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I am interested in hearing people's thoughts on this, so here it goes:
In a while, I will be leaving the military and my wife and I are looking for a place to buy a home and put down some roots. We have moved around a lot, so we know that we can find good things and get used to anywhere.
I have been reading posts about many different places in this forum and have concluded that if you spend enough time at this web site, everywhere will seem like a terrible place to live based on the posts that you read. I also know that I need to take them all with a grain of salt due to the self-selecting group that contributes to these forums. By that I mean people who are content and happy, wherever they may live, are less likely to post than those who feel the need to vent about one thing or another.
I am a conservative, both fiscal and social. I am also an active Christian, so my first instinct is to relocate to a low-tax, low cost-of-living "red" state because it tends to fall in line with my own way of thinking, plus they tend to be states that have been doing well economically recently (although, of course, the downturn is starting to be felt everywhere now).
However, I am running into a few issues. First of all, although I am a conservative Christian, I am not of the Evangelical/Rick Warren, whatever-you-want-to-call-it type. In fact, I have some issues with them. It seems like that is the most prevelent type of Christianity i a lot of these red states though.
My second issue is that a lot of these states just seem plain old boring! I mean take Oklahoma (I am not out to get Oklahoma, it is just an example). It is a conservative, low-tax, low cost-of-living state, but it just seems like a boring place on the prairie.
I can appreciate a place like Rhode Island )and the rest of New England) that has the ocean, four distinct seasons, close to the mountains, has a unique culture and some of the oldest history in America. However from reading posts, it is painted as a cesspool of criminals, welfare cases, and other low-lifes all while charging insanely high taxes.
As far as politics goes, again, I am a conservative. However, I am more inclined to take a live-and-let-live approach on social issues, but I want to keep my own money!
Is the Rhode Island/New England economy too bad, cost-of-living too, high, and would I be too much of a fish out of water to live there? Should I just play it safe? I am interested to hear what people think.
New Hampshire is the reddest of the New England states (why aren't the Democrats red? Seems like an appropriate color for them)...anyway....New Hampshire would probably make you the happiest.
New Hampshire is the reddest of the New England states (why aren't the Democrats red? Seems like an appropriate color for them)...anyway....New Hampshire would probably make you the happiest.
You are right about the color scheme. In Europe, left-wing parties are associated with red, and those on the right with blue ("Tory Blue" in the UK, for instance). In the U.S., red and blue were arbitrarily assigned to the parties for the purposes of election night TV coverage. Often times, but not always, blue was used to represent the incumbant party. It really wasn't until 2000 that the colors started a firm association with the parties, and it just so happened that the Republicans were red that year.
Is the Rhode Island/New England economy too bad, cost-of-living too, high, and would I be too much of a fish out of water to live there? Should I just play it safe? I am interested to hear what people think.
When it comes to Rhode Island your happiness depends a little on your budget and how you manage to deal with a couple unique characteristics of this state. Your religion or political views don't really matter too much, you'll be able to find others who share your political and religious beliefs. Rhode Island isn't for everybody though. The state's small and it's hard for a stranger to fit in. It takes time. While most people are friendly enough you'll find yourself being kept at the threshold for a while until they had enough time to figure you out. This can be a grind for some people, your milage may vary.
The state does have issues though which shouldn't be overlooked and are certainly not just venting by disillousioned folks.
The job market is abysmal.
Our infrastructure is horrid. Public transportation isn't good and our roads have seen much better days.
There's an element of corruption and 'who you know' which will make your life difficult when you don't know anybody here.
And yes, we've got lots of illegal immigrants around here which is a bit of an issue in itself.
We do have beautiful scenery, history, things to do, seasons, all of that.
Are there worse states to live in than RI?
Absolutely. Is it the New England state to move to at this point in time?
Probably not.
You don't say whether you like urban or rural but RI has so many regions packed into a small area that I feel there would definitely be places you would like, with the more rural areas probably being the more conservative.
As with any area, the more money you have the more & better choice you have. I doubt there are too many wealthy landowners from Little Compton or people who live in the mansions of Newport or Jamestown writing complaints on this forum.
There's nothing that beats a visit to look around to see for yourself and New England is fabulous in May.....
Truthfully, the best way to decide, is to visit. Change of season, mountains, ocean, culture and history are good reasons to choose N.E.
Rhode Island is kind of lop sided. Most of its people are located in the northeast corner, with outskirts much more rural. I think you are right about many of the red states being a bit boring, and many of them are cheaper to live in than the blue states, with comparably lower wages. While N.E. may have a reputation of being liberal, it really is more an issue of "what you do in your back yard, is your business" type of attitude. There are plenty of good churches for Christians, with large congregations. You might not see the "fire and brimstone" type more associated (or stereotyped) of the south.
New Hampshire is the reddest of the New England states (why aren't the Democrats red? Seems like an appropriate color for them)...anyway....New Hampshire would probably make you the happiest.
Hello MonkeyButler,
Thank you for being open minded and considering New England as a place to move to. I think if you came here and got to us you would be very happy that you did and that you would find your old assumptions to be inaccurate. We are the region people love to hate. We are the subject of some of the most ridiculous and untrue fodder out there...
We are a very diverse place. Conservative Christians are indeed welcome here, and so is everyone else on the planet. Though we are in fact secularists. We respect your right to believe what you want, not you want, wether you want. Please be tolerant of your neighbor and his or her beliefs is all we ask. Though as I'm sure you know- ignorance is everywhere and some people are not open minded or educated enough. But everyone gets a vote and a mouth in America.
We are not welfare statists despite what red America may want to believe- though Rhode Island is in fact pretty damn generous! But in New England we are committed to a strong safety net, and people tend to believe in taxes as a tool to provide for common needs... I thought that was American though myself, not a red or blue state thing. But greed seems to be reigning supreme in America today I guess. I also thought helping people was a Christian act. Personally I'm Roman Catholic, and consider myself very slightly right of center, though I am indeed a secularist. I'm also as New England as they come- being a Mayflower descendent.
But yet people in America seem to forget that New Englanders worked themselves through the harshest of conditions turning extremely rocky land into farmable land through famine and harsh weather, risked their entire society for belief in a better way and rebelled against the world's largest military power, ended slavery before just about any other states- despite the contrary opinions of other states, was a cradle to the industrial revolution, was amongst the world's first places to suffer for that industrialization in the forms of environmental damage, labor abuses, and a slew of social problems, we have contributed large numbers to every conflict ever fought by Americans, and we have ultimately through 400 years of taxation have contributed MASSIVELY to the construction of infrastructure through this entire nation.
I guess my point is this:
Please come visit.
Come see for yourself. Be patient and open minded.
I think you will come to understand it differently. Visit this forum often and you will in fact see how diverse the people and opinions are around here.
Let us know if you need any help!
To CoventryDude:
I agree, though Maine has a red streak too. But then again so does Connecticut, oh wait so does Mass... it just depends on where you live! People think New England is solid blue... we tend to vote Democratic, at the moment, but in terms of the people its just not really true. We do indeed have the bluest of the blue, but we also have some of the reddest of the red. I dont know about you, but I know plenty of Republicans and plenty of Christians!
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