Moving back to NE from the South (Boston, Somerville: wages, taxes)

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by timberline742

Not most I've seen, or read. I've seen people that committed suicide by gunshot. It's violent. Incredibly violent. And it fits the definition on violence.

The illegal/illegal gun thing is a canard. Most every gun starts as a legally obtained weapon. If it wasn't obtained at all, it couldn't become an illegally obtained weapon.

Our public health research into guns / safety is horribly lacking, and that's purposeful. The NRA lobby has been quite effective in preventing Federal health research into guns and society. They may be a morally bankrupt organization (in their somewhat early days of the 1930s (they go back to the 1800s, but really only started to become robust in the early 1900s) they specifically promoted licensing for guns and safety), but they're not stupid. They know the research would not be in their favor.

I'm not at all anti gun, I've been eyeing a 16 gauge savage side by side with a beautiful walnut stock for some time, but modern America is absolutely insane with its gun fetish.

Jumping off a building is violent, as is drug running. The point being discussed here was obviously violence against others using firearms, not suicide. When crime is being discussed nobody is talking about suicide unless it's murder-suicide. One party accuses the other of making something up and calling it "patently false" and then makes up their own definition of gun violence as "deaths." Not only disingenuous, but blatantly ignores shootings that don't result in death but serious bodily injury which are all violent acts.

[TulumTraveler]

And no one has mentioned that gunfire- whether legal or not, can injure others in cross fire or "stray bullets".
https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-new...oting-suspect/

On Thursday shortly before 5 a.m., Clayton Police responded to a shots fired call at the Circle K convenience store located at 10081 U.S. 70 West Business, near Food Lion.

After arriving, officers found a store clerk locked in a bathroom and discovered shattered windows in the convenience store as well as shattered glass from the storefronts of Food Lion and Queen Nails and Spa.

Police said employees were inside the Food Lion during the shooting. Investigators found several shell casings in the Circle K parking lot and the parking lot of the shopping center behind the store.

I found this incident to be particularly disturbing, as Clayton is deemed a "nice" suburban town tucked outside of Raleigh city limits and is full of young families. The fact that shootings and stray bullets are flying at 6am in the middle of a work week is alarming to say the least.

And in a span of just 2 weeks ago, this also happened which is not far from where I live, also in a normal suburban small town outside of Raleigh:
https://abc11.com/2-year-old-shot-jo...lled/12339160/

These are all examples of horrible gun violence where innocent people are hurt or killed. We cannot arm toddlers to defend themselves against gun violence, can we?

[TulumTraveler]

Originally Posted by Remy11

Tulum Traveler,
I kid you not, I had to read your post a few times over because I was convinced you might have been my friend who is going through the same exact situation.

Like you, we grew up on the north shore and eventually settled back here. He moved his family down to the Charlotte area a few years back and they're now in Mount Pleasant, SC. He used to call me here and there to say he was homesick but also said there were some positives to being down there as well. But, over time, he sounded more and more defeated on his calls and talked about missing MA more and more. Finally, he told me just this past weekend he had a very serious talk with his wife and let her know he was extremely unhappy (and starting to feel increasingly depressed) over living in SC and wanted them to do everything in their power to come back up to the north shore next summer. And he is not someone who indulges in their doom and gloom at all. If anything, he is the type to try and find the positives in anything and is one of the more upbeat people I know. So, for him to say he's unhappy and depressed definitely says something.

It does sound like a very different world there. The last straw was when his tween son and some friends actually had guns pulled on them by the neighbors for playing some silly (and very harmless) kid pranks such as ding-dong ditch it. And FWIW they live in a very upscale home in an upscale neighborhood. He now wants out in the worst way.

I'm so very sorry you're dealing with this as well. Is there any chance at all you can make moving back up work?

For now I'll have to sit and watch the real estate market closely. With the 7% interest rate being insane right now, I don't think it's wise for us to give up our property. My husband also misses the Northeast since he grew up in New Hampshire, but he's a little more cool headed than I am. I think he would rather stay put here and try to work things out, mainly because the logistics of moving would be so painful and we'd end up losing a lot of money, etc.

Back in 2021 we actually stayed in an Airbnb in Massachusetts and tried to find a place. I called at least 3 realtors and they either told me they had no properties available, or they had 25 other clients ahead of us in line for existing properties. Rentals are not much better....many had waiting lists and we just couldn't afford to wait with no place to live (and we had our poor cat with us).

The last time I got a good deal on a mortgage in MA was in 2013 when the market crashed. But I don't see that happening again any time soon.

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by TulumTraveler

And no one has mentioned that gunfire- whether legal or not, can injure others in cross fire or "stray bullets".
https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-new...oting-suspect/

These are all examples of horrible gun violence where innocent people are hurt or killed. We cannot arm toddlers to defend themselves against gun violence, can we?

Exactly. That's why the bogus equivalence between guns and other weapons (e.g. knives) makes no sense. Guns cause lots of collateral damage. And it's usually severe. The more guns that are out there, the more the chance they will get used.

[newenglandgal123]

Originally Posted by TulumTraveler

And no one has mentioned that gunfire- whether legal or not, can injure others in cross fire or "stray bullets".
https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-new...oting-suspect/



I found this incident to be particularly disturbing, as Clayton is deemed a "nice" suburban town tucked outside of Raleigh city limits and is full of young families. The fact that shootings and stray bullets are flying at 6am in the middle of a work week is alarming to say the least.

And in a span of just 2 weeks ago, this also happened which is not far from where I live, also in a normal suburban small town outside of Raleigh:
https://abc11.com/2-year-old-shot-jo...lled/12339160/

These are all examples of horrible gun violence where innocent people are hurt or killed. We cannot arm toddlers to defend themselves against gun violence, can we?

Not just limited to guns, how about violence against others (specifically innocent bystanders) using another type of deadly weapon....a vehicle. The number of fentanyl heads and OUIers who have seriously injured or killed innocent bystanders in MA seems to increase each week. I can find two instances just the past three days in MA (perhaps there are even more that I've missed). Some of these folks are out on bail and repeat offenders. Disgusting, how do we get new judges in our courts?

https://www.wcvb.com/article/woman-k...setts/41891426

https://whdh.com/news/serious-crash-...-the-hospital/

[mdovell]

In a sense gun control back in the day and the NRA back in the way wasn't some pro nuts type of thing. They honestly promoted gun safety more than anything else and marksmanship.

Can most people be honest to God legit gun owners? Yes. Does that mean they are a marksman? Probably not. I'd argue that gun control or gun access might be better set for those that can actually shoot straight. If we test elderly drivers why can't we test elderly gun owners?

My fears are usually loose guns. If you own a gun, can shoot straight and obey all the locking and storage I don't really have an issue. You are 75+ years of age with macular degeneration and use them as paper weights then I DO have a problem with you.

I don't think you can technically ban guns. Guns pretty much make deaths efficient (morals aside) restricting firearms will most likely reduce suicides but it's hard to argue for much else. Columbine was done during the assault weapons ban so it's not like criminals obey laws but that isn't to say we allow everything. some of the arguments get hypocritical. I live in more of a rural area and there was a bear sighting around the corner and I saw one during a walk. Now could I argue I need one to protect against bears? Probably not, not with highways and state police barricks. More importantly I rather not tick off neighbors.

Some say a gun will protect you but this gets into an odd argument. How do you know someone is armed. The whole concealed vs open carry argument plays into this. Guns can be pretty small. Sure you can't really hide a shot gun that well but a handgun can be pretty small. Am I going to have to scan someone in a open carry state just to be sure? I don't know. The other aspect is that frankly if you have more effort towards protecting it might actually validate to a criminals going after. Let's say you take a two houses. You have one that's regular and the other spends 50K on a visible security system. What one do you think the criminal would go after? Same why a drug dealer might go after another, they know they have money and can't go to the cops.

The other thing on gun laws is that it does not pertain to another persons or entities private property. I have worked for employers that discovered that employees were armed. One was a woman with a piece in her purse, she was fired and then arrested. Another made a threat to an employee saying he'd take a shotgun, there was a investigation and it turns off he did have one so they fired him.

I don't think that firearms specifically are the major problem but they certainly aren't helping either. In some ways we ALREADY restrict firearms. Here's an example. If a supporter says that everyone should have them let me ask this. How can someone homeless have a firearm legally? A homeless shelter likely would not allow it and to secure it legally what are they going to do put it in a safe and carry that with them? I could argue they are the most vulnerable of all demographics. But at the same point if a guy falls asleep in a back ally and he has a .357 in his pants or a bag is it really secure? So that means to have a fire arm you have to be renting an apartment or living a house which by themselves already are restrictive. I can't think of any police chief that would sign off on someone homeless getting a license to carry.

[StarlaJane]

Originally Posted by TulumTraveler

For now I'll have to sit and watch the real estate market closely. With the 7% interest rate being insane right now, I don't think it's wise for us to give up our property. My husband also misses the Northeast since he grew up in New Hampshire, but he's a little more cool headed than I am. I think he would rather stay put here and try to work things out, mainly because the logistics of moving would be so painful and we'd end up losing a lot of money, etc.

Back in 2021 we actually stayed in an Airbnb in Massachusetts and tried to find a place. I called at least 3 realtors and they either told me they had no properties available, or they had 25 other clients ahead of us in line for existing properties. Rentals are not much better....many had waiting lists and we just couldn't afford to wait with no place to live (and we had our poor cat with us).

The last time I got a good deal on a mortgage in MA was in 2013 when the market crashed. But I don't see that happening again any time soon.

Markets are cyclical, so (eventually) prices will decrease. But, yes, they will never go back to what they were during the housing crisis.

If you are willing to compromise on location, then I would check out central MA, as there are still affordable areas there and Boston is still accessible for day trips (if you’re willing to drive).

[WestieWhitie]

Originally Posted by timberline742

Patently untrue. Tulsa OK says hi, for starters. Keep on working through the stats from right wing ciities. They're not positive.

Remind me amigo, who’s doing vast majority of the shootings (and getting shot, for that matter) in all those scary red states?

[WestieWhitie]

Originally Posted by htfdcolt

The more guns that are out there, the more the chance they will get used.

Not quite amigo - the more goons that are out there, the more chance guns will be used. NH and Vermont have enough guns to arm the entire solar system several times over yet gun violence is extremely rare.

[perennial millennial]

Originally Posted by WestieWhitie

Not quite amigo - the more goons that are out there, the more chance guns will be used. NH and Vermont have enough guns to arm the entire solar system several times over yet gun violence is extremely rare.

It might have something to do with their small populations, wealth, homogeneity, education, liberal policies