Welcome back. 😊

We still need to plan on there being additional growth as long as the Commonwealth is growing. Most of the growth is happening in the metro Boston area, so that's where more housing needs to be built. If you don't build housing that's how you end up with large homeless populations and the unaffordability crisis we've seen in California and other places on the west coast over the last decade or two.

Saying the schools can't take it isn't a plan and it isn't sustainable. The state typically helps municipalities with the capital cost of building schools, but towns still need to allocate money for such a project, or end up with over-full schools. But if you're building more housing, that usually means that your tax base increases as well which should help fund the schools and other services that residents need.

Growth is coming whether we like it or not, all we can decide is how to react and plan.

The elementary and secondary student population has declined by 20,000 students since its peak in 2000. more than that, the table shared also shows us that the same population has lost over 30,000 enrollees since the pandemic, a number which has not since recovered. Perhaps you were unaware of this information and/ or perhaps you are further unaware about continued declines nationwide in childbirths (post Roe v Wade data pending although Massachusetts will be different than states that have banned abortions). Regardless, your post comes across as either uninformed fear-mongering to protect the status quo (which is the base reason for NIMBY protectionism) or you’re aware of this data and are actively ignoring it to make your appeal seem reasonable.

I’m going to guess you’re just unaware and are not acting maliciously, mostly because you also made an argument about land availability which is not related to this legislation given that the law forces MBTA adjacent communities to change current zoning from 1A exclusivity and does not force them to build anything. It allows currently developed land to be redeveloped by right instead of being forced through a zoning appeal process which generally favors protectionism on the grounds of nebulous concepts such as “preserved character” which ignores that most places don’t require 6 story apartment blocks but instead something more akin to townhouses which are part of the missing middle that is illegal to build in most of the state due to current local zoning practices.

Yes they do, but in rural farming communities the increased property taxes that are brought in are not enough to offset the capital expenditure required for the additional infrastructure needed (schools, sewer, fire/police), let alone the additional annual expenses for more police officers, teachers, DPW, etc etc.

This isn’t a feasible option for these communities unless the state funds these infrastructure investments.

I don't live inside 495 and my town as well as most towns that are within 10 minutes of a non operational commuter rail are required to support the city with affordable housing. And once this housing is built and everyone from the city moves here for a year and realizes that the convinces aren't there they moce back to the city and laugh about how the NIMBY towns don't want people from the city living here.

There's a lot of lawyers in Newton, and I don't think they're scared. Just saying.

Well don’t admire our infrastructure but everything else you’re looking for is pretty much here

don't know what you're on about, that house clearly has a lovely skylight.

It seems some people are glossing over the fact you're not actually the owner of the car.

Unless you have a Karen neighbor that reports you to cause trouble, you should be fine.

No it isn’t. I welcome Boston proper to build lots more housing. I greatly encourage it.

But Boston proper is not solely responsible for supplying housing for the state.

Suburbs don’t exist in a vacuum. They are part of the greater community, and would be nothing without their proximity to Boston. They can chip in too. And entitled NIMBYs can get bent and cry a River.

If you don’t want to ever have to live near other people, move out to the sticks, not inside of 495.

Living in a northern worcester County town that is closer to NH than any major MA city, no Leominster, Fitchburg and Gardner are not major cities. We are far from the wealthiest area. We can't support building up and support your cities growth.

Thank you!

Mass will be more expensive and salaries are higher, so it probably weighs out. About getting a Mass teaching licence, see the Mass department of ed (DESE) website. For a full license, you need teaching experience, pass standard exams, pass an English exam, and earn a master's. Lot of part time MEd programs at state universities, and it bumps you up the scale. I'm not sure what pediatric therapist is.. physician? physical therapist? clinical psychologist? But in any case, it probably pays better in Mass.

Like most states, Mass school quality varies by town/district, and the MCAS (standard exam) results are available on the dept of ed website. It roughly tracks school quality. But then again, Mass tends to rank at or near the top of state by state education quality.

Mass is a great place for well-educated people, and "real winter" is the main only drawback. But there were only 2 or 3 storms this past winter where we had to shovel.

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We are known for have a population of ‘fiscally conservative’ individuals, less religious ideal conservatives. MA has the lowest percentage of individuals who identify with any religion so it makes sense. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/29/how-religious-is-your-state/?state=massachusetts

(That said if you are religious there are certainly communities here for you and your family)

We live in metrowest ish. Franklin to be specific. Schools are great, taxes low for our area and you can still commute to Boston or Worcester. Also lots of school districts hiring in our surrounding area.

Some things to consider:

As others pointed out, while this is an awesome state, it comes with a price tag. Given your jobs, I assume you can be flexible in where you live. That will help. Just know that the more rural you get, the more you're going to see similar problems to what you saw in NC. The good news here is they're just a very vocal minority, not a vocal majority with all the politicians that come along with that. The state isn't a monolith. Rural towns tend to be red. The closer to the cities you get, the more blue (and sane).

You mentioned rescue pups. First, awesome that you do that. Be sure to check with the towns you're considering for their threshold to kennel status. Many towns it's 3 pups. If you get a nosy neighbor, you may get animal control knocking on your door for too many pups. I know people that have registered as a kennel. Seems crazy, but I understand it's not that big of a deal. It may just subject you to an occasional inspection. If you're rural, this is likely not a big issue.

As others have said, look towards western MA. Sturbridge area is great. It's just on the outskirts of a reasonable commute to Boston so not too desirable for people that need that. Where your jobs can keep you local, that's not an issue for you. As far as I understand, the need for pediatric therapists is HUGE right now. Most are booked solid. The market for teachers is better than ever around here, but it's still on the tough side to break in. MA teachers are paid well. There's definitely been more of a shortage than ever this year like much of the rest of the country, but to a much less extent here.

Good luck!

Shout out to /u/TheCozierDaemon for ringing the bell on this one on a few local subs a couple days ago and possibly starting the end of this whole thing.

I would prefer the red line and route 3 noise over the loud thumping base I currently have in my backyard.

Just moved out of Sturbridge and can say with confidence it isn’t hip nor cool, pike was convenient and there are a lot of restaurants, seemed like a nice place for the 50+ crowd

Imagine living in one of the wealthiest areas of the entire world and pretending like you can’t afford a few poor people in your neighborhood 😂😂😂

Also, referring to MetroWest as “rural” (?) but simultaneously claiming they don’t have land to build housing…? Okay NIMBY

I'm including every seltzer that is listed on their website. It's a list of twenty if you want to take a look. I realize I'm missing some great limited edition flavors but I wanted to make it easy.

I’ll still never forgive them for not bringing Mint Mojito back. But I still love them.

MA has excise tax, just a heads up

First of all, if you come, welcome! Escapee transplants are wicked awesome!

Firstuball, the drawbacks. Cost of housing. This is an expensive place to live, but out here in western massachusetts, ESPECIALLY the pioneer valley you can get both rural and liberal. Up in the hill towns we have plenty of affordable homes with lots of land, and lots of good people. There are couple of qanon hotbeds so, as long as you steer clear of those towns (think orange, athol), you'll be good.

Everything else? Net positive. Healthcare is accessible, even in the rural areas. People mind their business but if you need help from your neighbors, they show up in droves. Also the same person who will immediately bring you inside and get you clothes and place to sleep if your house catches on fire in the middle of the night will happily yell 'yeah, go fuck yourself!' if they feel you have offended them in traffic. Be aware. It's not personal lol.

The school systems are overall quite well paying, but our teaching licensure is more rigorous than almost anywhere else so you/your partner will want to start researching what they need to do. You/your partner will not have difficulty finding work as a pediatric therapist, either.

We have art, we have theatre, we have nature that'll knock your socks off. We have fantastic museums. We have higher ed coming out our buttholes if you want to go back to school. Our public schools are number 1 in the country if you're planning on spawning lil beasts.