Posted on 12/11/2012 9:01:14 AM PST by ducttape45
I wonder,,,,,,, what would life be like in Massachusetts?
Yep, I got a job offer from Westover AFB. Not sure what to make of this; I normally don't apply for jobs in a highly liberal state like Massachusetts. I don't even remember applying for this one. I currently live in central Indiana.
From a federal job standpoint, looking at the possibility of sequestration after Jan 1st, it's not as bad as I had feared. It would actually give me more options if I'm rifted into out of it within the first year I'm on probation.
However, from a financial standpoint, the cost of living is much higher out there and could offset any raise in my pay. Plus I gotta look at the political climate. It's very, very liberal out there, and taxes are much higher than here.
I got some research to do, which is why I posted this here on Free Republic. I'm hoping there are some Massachusetts Freepers on here.
Thanks.
Even that approach is not always possible with the aggressive liberalism tainting New England in general and Massachusetts in particular.
A few year ago, at a not-so-aptly named "Friendly's" restaurant near Watertown, MA, I committed the crime of driving while Texan. As I pulled into the parking lot with my Texas plates, a family of four (dad, mother and two kids) was coming out and saw my car. Without provocation, both the husband and wife confronted me about being from Texas. "So, you're from the Kennedy killing state!" and "I bet you cowboys down there had a party when Teddy died". I was told in a profanity-laced tirade that we "right-wing, redneck Texans" weren't welcome in their fine Commonwealth.
Sure, it was one isolated incident in this case. But there were numerous times I was greeted with a middle-finger salute by proud citizens on the traffic circles on Route 6, doubtlessly because of my Texas plates and Sarah Palin window sticker.
Things haven’t changed. John Quincy Adams, after he was president and in the House of Representatives was one of the leading opponents of Texas becoming a part of the U.S.
You are correct sir!
You'd think I'd have remembered that one especially after last night's Monday Night Clinic!
Well, on a much, much lighter note, New England sure had it's way with the Texans (the Houston Texans, that is) last night on Monday Night Football: 42-14. Ouch. :-)
That humiliating defeat aside, it's always a hoot to watch Nashville, Tennessee native Bill Belichick's postgame presser. I'm not sure whether it's he or Steven Wright who has truly mastered the art of deadpan comedy.
It was a lot more folk than just 'cowboys'...
Your situation was entirely unprovoked. I had an incident which was slightly provoked -- because I know my neighbor and she knows me (not always a given in MA). I bumped into her once in 2009. The economy was in freefall and I knew her husbad was out of work. I said (very mildly)"This unemployment is something, huh?"
Her reply: "You Republicans just hate him because he's black!!"
You're not ever going to have a rational political discussion with people like that.
Very sweet! I had read an article years ago that a man from Chicago had written about how it was to move to the Boston area. It was hysterical, hit all the points that any of us from the midwest felt when we moved there.
I wish I could find it again, it was brilliant. There was one line that I have never forgotten:
‘if you can’t claim a distant relative that threw up over the Mayflower, you are not welcome in MA.
If you aren’t Irish, you are not welcome in MA.
If you can’t trace your family to a member of the founding fathers, you are not welcome in MA.’
Now I’m stuck in IL and looking to escape!
People in Western Massachusetts are less rude, more patient, and slower moving than Bostonians. I think. I don't have any actual evidence for that, though, except that each time I'm driving out there I seem to get caught behind an old guy in a hat who's driving very slowly (but I don't think it was the same guy everytime).
Western Mass isn't less liberal than Eastern Mass, though. That is to say, Metro Springfield is less liberal than Metro Boston. It would have to be wouldn't it (in the same way that almost any city in California has got to be less liberal than San Francisco). But the college towns (Amherst, Northampton, faraway Williamstown) are very liberal, and the Berkshires have gone from being the most Republican to almost the most Democratic part of the state. They really are leftover Vermont, the same kind of people: artists, craftspeople, activists, hippies, trustfunders. A few towns around the Connecticut border, though, did go for Scott Brown (and even Mitt Romney).
I guess I don't have much to contribute. Just that Springfield/Chicopee isn't Boston. See the giant kielbasa in Chicopee if they're still making it. Go to the Big E (state fair) in the Fall. Check out the colleges and their art museums if that's your thing. They also bring various musical theatrical performances to the area (as do the various Summer festivals in the Berkshires). And remember that it's only a short drive on I-91 to Connecticut (and a slightly longer drive to Vermont or New Hampshire (and a much longer drive to New York or Montreal)).
There's never been a job that has taken over 5 months to fill, and the job closed way back in August. When those jobs close the list of possible candidates is immediately forwarded to the managers and supervisors so they can choose someone and get them hired.
So because it took over 5 months to offer me the position, I very strongly believe there is something "not quite right" going on with the job.
That, along with other considerations like the crime rate (over 700% higher than here in Indiana), being Irish in an Italian/Polish community (I don't want to even go there), the housing costs (being 125% higher than Indiana), and I would have to make over $45,000 to compare with what I'm making here (the job would pay $41,000-$42,000), pretty much confirmed what I already knew, but I didn't know how bad it could be out there.
Overall, it's just not a good feel or fit for me. Still waiting on Oklahoma or Montana. I appreciate your views and trust me, you helped me make a major decision.
That also factored into my decision not to accept the job, although, Grissom could also be on the chopping block as well. It's a gamble either way, stay or go, but I feel the situation is safer here than out east.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
For the record, I'm not going. I turned it down for many reasons. I listed most of them in a post towards the end of the thread.
Thanks for your input.
WOW.
Every bit of it true...well, so much for the Spirit of Massachusetts. To be fair, I do want to mention that I (and my family) were all treated well during the tour of the Cape Cod Potato Chip factory in Hyannis. I guess no one saw the plates on my car there. :-)
Wow! I guess it's true what they say about the Irish ...
And, The New England Patriots coach is a conservative Republican, too!
As I alluded to elsewhere on this thread, native Tennesseean Bill Belichick seems like a pretty good guy. That's in stark contrast to the vile owner, Robert Kraft, a big contributor to anti-American causes. It's outrageous that such a despicable individual owns a team called The Patriots for he is anything but.
Agree.
I dunno, what do they say about the Irish?
Robert Kraft...... Rush Limbaugh is a friend of his and went to the funeral of Kraft’s wife. Rush spoke about it on his show. So how vile could Kraft be?
Of course, Rush Limbaugh also was pallin' around with Elton John, a sodomite and one who characterized President George Bush as “the worst thing that ever happened to America.”
As for hanging out with Robert Kraft, I can hope that perhaps Limbaugh was trying to get the Patriots owner to change his liberal ways, as among the top donors to the most unpatriotic of causes:
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is one of the few big-time political donors in the National Football League who's given most of his money to Democrats since President Obama took office, a new study by the Center on Responsive Politics shows.
Kraft has donated $28,800 to Democrats but just $4,800 to Republicans since January 2009, according to federal campaign-finance data analyzed by the center.
Only three NFL officials donated more to Obama's party than Kraft: the Miami Dolphins' Stephen Ross ($37,200), the Seattle Seahawks' Paul Allen ($36,000) and league official Rodney Peete ($30,400).
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