We are thinking west for more nature and lower cost of living. He’s a teacher. I’m a pediatric therapist. Both with major student loans. Budget would definitely be under $250,000 - even that makes me sweat a little. However we are both used to NC pay which is some of the lowest in the country for what we do. Recreation: hanging with the dogs, reading, board games…as I think about this it’s all very indoorsy. It’s so hot here (to me as a midwesterner) that I only really go outside 3 months a year. But I used to love hiking, kayaking, just walking around, ice skating, any rec sport, checking out local art and music.

I m in process of buying 2000sq ft house on 7700 sq ft land which is about .177 acres. It's a single family home with a backyard. I don't know what i would do with more land.

Yeah, for me what was unique was the online diary. But in my personal life I've had times facing people who were 100% committed to seeing things a certain way, and acted against me like a black sheep, or against me and a group of friends. The power-trip aspect of this was disappointingly familiar.

Northampton and Amherst are really nice. Weather sucks, mind you. But August is amazing.

Just saw a home on the water a block away from me that was listed for $700k a year ago, outdated but seemed clean and a bit bigger than my house, totally tore down. A perfectly okay house, total tear down for $700k! Much bigger house going in that'll be $1m+ for sure.

That's the double-edge to it, it's probably the only reason my house was affordable.

This is a good start.

That's pretty much the sum of my fears. Or that incel guy, Eliot Rodger.

Or is that just paranoia?

That's what I would hope, what I'm trying to come around to. The questions that bubble back up are like, the behavior was different from other CBG people types, and why?

Have you been to Legacy Place in Dedham? It's crazy busy year round, they did a pretty good job with the design for an outdoor mall.

Oooo I’ve never tried this flavor! I’m excited to try it out.

Agreed, it was cool to see some people trying to talk directly to the person in an empathetic tone. It didn't seem totally effective but worth the try. I ultimately didn't do this, but I thought about submitting to the truerandomthoughts sub posts like "It is OK to take a tactical retreat" or "Even people trying their best to do good things can do bad, even especially when their values are compelling and pure."

I absolutely will! Thank you so much! This advice has been invaluable :)

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So you want the benefits of Boston without the externalities?

This won't stop until the State starts incentivizing businesses to move outside of Boston/128 loop.

The State Reps/Senators from New Bedford, Lowell, Worcester & Springfield areas need to all band together.

The chance that will happen is zero.

Our 1 party State politicians know if they buck the system, the system will kick them out, and politicians care more about their own paychecks/pensions than the people they serve.

That’s great to know there might hope for housing! We are not looking at big cities. Partner is a small town person plus I couldn’t imagine not gardening or playing with dogs outside so some space, even a little bit, is important! Good to know it might be possible - thank you!

I’m currently saving for my first home alone, I have what I’d consider a decent salary (140k) and I still can’t afford much of anything except for a fixer upper. Unless I go incredibly far west and away from Boston, which I need to be close to for work. It’s really starting to piss me off…

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I guess I have a fundamental question. How is the town sustainable long term? If you aren't developing or improving property, does that mean property taxes go up 2-3 percent every year? At what point do folks say that's unacceptable? What about when that infrastructure built in the sixties needs to be updated, bridges, schools or major buildings? Who is going to pay for that? Or how?

I’d be careful, looks like some replacement shingles on the roof. You never know what that might be covering up.

You're right, taken private. I just mean it's inaccessible and likely to remain so.

There was a true-crime sort of thrill reading it, I got sucked in. And I'm not generally a true-crime stan. Also there was a sense of control - I was reading & finding out more about somebody on what seemed like a personal level, even as it seemed even more sinister or threatening.

I doubt that was all fake, given the months-long engagement and more. More likely to be a professional group operation making a character, than one person writing from a fake personality. But just one person dealing with their issues seems most likely to me.

Not even that far. Brookline has built some stuff but they're stuffing the biggest buildings onto tiny parcels and not allowing anything more dense pretty much anywhere

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Your just saying what everyone does not want to hear, nobody would bat an eye if we're were talking about L.A.