Oklahoma to (likely Western) Massachusetts - Beginning Research (Boston, Springfield: high school, college)

[swake]

Originally Posted by missionhill

There are plenty of livable, relatively low cost places to live in Massachusetts and OP's income prospects will improve considerably living in a state with higher pay grades and more opportunities.

No, see this is kind of wrong and another way this move is going to be really hard.

Oklahoma may overall be kind of poor but the Tulsa area is not. Tulsa is in the top 1/3 in average income for all metros while in the bottom 5% in cost of living.

The result is that Tulsa is one of the most affordable cities where people have among the highest rates of disposable income. So someone who is making it in Tulsa on a low income may find it very hard to do that elsewhere.

I do make good money and I have turned down moves like this one because while I would make more money on paper, once I pay for housing alone I would actually have less money to spend and would add to my commute time greatly.

Top the money issue with the OP's disabililty and lack of transportation. Just that much harder.

Lastly the OP is also discounting winters in the northeast. Sure, tornados are scary on TV, but being impacted by one is really, really rare. Even in Oklahoma by far most people will never have their lives impacted by a tornado. But back east Winter is going to happen, every year. And again a disability and lack of transportation is going to make dealing with winter just so much harder.

[bostongymjunkie]

All good points. It also has a lower unemployment rate. And I'm not plugging for OK overall, just being realistic about economics.

[WoodwindsRock]

Originally Posted by bizcuit

Now is a great time to visit Northampton too, with all the restaurants and coffee shops opening up their outdoor seating and Strong Ave closed for vehicles and open for foot traffic only. The weather is shaping up, there is music in the streets, the trees are starting to bud, everyone is out on the trails, bike paths and in the parks. It's a great time of year to be in Northampton.

The trees are just starting to bud? They bloomed back in March here and now it looks (and feels) like summer down here. UGH.


Sounds like you all have had nice weather up to now by my standards. To imagine April being a nice month and not the miserable, hot, humid, severe thunderstorm/tornado infested misery it is down here is quite something.

Originally Posted by missionhill

That's a seriously mistaken idea. GLBTQ and all oppressed groups have community almost by definition; individual members of oppressed groups have the oppression in common with one another-- that they all know it, experience it, have grieved together when someone is beaten or killed out of homophobia or racism or misogyny. They're together in the fight to expand rights and recognition and oppose legislation and judicial decisions that restrict rights. If anyone, it's the regular white heteros living in their isolated suburban houses who lack community. Despite all the rugged individualist 'I've got mine' values in this society people need community. For those who feel alone it can show up in perverse forms, like becoming an 'incel' when you can't get a date, or joining the Klan/white nationalist groups who convince themselves that white people are an oppressed group just so they too can feel part of some community.

Sadly, I do have to kinda agree with the others. None of these disadvantaged groups are any kind of united front. TERFs and the "LGB" community are a prime example of this. (Those groups in particular are shooting themselves in the foot as we speak, though. As their alliance with conservative Christians to be against trans people has ended up also taking down abortion, as it always was going to.)



Sadly, groups fight with each and can't see the overarching picture - the right wing theocrats who will stop at nothing to take rights from all of us.


We should all be in this together, but sadly it's not that simple. For example, people of color in the US are largely Christian and Christianity trends largely conservative. So a lot of people of color have been inundated in the homophobic and transphobic bigotry of conservative Christianity. They don't see the plight of LGBT people as anything like their own. They are two completely separate subjects for them. And I'm not even sure if I can argue with that. =/

Originally Posted by msRB311

That said, why does she even really want to live in MA? She's been given more affordable alternatives but is set on a certain area.

More affordable opportunities like, what, Kansas? Not to throw any shade on the suggestor of that idea, as I knew they were being sincere, but how is Kansas all of that much better than where I live by any of the standards I have mentioned?


Massachusetts was my dream state after all of the research I have done on a variety of factors, of which I have mentioned. That doesn't mean that it's MA or bust for me. I have taken all of the suggestions of upstate NY, RI and CT just as seriously. But excuse me if I'm a bit skeptical when someone brings up OH, WI, PA, or MI. PA and MI are not completely off the table to me, either. But from what I'm watching right now, there's not much power to cities versus the state, and the states' governments are prone to right wing takeovers and loss of rights.

Originally Posted by swake

Lastly the OP is also discounting winters in the northeast. Sure, tornados are scary on TV, but being impacted by one is really, really rare. Even in Oklahoma by far most people will never have their lives impacted by a tornado. But back east Winter is going to happen, every year. And again a disability and lack of transportation is going to make dealing with winter just so much harder.

Tornadoes are more than scary on TV. I've been fairly lucky here, but that doesn't mean that luck will stick. I have had more than one run-in with tornadoes before, including when coming home from college (a tornado warning that was two counties down when I left suddenly was mere miles away from my house. Those things don't follow any kind of logic, I tell you) and had a small one come over our house without any warning. The damage was minor, but still.


May of 2019 we had tornado warnings popping up every other day. They'd pop up when you had gone to bed thinking that the worst of the storms had passed. Tornado sirens were blaring that whole month, and our phones were all going off all of the time, too, to the point where I am completely startled by those alerts to this day, bringing that fear back up, even though it's usually a flood warning, which doesn't impact my home.


I can't stand that feeling. I fear for my life with the coming of every Spring. Oklahoma people think they're cool and funny and like to make jokes about them. That's just one way I know I'm not like them. I'm out of place around here.


You make a good point about the harsher winters impacting me while being disabled.

[bostongymjunkie]

That's a pretty one-sided version of reality when it comes to the issues. There's plenty of homophobia, anti-female and anti-male BS being aggressively peddled by the so-called "trans movement" which seems to include more non-trans than actual trans people, including many well funded organizations. Probably a good topic to avoid on this forum, including charged terms like TERF, as nothing good will come from it and has absolutely nothing to do with your abortion or relocation agenda.

[ben young]

After post 143 ,I think the OP is just looking to spout off their feelings about anyone differing fron the O.P. S negative thoughts.
I live in New England.and im an Unenrolled voter.I feel since I dont agree with OP,i I am now another Right Winger in the book for the OP
OP Dont even think of .NH

[WoodwindsRock]

Originally Posted by ben young

After post 143 ,I think the OP is just looking to spout off their feelings about anyone differing fron the O.P. S negative thoughts.
I live in New England.and im an Unenrolled voter.I feel since I dont agree with OP,i I am now another Right Winger in the book for the OP
OP Dont even think of .NH

My apologies, I did not mean for this topic to turn this way. I think it all started back when someone implied me as a lesbian and wondered why a lesbian would care about abortion rights to then I clarified I’m bi, but in doing so said “LGBT community” which started a whole argument for some reason. This was never my intention.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by ben young

OP Dont even think of .NH

I lived in Portsmouth for a decade. It’s politically to the left of the leafy Boston suburbs. The NH southern tier towns are metro Boston suburbs and not particularly different from Massachusetts suburbs when comparing to Oklahoma. The right wing candidates who look like Lamontagne don’t get elected in New Hampshire. They generally elect moderates.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I lived in Portsmouth for a decade. It’s politically to the left of the leafy Boston suburbs. The NH southern tier towns are metro Boston suburbs and not particularly different from Massachusetts suburbs when comparing to Oklahoma. The right wing candidates who look like Lamontagne don’t get elected in New Hampshire. They generally elect moderates.

Keene's pretty left leaning as well. Cheshire County as a whole is more liberal than conservative. It might be too small/remote for the OP who is currently in the suburbs of a significantly larger city, though it does have a small bus route (hourly weekday service - not great but living within walking distance to most things may be possible), the key major chains (Target, Walmart, Kohls, Price Chopper, Hannaford, Aldi, TJ Maxx, etc.), and a decent hospital in Cheshire Med/Darthmouth-Hitchcock Keene. Keene State is a good school and has several graduate programs. Personally, I'd much prefer Portsmouth, but if price is a factor Keene may be a reasonable bet in NH on most of the other fronts.

[WestieWhitie]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Keene's pretty left leaning as well. Cheshire County as a whole is more liberal than conservative. It might be too small/remote for the OP who is currently in the suburbs of a significantly larger city, though it does have a small bus route (hourly weekday service - not great but living within walking distance to most things may be possible), the key major chains (Target, Walmart, Kohls, Price Chopper, Hannaford, Aldi, TJ Maxx, etc.), and a decent hospital in Cheshire Med/Darthmouth-Hitchcock Keene. Keene State is a good school and has several graduate programs. Personally, I'd much prefer Portsmouth, but if price is a factor Keene may be a reasonable bet in NH on most of the other fronts.

Portsmouth is very nice but real estate prices are more or less on par with Boston suburbs, definitely not a good place for someone with a nearly empty wallet

[mdovell]

To note new England has wind as well. The 2011tornado did a fair amount of damage

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011...rnado_outbreak

Growing up in the 80s and 90s I remember a hurricane every 3-4 years