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Believe it or not Massachusetts is a great place to live and raise a family. Besides, you don't know under what circumstances this person is relocating here.
Get out as soon as you can!!! Florida does not support certain illnesses with children, and that is why my sister will not leave new york and come here. I moved here several years ago and regret it also. I have obligations, which I would like to fulfil before moving out of here.
florida is a 'slave state' and it doesn't matter what nationality you are, they will work you to death and not pay you for it.
You are right on that. Check on the wages down here, if you want to laugh... Slave state is correct. Now with the way the economy is down here they can pay you low, and get more from you, because they all know jobs are scarce and they can replace you with someone else. So they have you by the "you know whats"...
Health insurance is a joke here too. MA has a WAY better healthcare system than FL.
Cost of living.... Lets not even start on that. All I can say is FL is no cheaper than where I am from in Northampton and Western MA.
Cost of living.... Lets not even start on that. All I can say is FL is no cheaper than where I am from in Northampton and Western MA.
I would honestly look at Western Mass. It has all the perks of eastern Mass, but with a much lower cost of living. Springfield is a wonderful city to live near and have as an urban center. Its has museums and other cultural attraction which make it a pretty nice tourist draw, especially in the summer and fall. It's suburbs are quite affordable and have some of the best school systems in the country. Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, Wilbraham, Southwick, Agawam, Ludlow are great places to live. A four-bedroom house will be about $300,000 [that's on the liberal side, too].
Further north in the valley are the amazing cities of Northampton and Amherst, great to live in, very liberal and young feeling cities, with plenty of things to do. Plus they also have great schools too.
Depending on your line of work, western Mass has a lot to offer. There are plenty of jobs in the finance sector thanks to MassMutual-one of the largest mutual groups in the country. Springfield/Amherst boast almost 25,000 high tech and research jobs thanks to the presence of the universities and the BayState Health-the second largest medical group in New England after MassGeneral in Boston.
Down the road by only 30 mins [less if no traffic] is Hartford. It with Springfield make one of the most vibrant and prosperous areas in the country. Plus all the benefits of living in a state that prides itself on great social services.
Springfield is coming back, regardless of what some might say. It is in better financial standing now than even a few years ago, there is a construction boom, and plenty of buisnesses are relocating here to be near Boston, Hartford, and even New York.
I would honestly look at Western Mass. It has all the perks of eastern Mass, but with a much lower cost of living. Springfield is a wonderful city to live near and have as an urban center. Its has museums and other cultural attraction which make it a pretty nice tourist draw, especially in the summer and fall. It's suburbs are quite affordable and have some of the best school systems in the country. Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, Wilbraham, Southwick, Agawam, Ludlow are great places to live. A four-bedroom house will be about $300,000 [that's on the liberal side, too].
Further north in the valley are the amazing cities of Northampton and Amherst, great to live in, very liberal and young feeling cities, with plenty of things to do. Plus they also have great schools too.
Depending on your line of work, western Mass has a lot to offer. There are plenty of jobs in the finance sector thanks to MassMutual-one of the largest mutual groups in the country. Springfield/Amherst boast almost 25,000 high tech and research jobs thanks to the presence of the universities and the BayState Health-the second largest medical group in New England after MassGeneral in Boston.
Down the road by only 30 mins [less if no traffic] is Hartford. It with Springfield make one of the most vibrant and prosperous areas in the country. Plus all the benefits of living in a state that prides itself on great social services.
Springfield is coming back, regardless of what some might say. It is in better financial standing now than even a few years ago, there is a construction boom, and plenty of buisnesses are relocating here to be near Boston, Hartford, and even New York.
It should be tops on your list.
Hello. Thanks for the info. trust me, I am only looking at western MA, that is where I am from, lived there from birth 1970 until 1994 when I came to this gem of a state(FL). I have been home a couple times since, I was there winter of 2008/9 during the ice storms in the hilltowns in December, I lived in Chesterfield for 5 months then. My father lives in Chesterfield. I went to Northampton high. I know pretty much all of Palmer west to Pittsfield. Lived in Easthampton, northampton, Pittsfield, Chesterfield, born in Ware, grew up in Three Rivers, moved to Hamp in 1982.
I'm getting my daughter into either the Northampton area schools, or hilltowns, possibly Pittsfield. Where the job puts me is where I go.
I just can't wait to get out of FL, and back home. Goodbye ugly Palms, hello Maples!!! I need to go ride the Norwattuck rail trail. take a ride to Northfield mountain to hike. So many things I miss...
I don't have a lot to offer you, since I've only been here two times (2001-2004 in Pittsfield) (2009 - Present in Boston and Chicopee).
If you are looking for public transportation, it gets worse the further west you move in Massachusetts. The transit in the Pittsfield area is pleasant (the riders are not nearly as rude as they are in Boston) but it is infrequent and slow as molasses. You know they are behind the times when the machines that take bills aren't capable of giving you change, LOL!!!
The PVTA (Springfield area) is continuing to cut back. Where I live in Chicopee, apparently (based on what I have heard from riders and others around here) most of the routes in the Chicopee area have been eliminated. The PVTA is VERY slow, and the drivers are rude. There is a lot of drug trade in the Springfield area, so that tells you something about the type of clientele that ride those busses.
In Boston, the drivers seemed OKAY to me, but the riders were rude. Go figure.
If public transit is NOT your primary focus, head to Pittsfield. I'm trying to move that way (that's where my son lives with his mother). It IS more difficult to find a job out there (to me, finding a job is easiest in the middle part of the state), but it is so much more peaceful out there. You already know that, looking at your posts.
I for sure will NOT be looking into Springfield, Holyoke, chicopee. I know those areas, and know how it is there. It's the Northampton area or pittsfield for us. Even pittsfield has a couple not so purdy areas. I just can't wait to get out of here and up there...
Believe it or not Massachusetts is a great place to live and raise a family. Besides, you don't know under what circumstances this person is relocating here.
It has to be the services for her kid.
FL is just not too good with services dealing with autism or downs syndrome cases. Actually, I hardly see any in FL myself or even any young adults with aspergers.
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