FromTexas to Massachusetts (Boston, Cambridge, Somerville: transplants, apartment, condo)

[montrosenostalgia]

I am considering relocating to Salem/Danvers area in a year or so. I will have an MA then and will be looking for a teaching position and a little place to settle in and call home (I will be 51). Any thoughts on being Southern and living in MA? I will be coming from Texas, land of guns and Republicans, eek, so it may be quite a change.

Thanks!

[CaseyB]

We have guns and Republicans, too. Just not as many as Texas has.

I don't think your accent will be a problem, but the culture will obviously be very different. When you secure a job, we can give you a better idea of where to live.

[montrosenostalgia]

Thanks!

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by montrosenostalgia

I am considering relocating to Salem/Danvers area in a year or so. I will have an MA then and will be looking for a teaching position and a little place to settle in and call home (I will be 51). Any thoughts on being Southern and living in MA? I will be coming from Texas, land of guns and Republicans, eek, so it may be quite a change.

Thanks!

First off, if you're from Texas you're not Southern. You're a Texan. ;-) Now with that clarified, there are some things that will be different.

The biggest change is that your neighbors will not seem friendly. It's quite possible that your neighbors are friendly, it just won't seem that way. They may never say a word to you, never ask how you're doing, may give you the cold shoulder and just seem generally disinterested in your presence. That's just the way things are around here and you shouldn't take it personally. It will take many months or even years for them to warm up to you and then they can be great. Alternately they may never warm up to you.

You mention guns and Republicans. We have Republicans here, too, but they generally know to keep their mouth shut or become the object of social scorn. When I lived in the South (Louisiana) and Texas (Texas), the same generally seemed true for people who leaned to the left, although if you looked hard enough you could tell. The same is true here with the politics reversed. One thing that's a bit different is that Texas is more politically diverse. By that I mean Texas has some very liberal neighborhoods (based on your user name, I'm guessing you might live in one of them), whereas even the most conservative suburbs around Boston aren't that conservative, say by Texas standards.

You mention looking for a teaching position and it may help if you give a bit more detail. If you're interested in public school teaching you should know that competition is pretty fierce and there are more qualified teachers than there are positions. It might be worthwhile to look into employment opportunities before making the move.

[mmyk72]

The biggest change has nothing to do with your accent (presumed that you have one), your politics or your preference for guns. You will be most shocked by the cost of everything, starting with the most basic like housing (rent or own), gas, grocery prices, state income tax.... just to name a few.

So the most crucial thing is to land a job, figure out if the salary will let you live comfortably now and later in retirement, and then we can worry about the little details.

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by montrosenostalgia

I am considering relocating to Salem/Danvers area in a year or so. I will have an MA then and will be looking for a teaching position and a little place to settle in and call home (I will be 51). Any thoughts on being Southern and living in MA? I will be coming from Texas, land of guns and Republicans, eek, so it may be quite a change.

Thanks!

Salem is one of the friendliest and most attractive places in the Boston metro, with the liveliest downtown outside of Boston/Cambridge/Somerville, a beautiful waterfront and historic neighborhoods.

I am weighing the plusses and minuses of it for a possible relocation from another Boston suburb myself.

I tend to think the scene leans more towards people in their 20s and 30s, but I could be making an off call on this one.

[snatale1]

That's a really nice area, you'll be just find there. The culture shock isn't half as bad as you think. If your moving into the state with guns, send me a PM, there's some stuff you need to know prior.

[atgss]

Originally Posted by 495neighbor

Salem is one of the friendliest and most attractive places in the Boston metro, with the liveliest downtown outside of Boston/Cambridge/Somerville, a beautiful waterfront and historic neighborhoods.

I am weighing the plusses and minuses of it for a possible relocation from another Boston suburb myself.

I tend to think the scene leans more towards people in their 20s and 30s, but I could be making an off call on this one.

I hope that you're successful!

I love, love, did I say love that area of Massachusetts! Looking to relocate myself pointing towards that area and seeing if it's feasible with securing an Accounting field job.

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by lol-its-good4U

I hope that you're successful!

I love, love, did I say love that area of Massachusetts! Looking to relocate myself pointing towards that area and seeing if it's feasible with securing an Accounting field job.

Besides the usual places to seek jobs in industry, don't forget accountants have the option of working in the public sector. You can also consider a university accountant position or a town finance manager position based on your background and experience. There are quite a few colleges in that area. That's why accountants are in demand in every corner of New England.

[goyguy]

I think Beverly is making a strong bid for being the next "happening" place on the North Shore. There is a lot of "urban removal" going on right next to the main train station - an apartment/condo complex or two or three would be my wager as to what's being constructed. The city is home to a small and pricy college (once a "junior college") and, more importantly, a private art school. Downtown is host to a growing number of "nice" restaurants to complement an active theater and music scene. I think it's evolving into a Boomer answer to Salem, where the night life crowd is indeed younger and Halloween brings on near-riot conditions.

Massachusetts Republicans are most exemplified by the "endangered species" of moderates and even liberals (William Weld, Elliot - sp? - Abrams, etc.) The state's reputation for being overrun by those with an "L-word" philosophy is only partially justified. We wouldn't have been treated to Governor Mitt Romney and Senator Scott Brown if the majority of voters was progressive. But what we do refreshingly lack is the "wing nuts" like those who re-imagined the meaning of Tea Party. They're out there, to be sure; just look at the comments section of the articles in the right-leaning Boston Herald. Overall, however, your "average" Bay State citizen has an open-minded take on social issues and embraces the New England philosophy of being a good neighbor and withholding judgment. In reality that's more of a middle-of-the-road attitude than a "liberal" one.
You'll also undeniably see a lot fewer gun racks on vehicles, except for in the central and western parts of the state during deer hunting season. And I don't foresee any "CCW" or "open carry" allowed here any time soon. Plus, unlike execution-happy "Tejas," we have NO DEATH PENALTY.
Mega-churches exist here, but on nowhere near the scale of what's around Houston or DFW. Catholicism reigns supreme in the older urban areas, main-line Protestant congregations - and UU's - make their presence known in suburbia, and there are some Jewish strongholds here and there.
The main cultural adjustment, as has been mentioned up-thread, would be to the characteristic reserve of the "natives." One does not say hello to a passing stranger on the sidewalk. Unless they're transplants themselves (and there's no small number of them, including Yours Truly) your neighbors will take their time getting acquainted. This was the law of the land long before everyone stayed glued to their smartphones and plugged into their iPods. I don't see this as "coldness" so much as a sincere decision-making process as to how they'll approach you in the years ahead. Between that and the immediate but shallow warm friendliness of many Southerners - and Texans - I prefer the MA style.

Since the market for educators may be better in New Hampshire or Rhode Island, I wouldn't rule out investigating those states as well. If escaping red-state culture is paramount, cities such as Portsmouth + Newport + Durham + Providence + Exeter would instantly give the sense of "not being in Kansas any more."