I don’t get the Market Basket love either. Occasionally like twice a year, I go to the one in Ashland and it’s always a shit show. The parking lot is the seven circle of hell and the store is as you described, crowded and tight.

Tinfoil hat a little tight today?

The cost of living is the bad of Massachusetts. In particular, housing prices are insane. Depending on where you live and work, the commute times can be excessive. A 15 mile commute can take an hour and a half depending on where you live.

It sounds like you have a good idea of the benefits of living here, and I think if people can swing it financially, it’s worth the trade-off to get those benefits.

It doesn’t sound like your jobs are conducive to remote work, so in the western part of the state, I recommend the Springfield area because you can expand your potential work area into Hartford.

Because of the cost of housing, people can’t make meaningful recommendations without a sense of your budget for either an apartment or a house. If you need to look at the school system for kids, that comes in to play as well.

I had to get coverage through the marketplace with metastatic cancer and there is no issue with pre-existing conditions. Pre-existing conditions cannot prevent you from getting insurance and they can’t charge you more.

If you were to go on SSDI, which is disability, if you have metastatic cancer, you’re likely going to be approved quickly compared to other people. But you don’t qualify for Medicare until you’ve been on disability for two years.

But a lot of people do send their kids to school in Pittsfield. Not everybody can afford to live in the safest town, with the best schools. A lot of people live in Pittsfield and Springfield and Holyoke and Chicopee and lead happy lives and their children do well in school.

The last I checked, Pittsfield was technically part of Massachusetts?

here’s a nice house for under $300k. They do exist!

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/46-Deborah-Ave_Pittsfield_MA_01201_M32615-63970

Pittsfield, Springfield. I really don’t know where else you can be looking at that price.

I wouldn’t wanna walk home from the train station in Framingham at night to that place.

That’s a beautiful setting for a wedding.

All family friendly suburbs are inherently boring, if you are coming from Boston. I don’t know if you have an unlimited budget but it’s always best to start from budget. The options for towns change if your budget is $500k or $700k. Norton has a nice little downtown area and good schools. Not sure about the housing prices. Medfield as well.

Acton, Sudbury, Holliston, Natick, Medfield are all good possibilities at that price range, all are west of Boston but inside 495.

Housing stock right now is the lowest it’s been for quite some time. Things should be picking up in about a month or so.

Here are some programs I found with a Google, the only caution I have is that once you engage with the government over this, if they find a house unsafe to inhabit, that opens a can of worms for your parents.

https://www.hud.gov/states/massachusetts/homeownership/homerepairs

I’m curious about people who are moving away from Boston because they have jobs that are remote. Is the expectation that when/if you have to get a new job or want to get a new job, you will only look at jobs that are remote? And is that realistic? I’m genuinely asking because I don’t know, I don’t work. Is it reasonable to rely on all future jobs you take being fully remote?

If the location truly doesn’t matter and a 2 1/2 hour drive to Cambridge on the days, the person has to be in the office is fine, then your money is going to go farthest in South Hadley. And western Mass has a lot to offer.

It’s not easy to get on the pike from Longmeadow.

Well, now you’re just being silly.

Would you also like us to set up appointments for you to view properties in this mythical town that doesn’t exist?

I can understand the appeal of Brunswick, I’ve taken several summer vacations in Harpswell. It’s gorgeous up there. But I can’t stress enough that the winter would likely break you. Especially if you’re coming from California. I can’t imagine how isolated it would feel to be in Brunswick in the winter.

Northampton would be fine, it has a lot to recommend it, but the housing prices are very high compared to surrounding towns.

You can this site to search, you are able to filter by location, and what insurance they take and whether they do telehealth. The filter below is those who accept masshealth.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/massachusetts?category=massachusetts-behavioral-health-partnership-mbhp

The way the housing market is in Massachusetts. I feel like budget is the first piece of information you need to figure out. Like someone said, sparse is a little hard to understand as a description of a town. Can you live anywhere in the state or do you have to be with in a certain area I mean could you be anywhere from North Adams to P-town?

I read an article about why cold swimming is so dangerous and one of the reasons is cold water shock. Which I had never heard of. But it makes sense, it seems like it would be a tremendous stress on your body.

https://www.weather.gov/safety/coldwater

A perfect winter, so far in my opinion.

The Florida of New England

Welp.

“In addition, investigators found search queries on Brian Walshe’s internet records for “how to dispose of a 115-pound woman’s body” and how to dismember a body, according to two law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation. Investigators turned their focus from a missing persons case to suspicion she may have been killed after receiving new information in the last three days, the sources told CNN.”

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/09/us/ana-walshe-missing-massachusetts-mother-update-monday/index.html

More from WCVB… this guy is a really stupid criminal.

“5 Investigates has learned, through court documents, that Brian Walshe is awaiting sentencing in a federal case involving fake Andy Warhol paintings, and he is required to report his whereabouts as part of his probation in that case.

Brian Walsh said he left the couple's home on New Year's Day, got lost on the way to his mother's house and went to both Whole Foods and CVS. However, prosecutors said there's no video surveillance or receipts showing him at either of the stores.

He also reported that he only left the couple's home the next day to get ice cream for his son; however, surveillance video at Home Depot in Rockland showed him purchasing $450 worth of cleaning supplies, including mops, a bucket and drop cloths and various kinds of tape, officials said.

"He's on surveillance at that time on Jan. 2, even though he said he never left the house. Police obtained a search warrant and actually searched the house with crime scene services. During that time, they found blood in the basement. Blood was found in the basement area, as well as a knife, which also contained some blood," Norfolk Assistant District Attorney Lynn Beland said.”

Also:

“Ana Walshe's cellphone pinged in the area of the couple's home on Jan. 1 and Jan. 2, which is after the time that the defendant said his wife left the area, Beland said.”