Move or Not Move (Boston: lease, car registration, insurance)

[puffle]

Originally Posted by gamsauer

Life is too short and tomorrow is not promised. I know this because I lost my child in a car accident last year. Life is too precious and shouldn't be wasted. Start living! Move!

Oh gosh. My heart goes out to you. I have a son so I cannot imagine what you must have and are going through.

[puffle]

Originally Posted by NChomesomeday

Would you consider moving out to a small condo until your finances are in better shape? Not perfect because I know you hate where you are, but at least you'd be out from under the in-laws.

Well, the problem with that is it will eat up the money needed to move and the rent would almost be the same in Ma. In answer to the question about jobs, my husband works for himself as an executive recruiter and I can always get a sales job. Is Nordstrom hiring?

[puffle]

Originally Posted by pjscdn

I applaud your courage and spirit! Sometimes a good attitude and a bit of luck increases the likelihood of success. Where are you moving from, and whereabouts will you land? Keep us posted.

Puffle, quite frankly, I wouldn't last more than a day with my in-laws, so I give you credit right there. What you're trying to do is not easy. One thing to keep in mind, and I don't mean to complicate things, is that it's harder to relocate here in the cold weather. For someone who's spent a large percentage of their life in southern CA, it will be a shock. The last few weeks have been really nice weather here, and looks to continue for the foreseeable future. But, we also realize that when the season does start to transition, there's a good chance we won't see another warm, sunny day for months.

Thanks for the advice. Believe it or not, if we do move it will probably be about the same date that we moved to Lexington in 2004 which was Nov. 12, the first snow of the season. The guys that moved us cross country could not back down to where our apartment was due to the snow so they had to piggy back our stuff with a smaller truck. So I guess nothing would come as a shock at this point!

[puffle]

Originally Posted by puffle

Thanks for the advice. Believe it or not, if we do move it will probably be about the same date that we moved to Lexington in 2004 which was Nov. 12, the first snow of the season. The guys that moved us cross country could not back down to where our apartment was due to the snow so they had to piggy back our stuff with a smaller truck. So I guess nothing would come as a shock at this point!

Thanks everyone for the encouragement and words of caution. I appreciate it all.

[NY'er lost in MA]

Puf- have you considered moving into a short term rental in Cali- just your family and sort of regrouping? As mentioned- the money is here now, but to exhaust it with a taxing cross country move and come into not exactly the most inexpensive area- it can definitely put the 'crunch' on your finances. Then you will be here, but the money will be tight.

And to be blunt- it's not like MA is nirvana or something. Given that you have some financial well being presently, you might want to make a list of some options. AND...god forbid....some other states! Yes- other states!!!! And what about the doggies- aren't you still going to have your search for a rental that will accept them?

It's sort of like when I was 7 years old and I wanted an actual Donkey Kong arcade game (the full arcade version). It was $2400 and I yearned for that damn thing for months. Well- I started mowing lawns and doing yardwork for the entire summer and managed to save a grand ole $1700. My Father chipped in the rest and I had my prize! It felt so good...........for about 6 days. Then life sort of returned to the way it was and I realized that I missed out on summer with my friends for the most part.

The moral of the story is that sometimes when you want something so badly; it can actually cloud your vision of what is best and reality.

Do what is best for you and your family. Don't sacrifice yourself for Massachusetts Puf.

The way I see it is you have 'Massachusetts or BUST' on the side of your family wagon. Have you considered the 'BUST' part of the equation?

[puffle]

Originally Posted by NY'er lost in MA

Puf- have you considered moving into a short term rental in Cali- just your family and sort of regrouping? As mentioned- the money is here now, but to exhaust it with a taxing cross country move and come into not exactly the most inexpensive area- it can definitely put the 'crunch' on your finances. Then you will be here, but the money will be tight.

And to be blunt- it's not like MA is nirvana or something. Given that you have some financial well being presently, you might want to make a list of some options. AND...god forbid....some other states! Yes- other states!!!! And what about the doggies- aren't you still going to have your search for a rental that will accept them?

It's sort of like when I was 7 years old and I wanted an actual Donkey Kong arcade game (the full arcade version). It was $2400 and I yearned for that damn thing for months. Well- I started mowing lawns and doing yardwork for the entire summer and managed to save a grand ole $1700. My Father chipped in the rest and I had my prize! It felt so good...........for about 6 days. Then life sort of returned to the way it was and I realized that I missed out on summer with my friends for the most part.

The moral of the story is that sometimes when you want something so badly; it can actually cloud your vision of what is best and reality.

Do what is best for you and your family. Don't sacrifice yourself for Massachusetts Puf.

The way I see it is you have 'Massachusetts or BUST' on the side of your family wagon. Have you considered the 'BUST' part of the equation?

I guess we are what you could call a "challanged" family. Living in an absolute s******e, huge gang violence,lots of drunk drivers, the poorest air quality in the nation, the highest amount of asthma sufferers especially children, four dogs, and not wealthy. My son told us after we picked him up from school that there is going to be a drive by with rival gangs at his school tomorrow and he is at the "best" school in this area. Moving back to Massachusetts is primarily to improve my husbands contacts in the business world and to build his business by hiring out of one of the best cities in the country for what he wants to do. The plus is we really like Ma. and have missed it ever since we left. His other choice would be Virginia but decided Ma. is the better choice of the two. The longer my son stays in this school the harder it will be to leave. He has only been there for two weeks now. I hope this explains our motivation a little clearer instead of us seeming to be Ma. fanatics!LOL

[NY'er lost in MA]

...I do understand the motivation, but I still think that MA is not going to be the shangri-la that you want it to be. My wife always says that I can be very analytic when it comes to decisions- and I am (heck- I made an excel spreadsheet to decide on our honeymoon location)

What industry does you husband recruit for?

[smarty]

No comment....

No one can make a decision for you. Only you have the data. Only you know about yourself. It is all about risk management and your tolerance to risk.

Best wishes...

[scarletfire]

In terms of compromising, have you thought about choosing a town in Massachusetts that's less expensive? If I recall the ones you were looking at were pretty pricey. Perhaps if you moved further west in MA you'd be able to find a more affordable rental. Or maybe a rental that doesn't have a fence yet but would allow a tenant to install an inexpensive one for the doggies. There are lots of good schools here to choose from. Your poor son! My goodness. I'd be terrified to go to school if I was him.

[bgrasser]

Well said Smarty.