Love-hate relationship with MA (Boston, Cambridge: how much, buying a house, neighborhood)

[MassTerp94]

Who else here has a very love-hate relationship with the COMMONWEALTH of Mass?

Love:
-I grew up here
-Most of my family is here (though that may change soon)
-I received a great K-12 education
-The sports
-The music (big Aerosmith fan here)
-Beaches of the cape

Hate:
-Long, dreary winter
-Short springs
-Expensive
-Traffic
-This state does not seem to have a culture outside of "Yankees suck!"
-Relatively isolated (If you're looking for something to do, there's really nowhere to go except Boston)
-Political correctness
-Not a great state for a young person, especially outside of Boston

[in_newengland]

Originally Posted by MassTerp94

Who else here has a very love-hate relationship with the COMMONWEALTH of Mass?

Love:
-I grew up here
-Most of my family is here (though that may change soon)
-I received a great K-12 education
-The sports
-The music (big Aerosmith fan here)
-Beaches of the cape

Hate:
-Long, dreary winter
-Short springs
-Expensive
-Traffic
-This state does not seem to have a culture outside of "Yankees suck!"
-Relatively isolated (If you're looking for something to do, there's really nowhere to go except Boston)
-Political correctness
-Not a great state for a young person, especially outside of Boston

I hate the weather more every year but I've never lived in an area of the state where traffic is a problem.

Agreed that the politically correctness is stupid.

We have a lot of culture--museums, concerts, history, more than most states. If you're not so city oriented, there's a lot to do and most of it has nothing to do with Boston. There's hiking and canoeing, cross country skiing, cycling--it's nearly endless.

But mostly I hate our weather. It's always too cold. Except when it's too hot. But it could be worse: we could be forced to live in the south!

[porterhouse]

Anywhere that offers the culture, education, medical care, business opportunities, diversity, etc. of this area will be expensive and have traffic. Bellyaching on this board aside, the traffic here actually isn't that bad if you've lived in and around other major urban areas.

If you can't find a culture outside of Yankees suck you're not looking very hard. Ditto for relatively isolated with nothing to do outside of Boston.

[chicagoliz]

When I lived here the first time, I didn't like it, since I found it unfriendly and just more difficult overall than Chicago. Then I lived in a few other places and now I'm back again and I appreciate it much more, because it's actually much better than most other places.

I see plenty of culture outside of "Yankees suck." I don't know who you're hanging out with.

If you think the state is bad for young people outside Boston, well, that's pretty much how it is in 90% of the country. If you want the city, whichever city you're in, you have to live in the city.

I don't find it "isolated." There are plenty of places you can go - you want mountains, they're nearby. You want ocean, it's nearby. City? Yes. Smaller towns? Yes. College towns? Yes. Just what is it you expect to find? (Again, that isn't the same condition you'd find basically anywhere else in the country?)

The biggest thing I don't like is that we go from winter to summer virtually overnight. And housing costs are insane.
"Political correctness" is usually just a code for liberal. Which is what I love. Do some things go a tad too far into the ridiculous? Sure. But that is much better than the opposite. And really more of a minor annoyance than any sort of big problem.

[BostonMike7]

Same here. I hate a lot of things about the area, but I have no intention of leaving, and would stick up for it if need be.

[NewfieMama]

I mostly love it here (not from here). Love being near the ocean and mountains, love access to great education and hospitals, love that there is so much to do outdoors, love the old homes and mild summers. I even love the winter...at least until March.

I do hate the cost of living and the traffic. I also sometimes hate the rat-race feel, though I feel it less now that I work in the 'burbs.

But you know what I recently realized I really dislike about this area? How much I worry about Lyme disease. I love being outdoors, but with Lyme being so rampant here, I feel like I'm always doing tick checks and we even have a contingency plan for what to do if we find a tick on our kids. I wish we could just enjoy the outdoors without worrying so much.

[Shrewsburried]

"This state does not seem to have a culture outside of "Yankees suck!"

This seems like an issue of association and not a reality. This state has heap loads of culture, both in and out of it's urban centers.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by NewfieMama

But you know what I recently realized I really dislike about this area? How much I worry about Lyme disease. I love being outdoors, but with Lyme being so rampant here, I feel like I'm always doing tick checks and we even have a contingency plan for what to do if we find a tick on our kids. I wish we could just enjoy the outdoors without worrying so much.

I hate this, too, but it's a worry in so much of the country. (And if not lyme, some other insect-transmitted disease.) When we were in PA, our next door neighbor's kid got it. I'm always thinking of it if my kids, dog, husband or I go anywhere near high grass, weeds, etc. Even piles of leaves. That is the one positive of winter is that I don't have to worry about bugs.

[johngolf]

I am from MA. Was born and raised there and I retired to SC. Moved away a few times but always returned. I would not live there due to Winter and cost of living. The same reasons I would not live in Chicago as I once did. Other than that, I would be happy to live in Boston. Of course if Chicago had the things I wanted, I would pick it over Boston. I loved Chicago more than Boston.

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by MassTerp94

Who else here has a very love-hate relationship with the COMMONWEALTH of Mass?

Love:
-I grew up here
-Most of my family is here (though that may change soon)
-I received a great K-12 education
-The sports
-The music (big Aerosmith fan here)
-Beaches of the cape

Hate:
-Long, dreary winter
-Short springs
-Expensive
-Traffic
-This state does not seem to have a culture outside of "Yankees suck!"
-Relatively isolated (If you're looking for something to do, there's really nowhere to go except Boston)
-Political correctness
-Not a great state for a young person, especially outside of Boston

Things agreed with:

- I grew up there and left at age 30 because I saw no chance of ever buying a house in a decent neighborhood as a single person in any area where I could get work. That was a long time ago and things have only gotten harder in this aspect.
- Winters were too long for my taste, but not enough to drive me away in itself.
- Expensive. Nothing further need be stated.
- Traffic...in the densely populated urban-suburban-exurban area, yes. In other parts of the state, traffic isn't bad.
- Great music, yes. Beaches, yes. Sports, yes. Education, yes.

Things disagreed with:

- Political correctness is more of a metro Boston-Cambridge thing than that of the whole state. I hate PCness, too, but even in the city it wasn't that bad. If you wanna see gag-inducing PC attitude, check out some west coast cities. I had always heard MA referred to as kneejerk liberal before, but if you haven't experienced certain areas of the west coast, you ain't seen nuthin!
- MA is one of the BEST states for cultural offerings and residents' appreciation thereof.

Things you did not mention that are wonderful:

- Variety of terrain, with four distinct seasons.
- Excellent state park system.
- LOTS of great swimming lakes, without motorboats.
- Great road biking.
- I also love the directness of people there. Sometimes it verges on abruptness or downright rudeness, but it is much easier to deal with than passive-aggressiveness or twofacedness.

MA never really felt like my home. I knew that at a very young age. It was my parents' chosen home. Mine lay out west in the Rockies. But knowing MA could not be my heart's home did not make me hate it.