for those who left Mass. and came back

[GeoffD]

I lived “away” from the day I started my first job after graduating college until I bought a summer house at age 51 a few hundred yards from where I walked to elementary school. I telecommuted from it in the summer for a decade and it’s now my primary residence. Nice harbor village. Great boating. Pretty good beach. Good bicycling. A nice spot but the Massachusetts South Coast is an economic wasteland unless you’re health care, public sector, or can telecommute.

I’ve lived elsewhere in New England but never left the region. I like the summer here.

[western mass and love it]

I grew up in Brookline and went to College at UMass Amherst ( much to my parents dismay).

I liked the area and decided to stay. After a few years I got a job offer in San Diego and went for it. Stayed in San Diego for four years and loved and hated it at the same time. Weather was perfect, always something to do or somewhere to go. But the COL even for the 90’s was outrageous, and looking to start a family we wanted to be closer to home so I took a new job in Massachusetts and back to Springfield we went.

We settled in West Springfield and have lived here since 1998, our kids are both away at College now and we have been splitting time between Mass and Williamsburg VA. With a slow transition to living in VA full time going on.

Mass is just to expensive for dad to day life for my tastes. The taxes, cost of utilities, groceries and just about everything is more expensive here than Va. Both our kids picked schools away from New England, one in Va and one in SC. Neither one has plans to move back north when done with college.

I never thought I’d leave Massachusetts for good, but the last 5-10 years really opened my eyes to living away from here.

[atlaw]

Wanderlust and a desire to be in the Southwest. I never go back unless I have to-I just don't feel a fit

[stuckbetween]

Originally Posted by october2007

How do you like it there?

So far so good! I never felt “home” on the west coast and I feel like I can settle in back here. And it doesn’t need to be exactly the same town. Driving distance is so different from flying distance! I could see myself living somewhere else again, even back in CA, but being around my family and the seasons as my kids grow up is huge.

I suffered so much homesickness that I didn’t get over all 15 years of being away. Didn’t feel normal at all to feel that way as a grown adult but it is what it is. Expat forums sort of got the point. Being cross country in the US is akin to being in another country aside from the language and federal laws.

[atlaw]

And Mass is so little-I like wide open spaces. Pima County is the same size as Mass! But the biggest thing is Western freedom, no car inspecions, no pistol permits, no excise tax and on and on...

[in_newengland]

Originally Posted by atlaw

And Mass is so little-I like wide open spaces. Pima County is the same size as Mass! But the biggest thing is Western freedom, no car inspecions, no pistol permits, no excise tax and on and on...

Well, I guess I can agree with you that the car inspections are a little too frequent. Maybe every other year would be better. But I can remember visiting Florida and being sickened by the stench of exhaust fumes from the car in front of me and saying, "HOW can that car even be on the road!!!" Answer: they don't have any car inspections.

Excise tax--hoping it goes to fix the roads. Buy a cheaper car and your tax isn't so high. If you can afford $$$$$$$$$$$$ car, you can afford more excise tax.

Pistol permits? I hope the state is safe enough that people don't even need guns but I am realistic enough to know that some people enjoy target shooting and hunting. Some even do need a gun because they live in the middle of nowhere and might need to shoot a snake or whatever. But the more guns we get, the more guns we need. It's a vicious cycle. We are seeing people murder their own family members either on purpose or by mistake, seeing little kids get hold of the gun. People are thinking they can solve problems with a gun. Wrong thinking. And it doesn't make you a "real man" either, lol.

[GeoffD]

Car inspections are way cheaper and quicker than Vermont. In Massachusetts, they just check ball joints and visually inspect the brake pads. In Vermont, the car goes up on the lift and they look closely for rust through, marginal exhaust systems, signs of corroded brake lines, and broken suspension parts. An awful lot of 10 year old cars in Vermont get rejected the first time. All the road salt causes problems.

[atlaw]

We can agree to disagree I hope.