Ok_Translator_7026 t1_jd8cwnb wrote on March 22, 2023 at 3:51 PM

Reply to comment by bcb1200 in Looking into moving to Mass. Would love to hear about the good, the bad, the ugly of living in your wonderful state! by InspectorFun1699

I’m from NW Georgia originally. That super friendly southern thing is bullshit. It’s more about an image and I can’t tell you how many times i witnessed the friendly conversation in a store only for one of them to start talking shit about the other after they walked off.

We left GA for similar reason OP. We moved to a nice quite part of Chicopee. Almost 2 years now and we love this state. Every place has its issues sure. And people here don’t go out of their way to talk to you unless you know each other . But almost every interaction we have had people have been friendly. Driving is a bit different in the city. People are aggressive as hell but no difference than driving in Atlanta.

We lived in the MTG district so you can only imagine the political environment there. Things do cost a bit more but they pay is so much better than we made for the same jobs down south. I am a photographer and I was charging the same price I did In GA and people though I was crazy here. (I still haven’t raised them because I make enough at that price )

Good luck with your move ! And good luck learning how to pronounce the towns and cities up here. I still look like an idiot trying 😆😆😆

InspectorFun1699 OP t1_jdcyq62 wrote on March 23, 2023 at 2:43 PM

Gosh yes! Working in the school system you see so much "Oh hi Mary" and the second she is out of earshot "Did you SEE what SHE was WEARING???" I'd rather have someone just tell me that my shirt is ugly or better yet, not care at all.

MTG area - oh god I can't imagine. I'm in Greg Murphy-land who really has the same exact views but is slightly less of a fame-hog. Barf.

Did it take you awhile to adjust to the higher COL even when paired with higher pay? We're a little worried about the transition time as our dollar will not go as far but I already work 3 jobs so adding more work isn't an option at the moment

Ok_Translator_7026 t1_jdd67in wrote on March 23, 2023 at 3:32 PM

Housing is more costly of course and taxes are a bit more.

Philadelphia whipped crème cheese for 8oz here In Chicopee /Springfield is 5.59 The same thing in Marietta GA (which is a similar size city to Springfield is 4.79. I priced a few tools at Home Depot and they were the same price.

The food cost difference is similar at fast food and restaurants as well. So it can add up but it’s not bank breaking considering the pay increase.

minimum wage in GA is still 7.25$ when we moved my wife who works in the medical field got a serious pay increase for doing the same job. We have not noticed the increase in cost of living due to that. We have always been careful with how we spend our money . Kids are expensive as hell so we have had to manage money well to raise ours.

You can google stop and shop and put in our area code (01013) and price compare to whatever store you shop at at home and see how much difference you grocery bill will be every week. That will help you have an idea of the increase in food cost .

InspectorFun1699 OP t1_jdqimgv wrote on March 26, 2023 at 12:07 PM

That’s a great tool. Thank you so much for sharing. Big COL adjustment to prepare for!