Originally Posted By: Shannow
Our couple of trips over there, we haven't been in that area.
Meaning to get to Pennsylvania at some stage (better half wants to catch up with Gary's wife one day, after we met them both in NY).
But back on topic...Massachusets...what's it like, culture, climate, cost of living ?
Disclaimer for the Mod's - I am not making this about politics. I am answering a specific question from the OP about the state and some things require mentioning the local politics of the area. That is all I am doing.
Extremely high tax burden. I mean really high. It is nicknamed "Taxachusetts" for a reason. Very left leaning state politically as well, right up there with California( we call it little CA around here ). If your core values fall more on the conservative side Massachusetts on the whole is not for you.
Lots of big, overcrowded, cities I wouldn't want to( and don't if I can avoid it )visit let alone live in BUT also a lot of nice rural areas good for a family. Be cautious of the school system( early grades through high school )if you have kids though. The school system is a major negative in many areas of the state( my Sister couldn't find a good public school locally for her kids so had to pay for private school ). They have very good colleges however. You can live in Massachusetts somewhere other than heavily developed urban areas. My Sister actually lives in MA. She leans heavily to left in her politics though so she fits in there whereas the rest of my family who are right leaning politically wouldn't. She has however picked an area to live in that is more like our area of NH( rural, woods, nice neighborhoods, etc... ).
Massachusetts has a big anti gun climate and their gun laws are very harsh and restrictive. Hunting there can be challenging as well. It offers a lot of good opportunities but there are also a lot of challenges due to politics in many areas. Massachusetts is not where I would say a sportsman who likes guns and hunting should think of as a 1st option when relocating to a new home. Ok to live next to it like I do in New Hampshire and travel into the state to hunt but I would never live in Massachusetts unless there were major changes there just because the outdoors and gun ownership is so important to me.
Climate is typical New England which means long, cold, winters with a lot of snow and ice( a few spots like out on the Cape get more rain and are a little warmer - still NE winter though ). Summers are hazy, HOT, and humid. Massachusetts has a lot of seacoast area as well so if you like the coast and saltwater it is a good fit. It is very expensive to live in those areas however so you need to be well off financially to do so.
Massachusetts is one of the SCARIEST places to drive you will ever be. Especially in and around the major cities but it seems to afflict the entire state. They speed, tailgate, pass in the breakdown lane, suffer from extreme cases of road rage, etc... If you don't like to be around crazy, scary, drivers avoid Massachusetts roads. New Hampshire is getting bad now due to all the transplants and commuters from that state. It is scary out there dude!
The roads is Massachusetts flat out suck as well!
Massachusetts has quite a history with 4 very famous major sports franchises in the state. The Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots( Foxboro, MA ), Boston Bruins, and the Boston Celtics. If you like American sports Massachusetts( and the surrounding few states )is a good place to be. They even have a pro soccer team( Revolution located in Foxboro too )if that is more to your liking. They lost in the championship this year but did get to the MLS Cup. Soccer is not big here in the States as you probably know but FWIW the area does have a team in our pro league.
Hope this helps.