My 2019 Thanksgiving in Massachusetts: I'am surprised the turkey did not stand up and say 'i want to move too' (Boston: house, movies)

[wror]

If a state is a nice place to live, why does one have to drink booze, smoke POT ? Pot and Booze is used to escape reality. If reality is nice in a state. you dont need booze and POT to escape it.

Now research this: Massachusetts residents have one of the highest rates of POT, consumption of alcohol in the country. Up there with Colorado residents. As a matter of research facts, all of the residents in the New England states are high users of mind altering drugs compared to other areas of the country.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by chicagoliz

That is exactly the the problem. It is the attitude of a lot of retirees, and it creates problems in the broader community. When you don't fund the schools, the community remains ignorant and ultimately, that leads to a low level of civil engagement, a dependence on low-skills jobs, and brain flight from anyone who does manage to get enough education to leave. When Seniors cut themselves off from the whole community, it's not really good for anyone -- it's not good not to have any interaction with young people. And it's not good for the young people not to have interaction with older people. A community benefits from involvement from everyone and when one segment is cut off and doesn't have ties to the larger community as a whole, the sets up a bad dynamic as far as all kinds of social metrics.

And often when you DO fund the schools, it leads to a low level of civil engagement, a dependence on low-skills jobs, and brain flight from anyone who does manage to get enough education to leave. See Boston, or Providence which was recently rated some of the worst schools in the country. The correlation between school funding and outcome is extremely overrated. It's mostly one word, DEMOGRAPHICS.



I can also sympathize with the elderly. The way they often see it (and understandably so), is "I learned to read and write while sitting in a classroom with 60 kids, one teacher and no computers; and never went to college yet I still do reading, writing. and arithmetic better than most of these fancy college grads. And now they are saying that 25 kids in a room with a teacher AND a teacher's aid is too much, that these 5 year old computers need replacement ASAP, and my property taxes ALREADY resemble a second mortgage...". So it's not that they don't care, it's just hard for many of them to relate to and accept what have now become "requirements".

Originally Posted by chicagoliz

Rampant voter suppression and horrible state government. I would not move to GA unless and until that is fixed.

Nobody from Massachusetts has any business talking about horrible state government in ANY other state, we might as well have invented it. Care to share proof of rampant voter suppression in GA? Not buying it.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by wror

If a state is a nice place to live, why does one have to drink booze, smoke POT ? Pot and Booze is used to escape reality. If reality is nice in a state. you dont need booze and POT to escape it.

Now research this: Massachusetts residents have one of the highest rates of POT, consumption of alcohol in the country. Up there with Colorado residents. As a matter of research facts, all of the residents in the New England states are high users of mind altering drugs compared to other areas of the country.

It's certainly a serious problem that needs addressing, but I can guarantee you a denier will come along and say "well that's self reported use, we are just more honest about it here".

[redplum33]

With few exceptions, the income levels of the residents of the town/city determine whether the schools are good or bad.

If a town/city has housing projects or any sizeable low income area, the schools will be bad.

And pretty much any relatively high income town/city (without any low income areas) will have good schools.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

There's an image of the South being unsophisticated, but I've never really experienced that other than a couple of towns in the Florida panhandle.

There are definitely a LOT of trashy/ghetto areas in the south (noticeably more than New England), but certainly nicer places as well (that you typically get some to way more bang for your buck than the comparable in Mass.).

[AtkinsonDan]

Originally Posted by Taffee72

I'd rather live in MA than somewhere where it's too hot, too cold or too many people pooping on the sidewalk.

Originally Posted by Traveler1026

Don’t move to San Francisco Lol

Meh! I've seen the aftermath of people pooping on the sidewalk in Boston multiple times. I presume Boston must not exceed Taffee's mysterious limit for sidewalk poopers.

Mine is zero fyi.

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by massnative71

And often when you DO fund the schools, it leads to a low level of civil engagement, a dependence on low-skills jobs, and brain flight from anyone who does manage to get enough education to leave. See Boston, or Providence which was recently rated some of the worst schools in the country. The correlation between school funding and outcome is extremely overrated. It's mostly one word, DEMOGRAPHICS.



I can also sympathize with the elderly. The way they often see it (and understandably so), is "I learned to read and write while sitting in a classroom with 60 kids, one teacher and no computers; and never went to college yet I still do reading, writing. and arithmetic better than most of these fancy college grads. And now they are saying that 25 kids in a room with a teacher AND a teacher's aid is too much, that these 5 year old computers need replacement ASAP, and my property taxes ALREADY resemble a second mortgage...". So it's not that they don't care, it's just hard for many of them to relate to and accept what have now become "requirements".





Nobody from Massachusetts has any business talking about horrible state government in ANY other state, we might as well have invented it. Care to share proof of rampant voter suppression in GA? Not buying it.

I guess you haven't been paying attention to voting rolls being scrubbed in Georgia and Wisconsin. Big news everywhere....except in your household.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by MassVt

I guess you haven't been paying attention to voting rolls being scrubbed in Georgia and Wisconsin. Big news everywhere....except in your household.

Where do you get your news?


No proof voter suppression kept Stacey Abrams from governorship, as Democrats said in Atlanta debate


https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...y-abrams-gove/

[chicagoliz]

Politifact tends to be lazy.

This describes more: https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics...s-14829485.php

And I don't know how any state could possibly allow the guy running for office to be in charge of the elections. Generally, people want to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. The Georgia GOP doesn't even care about that, though.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by in_newengland

It shouldn't be hard to believe. For instance, when my dad retired to Florida (and obviously he had no kids in the school system) that was one of his objections, the poor school systems. He complained that the school officials were even ELECTED rather than hired according to their qualifications. It bothered him, as well it should have.

People do care. I don't have kids but I certainly care that kids are getting an education. When I had to live in a town that had a poor school system I felt sorry for those kids. I lived there because I wasn't rich but that didn't mean that I was happy that their school system was failing.

If you enjoyed learning and experienced positive life experiences due to your education, if you care about the future of our state or our country, it's sensible that you would care deeply about education. Ignorance is not bliss, not in this modern world, and to add another cliche, Knowledge is power.

So very true. My mother hasn't had kids in the schools for 30+ years, but still votes for school funding proposals, and indeed, works on fund raisers for music programs and the arts programs still to this day, in her 80s.


Decent people do this. Then there are the selfish non caring people. They do not. It's about values, and lots of people have lousy ones.


I think WROR's family should leave if they are so miserable. I suspect they'd be miserable everywhere though.
I look around at friends and family. Most adore living in Mass. The one's that left, did so primarily because they had no choice. Almost all would love to come back, but the economics just don't work at this time. My brother and SIL, after my last nephew goes off to school, are really hoping to be able to move back to Boston and I see loads of friends doing whatever they can to stay in the Boston area despite its rising costs because it is such a great place to live.