Today I heard an hilarious argument as to why it is cheaper to live in New England than in the South.\u00a0 The main points of the thesis are that the infrastructure and services available here more than make up for the exorbitant cost of living.\u00a0 So, for instance, whereas the cost of owning a car in New England (insurance, mechanic\u2019s charges, taxes) are much higher, because the roads are so much better your car will last much longer.\u00a0 When I heard this, I was thinking about what road salt does to the frame of a car in New England every winter.\u00a0 And then I thought about my recent drive on I-95 and the craters there that I drove over.<\/p>\n
Next up was the world class medical care available in this region of the country and nowhere else.\u00a0 Now, it is without a doubt true that some very fine doctors and hospitals exist in places like Boston.\u00a0 But it is also true that there are plenty of really mediocre medical centers and even terrible ones up here.\u00a0 And I have experienced both so I\u2019m not sure I believe that this is a slam dunk.\u00a0 I guess if your health is extremely poor this might carry some weight but I have heard of good hospitals sprinkled around the country and in addition if someone is in desperate need of specialized care like a knee replacement or something I\u2019m guessing you could travel for the procedure.\u00a0 So, let\u2019s call this a 50\/50.<\/p>\n
But the final point was the best.\u00a0 The overarching reason to live in New England is \u201cthe culture.\u201d\u00a0 That one I think made me snort out loud.\u00a0 Apparently going into Boston or New York City to see \u201cHamilton\u201d or some other masterpiece of middle-brow pomposity is supposed to make up for ridiculous real estate prices, outrageous utility and fuel bills, failing schools and colleges and an, in general, overregulated existence.\u00a0 And once you add the prevalence of increasing violence and squalor in the urban centers to the equation what exactly is there to extol about this region of the country?<\/p>\n
But the participants in this New England pep rally nodded their heads and agreed that no sane individual would even think of packing it in, selling off the family home and buying a bigger house for half the price in a place where you can walk around in February in a light jacket and snow is an oddity that you hear about in stories about Santa Claus.<\/p>\n
Well, I guess heaven (or hell) is where you make it.\u00a0 I will admit that we\u2019ve had a beautiful fall with balmy weather extending almost all the way to Halloween.\u00a0 But eventually you have to pay the piper and the wind has been blowing pretty hard and the leaves have been stripped from a lot of the trees (except the oaks).\u00a0 So even these people making believe they live in a wonderland know the awful truth.\u00a0 After Christmas is over, the really awful stuff will begin.\u00a0 Even with the milder winters we\u2019ve been having, there are four months of bleak, cold weather waiting for us; January, February, March and April.\u00a0 That\u2019s a bitter pill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today I heard an hilarious argument as to why it is cheaper to live in New England than in the South.\u00a0 The main points of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3366,1263],"tags":[339,74,340],"class_list":["post-35068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-events","category-life-in-dunwich","category-stuff-that-personally-interests-me-miscellaneous","tag-new-england","tag-new-england-autumn","tag-new-england-winter"],"yoast_head":"\n