its actually harder to find affordable housing in the parts of mass that are as you describe. if you want to be in south eastern mass, it is the most expensive part, although this is where most of the population centers are, most of the jobs are, most of the kind of cultural stuff you are into would be. there are some bubbles of cheaper prices, and affordable rents, but this is definitely a you get what you pay for situation, in that many of those areas arent desirable to live in for cultural reasons and general way of those bubbles.

my hometown area, around bristol county, used to be more the way you describe, a pretty short hop to a lot of interesting places, between the cape and boston, and closest to providence which is a fun little city, but much cheaper and nice towns.

since the T went in, many decades ago now but after i was growing up here... it definitely changed, especially in price. theres still some reasonable deals to be found, depending on what you think of as reasonable, its definitely far better than boston, the cape, but the nicest parts of that were really rural and more affordable back then, acushnet, freetown, rochester are all neat places, and then marion, mattapoisett and plymouth have nice coastal areas. since the middleborough t came in though, and it was a commute to boston on train, it definitely changed and the population and prices went way up.

Plymouth and Carver and Wareham are some neat places, almost on the cape, but still some better deals and more open land.

but i think the western part of the state is the best, being a rural woodsy type myself, and definitely worlds away in price, land is downright cheap in western mass, upstate new york, southenr vermont and that general region. there are some expensive bubbles, but compared to the rest of mass, doable and what even i would call affordable all the way to rock bottom cheap. although some of it is deeply rural theres a lot of population centers, and culture, in amherst and North Hampton, all the way down to springfield. Westfield is a neat small town i like, off to the side of all that, or up from there in the north is greenfield. this is pretty rural, but saved some cultural and in opportunity by proximity to north hampton and amherst. ah some ideas. this is my favorite part of the state, although i like woodsy area and sleepy town, though i do enjoy a good coffee shop and some peeps to talk with, live music and art.

i would actually love if they put that on all ballots -- no one -- or worded better. where you are specifically voting against BOTH PEOPLE. so not just abstain, but you want to register a negative vote for both parties. and then to see if actually there would be some elections where no one actually won over both choices.

oooo that one. i was in the camp wrongly blamed for bush, having for voted for Winona LaDuke and that guy she ran with !

but again, voting in deep blue states, it really didnt matter one bit in actuality that gore lost my vote. the state wouldve gone to gore, even though i really disliked him and could not bring myself to vote for him. what a mess. but there was a big misconception there for those of us in deep blue states. i can see how that couldve been a factor in that mess, but idk. it couldve been more independents choosing between no one and nadar, not gore and nadar --or rather winona laduke -- even though it may have been a strange choice for him to have her as running mate, in all truthfullness i voted for her not him. he wasnt bad either, but that is why i voted AT ALL in that particular election.

so my choice in that one was actually LaDuke or NO ONE.

every state i have ever lived have been deeply blue. idk if many independents are like this but often for me it isnt between the dem and the green / other party/independent -- its between NO ONE and abstaining from voting, and the green/independent/other party.

so basically i am kinda a neutral on most elections, where i dont like either party. then again it does often come down to the dem and other third party, but because i live in these deep blue states, i know the dem will win and can voice that we want a third party, even knowing my person wont win.

obviously a typo, and a joke, but in all seriousness, not the worst idea i have ever heard, lets hand the government over to librarians. =) Green librarians, even, that might have far better results than ever, in some weird twist.

anyway, i sometimes vote for green, independent or "other" -- i feel like in massachusetts i can do so because its so obvious before hand the blue will win the day almost always. so its less - giving a vote to the other guy - or throw the vote away for someone who has no chance of winning, but whoever i think is best.

i guess i mean that because massachusetts is deeply blue, i can vote green or other party, just to voice that there are many who want viable third party options, and other options. and not give a vote to the other guy, since the dem is such a shoe in.