandready - I now live in MA, moved here from GA. Things have been find for me. Some people are the rude type that you hear about, but I honestly have not crossed that many. I am the type to hold a door open, and when I get no response I get pissed b/c some people have no manors. The only thing I really caution you about is driving - lol. I hate how people drive up here, but living here for over 2 years now, I have become used to it. Maybe people are ruder the closer you are to Boston, I am not sure. But if you don't make the move you may always wonder what if, and if you do make the move you can decide wether or not it's a place you want to come back to