fucking sucks.

Sure, makes sense. Then have your family go through the democratic process and change the law. Other states do WAY more objectionable things and we still visit them.

oh puh-lease. The guy from VA "visited" MA for a MONTH and parked in one of the most crowded neighborhoods for street parking.

Should we perhaps increase the limit for when an out of stater should have to register as a MA resident? Sure.

Is ignorance of the law a defense? Never has been, doubt it should be in this case.

What a terrible headline.

lol

I lived in Durham for a spell and you're right, the traffic there is crazy. At least here we don't have terrible ideas like left lane merges into the fast lane of highways.

Fair enough. I'll upvote for what looks to be an unpopular opinion. But you're just indicating what the vibe of various areas are and is an accurate take. Just goes to show that even though a small state, we're still varied enough to have our regional preferences.

I do like the beaches down on the South Shore / Buzzards Bay for sure.

Franklin and Medway area very nice....but OP won't find anything at all at the $250K mark

Very true. Thought if I were out that way, I'd venture a couple towns over to Wilbraham, which has a bit less touristy vibe. Monson is nice to drive through from a nature standpoint, and Peaked Mtn is a nice hike.

Shnikes indeed!

Passage to India is great. Wish more like that were in MetroWest. Sudbury has a good similar one called Soul of India, but Passage is better

Can't see the article, but I'll just put this here:

1. MA has the second highest population density of any state, second to NJ. When people say "oh, see, they're moving to a place like TX because blue states suck" or something along those lines, keep in mind that TX has a population density of 109 people per square mile, and hence a lot of POTENTIAL opportunity just naturally. MA has 884 people per square mile. The BETTER question is: why haven't many MORE people left to go to places like TX?! The answer may well be....in spite of the fierce human competition in MA, we're just a better type of community than is TX. As for me, I'd much prefer the charm of New England and MA to the cookie cutter blandness of a brand new 5,000 square foot house in Houston selling for $350k.

2. People tend to flock to places with high rankings of "natural amenities." MA is middle of the scale on this. Places out West and down South tend to rank higher, mainly because of warmer temperatures, but also because of higher percent of days with sunlight, and some other variables. See: http://map.israelsenlab.org/ People, especially in a work-from-anywhere environment, very well may gravitate to great natural resources that have nothing to do with the state itself. For me, I tend to not entirely agree with this ranking scale, even if it does correlate with where people are moving. I prefer New England's low hills, great summers and falls, and beautiful winters (when we get some snow!). I am happy it is not for everyone...if others prefer more warmth, go ahead and move...and let us get a better deal on a house around here finally!

I just filled out most of my returns on TurboTax. I specifically had to search their help section for "1099-G" which is the form that we got for the 2021 tax year MA refund (but that was received in 2022, so part of 2022 taxable income).

When I entered the amount from the 1099-G, my federal tax return amount went down, so it seems like the MA tax refund was in fact taxable income at the federal level. Note, like others have said, I do the itemized deduction.

Venting is fine, but just think about it like you are one step closer. So you fail one time or three times. Take it as motivation to learn more and be determined for the next time.

Ultimately, that is THE key in life if you want to get ahead, btw. Focus on that kind of a mindset that you CAN learn and do anything IF you have the determination and you will go far.

Good luck to you on your next exam, and I'm sure when you're out there on our roads this will be a distant memory!

Yeah, while they're not "hilly", they nonetheless have very nice landscapes. The rail trail in Holliston is very nice for recreation.

/u/C-O-L-A_COLA is mentioning a totally different part of the state. Groton is well north of where your families reside.

Of the towns you mention, Grafton to me is nice but you're right, kinda not much going on. However, it does have proximity to other locales which are more busy.

If you're considering that general area where Grafton is, my top suggestions would be Holliston, Medway, Franklin.

Since you're about to have kids, I'd highly recommend thinking about being near enough to family if you need a sitter, etc. All of the ideas of an ideal place to live are fun to consider, but the reality of life with kids also has its own requirements.

You didn't mention if you wanted to be close to one of your hometowns, so here's an app that shows what places are reachable within one hour drive of each: https://app.traveltime.com/search/0-lng=-72.61516&0-tt=60&0-color=%23d60064&0-mode=driving&0-title=Agawam%2C%20Hampden%20County%2C%20Massachusetts%2C%20United%20States&0-lat=42.06886&1-lng=-71.12866&1-tt=60&1-mode=driving&1-title=Somerset%2C%20Bristol%20County%2C%20Massachusetts%2C%20United%20States&1-lat=41.76955 (zoom out to see better).

Basically, no overlap between the two. However, something close to the mid-point is the Charlton/Sturbridge area, which itself is very nice.

If you're OK with a longer drive to your hometown, a place like Wilbraham describes what you're looking for pretty well.

All that said though, you'll probably get some better results if you provide more info like if you have a job in a particular location and commute is a factor, etc.

This diner in Hudson: https://www.victors50sdiner.com/

cool; thanks very much.

any suggestion on which trail(s) to take? I've only done the roadway up during non-winter months, but would be great to hike up what you mention...just not sure where it is.

There are actually good resources for this.

Here's an interactive map showing income by zip code. Purple is the highest. It is no contest among the areas you listed - MetroWest is by far the most widespread wealth in the state.

https://bestneighborhood.org/household-income-boston-ma/

Here's a ranking showing the best places to live in MA in terms of towns (so, not including cities). Metrowest has a huge cluster of A+ rated towns. https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/search/best-places-to-live/s/massachusetts/?type=town&map=true

Close to shopping, etc in Nashua. Relatively rural, definitely more "red" than Groton. Crime stats in interactive map format here: https://crimegrade.org/safest-places-in-pepperell-ma/

• lack thereof

Are there regions of other countries which do, like the London or Tokyo areas?

I saw the headline with the word "horrified," saw the /r/massachusetts/ logo with the Ukraine support flag, and thought Kyiv had been nuked.

Nope, just some first world nimbyism. Fuck y'all are dramatic. Save some indignation for when it is actually warranted.