Oklahoma to (likely Western) Massachusetts - Beginning Research (Amherst, Northampton: live in, price)

[WestieWhitie]

Originally Posted by WoodwindsRock

My direction has changed quite a few times over over the past several months. Whereas when I made this topic, I was not giving grad school much of any thought at all, my recent doctor's appointment that showed that my ears are fine really flipped things upside down. I started lessons up again and my teacher cut to the matter of grad school really quickly.

For the greater part of the past few months I've been thinking upstate NY, specifically Rochester, but that has changed drastically now. I would love to go to Eastman and all. I even got to meet one of their professors at a double reeds conference a few weeks ago, BUT Eastman is out of my league. Both my teacher (who is more optimistic than me) and I agree on that point. This doesn't change the idea of me potentially deciding to make Rochester my place of residence after school, of course.

Vermont and Maine don't have any universities with my degree at all, so they're off the list for this particular moving plan. Rhode Island only has Brown University which I can not even confirm has the degree for sure, so RI is off the list, too.

I have prospective universities I'm looking at in Massachusetts (yay!), Connecticut and maybe Upstate NY (not Eastman) or NH. If need-be, I'll expand to other blue states - Maryland, New Jersey, or *shudders* Minnesota or Illinois (the latter two are not my top choices because of them having a lot of tornadoes like Oklahoma. They'd still be far better than Oklahoma, but the further North and East the better).

Those are the states currently on my list, with the top two being my top two choices at this moment, but we'll see.

Now that my Colorado trip is done, I am making plans for a vacation next Spring where I can go up and explore.

University of crotchester/rottenchester/etc is actually pretty generous with financial aid and scholarships if you get in, might end up being cheaper than a state school.

[Greenbush9]

OP, my family is from the Boston area, we moved to Oklahoma for many years, and then we moved back here.

You are exaggerating the political and religious climate in Oklahoma (your posts, to me, come off as pushing a perceived victimhood status and an emphasized sense of ‘being different’) and you are also misunderstanding the political climate in Massachusetts. I’ve lived in both states for many years. I was not remotely similar to anyone religiously or politically in Oklahoma, and it wasn’t a nightmare like you describe it. Yeah, there’s a common culture based upon shared values that the majority hold, and yeah that wasn’t my set of shared values. But I was at most just an interesting curiosity that some people didn’t necessarily agree with, which was okay because I didn’t think I was morally superior nor did I think that they had to agree with me. I also didn’t make religion or politics my identity…which I suspect is perhaps what is causing your issues.

If you are poor, or even lower middle class, then you will most likely hate Massachusetts. You will be locked out of opportunities and will be working low wage jobs with…wait for it…a lot of political conservatives. More quiet than in other states where it’s not a political monolith, but still decidedly conservative. It’s not well talked about, because no one wants to acknowledge liberal progressives’ class problem, but the biggest Trump towns in Mass are often low income. It sounds like you’re not able to live in the expensive areas, so there in conservative land you will find yourself again.

Move to Norman, OK. It’s more blue than many of the towns in the Boston area. It’s cheaper than any of the other options listed here. It’s an internal state move. It makes sense; waxing poetically about a place you clearly don’t understand does not.

[mdovell]

Well this sort of opens up a bit more of a difference. Just because somebody's a Democrat does not mean that they are poor there are plenty of limousine liberals all throughout Massachusetts. I have seen some rather extremes of isolation and to a point poverty that pushes people into either the far left of the far right. Basically once you begin to be a little bit socially or economically isolated they either think that government is a solution and go further to left which can be seen in some places in western Mass as they're more actively in a green party or they go further to the right which might be seen with the old Mass resistance group.

There's also a difference between social and political issues. I actually more economic. Just because somebody happens to be say pro-choice does not mean they're for the Public Funding of abortion. Likewise it does not necessarily mean that people that are for social liberalism are for economic liberalism and vice versa

[brightdoglover]

OP was concerned that voting patterns and state edicts were against their life and ways of life. That's a state thing, not a blue city or rural red thing. The state is the state.

[WoodwindsRock]

Here we are, abortion has literally been banned in my state (as I darn well knew was going to happen when I created this topic, because I have been paying attention). My rights are literally being taken away, and I'm still being told that this is not the case and that I just need to suck it up and deal with others having different "opinions".

Moving to Norman will not give me my rights back. Norman is in Oklahoma, a solid red state, with a total abortion ban. Norman's county doesn't even go blue, in fact it was nowhere near that in the Trump elections. A move to Norman would do absolutely nothing for me. Not to even mention that I'm more of an OSU fan. lol

I've got to get out of Oklahoma.

My life has changed quite a bit since I started this topic, as I am now set on grad school. That changes everything. First it gives me the potential to "sample" an area while I'm in college, and it also opens up career opportunities in the end. That's very different from where I was at when I created this topic.

Besides, worst case scenario I end up in a workplace with Trumpers, I can rest assured that they don't have the power to take away my rights. That is the most important matter.

[WestieWhitie]

Originally Posted by WoodwindsRock

Here we are, abortion has literally been banned in my state (as I darn well knew was going to happen when I created this topic, because I have been paying attention). My rights are literally being taken away, and I'm still being told that this is not the case and that I just need to suck it up and deal with others having different "opinions".

Moving to Norman will not give me my rights back. Norman is in Oklahoma, a solid red state, with a total abortion ban. Norman's county doesn't even go blue, in fact it was nowhere near that in the Trump elections. A move to Norman would do absolutely nothing for me. Not to even mention that I'm more of an OSU fan. lol

I've got to get out of Oklahoma.

My life has changed quite a bit since I started this topic, as I am now set on grad school. That changes everything. First it gives me the potential to "sample" an area while I'm in college, and it also opens up career opportunities in the end. That's very different from where I was at when I created this topic.

Besides, worst case scenario I end up in a workplace with Trumpers, I can rest assured that they don't have the power to take away my rights. That is the most important matter.

Make sure that “sample” comes with plenty of grants and scholarships, otherwise you’ll end up adding being multiple six figures in debt to your already long list of complaints.

[gentlearts]

My son and his SO moved from Holyoke to SE Mass. They said the drug trafficking was really bad along I91. It was common to check the toilet paper in public restrooms for used needles.
It sounded bad. OP might want to keep this in mind. All the rainbow flags in the world won’t matter if you feel unsafe.

[WestieWhitie]

Originally Posted by gentlearts

My son and his SO moved from Holyoke to SE Mass. They said the drug trafficking was really bad along I91. It was common to check the toilet paper in public restrooms for used needles.
It sounded bad. OP might want to keep this in mind. All the rainbow flags in the world won’t matter if you feel unsafe.

Rainbow flags are pretty rare in cheap parts of MA, you're a lot more likely to find trump signs or gangbanger tags.

[Klassyhk]

WestieWhitie,

While I won’t disagree with you on the likelihood of seeing Trump flags, but in my experience the rainbow flag is a close second. Having interviewed in-person for a job in the area a few years ago, I visited the area again a couple of times July-Aug 2022. During the summer, I live in upstate NY about 2 hrs from Williamstown, MA. Unlike NY, in MA I noticed the rainbow flag was visibly featured on homes and/or businesses whenever I’d drive into a town (North Adams, Williamstown). But when driving thru the rural areas outside of town, I didn’t see it.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by WoodwindsRock

Here we are, abortion has literally been banned in my state (as I darn well knew was going to happen when I created this topic, because I have been paying attention). My rights are literally being taken away, and I'm still being told that this is not the case and that I just need to suck it up and deal with others having different "opinions".

Moving to Norman will not give me my rights back. Norman is in Oklahoma, a solid red state, with a total abortion ban. Norman's county doesn't even go blue, in fact it was nowhere near that in the Trump elections. A move to Norman would do absolutely nothing for me. Not to even mention that I'm more of an OSU fan. lol

I've got to get out of Oklahoma.

My life has changed quite a bit since I started this topic, as I am now set on grad school. That changes everything. First it gives me the potential to "sample" an area while I'm in college, and it also opens up career opportunities in the end. That's very different from where I was at when I created this topic.

Besides, worst case scenario I end up in a workplace with Trumpers, I can rest assured that they don't have the power to take away my rights. That is the most important matter.

So you want to move to Massachusetts so you can have an abortion???