Massachusetts info

Skimo

Skimo

Joined
Mar 28, 2009
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My family will be moving to Mass. this autumn, anything I should know about the local weather, plants etc. ?

I'm pretty excited about moving, nothing like going to a state I've never been to... also the state is tiny, so surrounding state inf would be appreciated as well.

I think maybe Maine, it's close as is New Hampshire.

Anywhere I should go as far as day hikes and overnighters?
 
The Housatonic River runs from the Berkshire Mts/ western Mass all the way through western Ct to L.I. Sound and has all kinds of State parks,forests,campgrounds etc along its whole route. Especially nice if you are into river-running-camping-hiking thing that we do. We normally do the two car/leave one downstream thing. Check it out.--KV
 
MA is pretty darn wooded once you get out past Rte 128. There are plenty of state parks around that are decent. You could also check out the Boston Harbor Islands, a great place for kayaking to a campsite. The AT cuts through the state, and there is primitive camping on Mt Greylock. Also, trips up into Vermont are relatively quick. Knife laws are ok too.
 
Check your local ordinances, they vary quite a bit (eg. Boston is draconian), but yeh knife laws are actually pretty good. Lol at least as far as i can tell, I've seen Mass 'weapon' carry laws described as a 500 word long sentence fragment. But it seems mostly concerned with mall ninja stuff, there isn't a state wide blade length limit for normal knives. Keep in mind though if you wander down into Connecticut you could get in trouble for anything 4" or greater unless you're hunting or fishing.

I realize you asked about weather and flora, but i thought the above worth mentioning...where are you moving from, that might help people tell you what's different. :)

As a general rule the New England climate is highly variable from day to day, sometimes even within the same day.

If you visit Maine, Acadia National Park is really beautiful, the area in and around it offers a lot of hiking and biking trails.
(though I'm not sure how easy it is to get to true wilderness, last time i was there we had young children in the party and stuck to the trails.)
What I said about New England weather goes double in Maine in my experience, you probably don't want to go out without at least a light rain jacket.
 
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If you're moving to Hanscom AFB, you'll be about 12 miles from Boston.

There's a fine bike path that runs past the base entrance, which will take you almost that entire distance (also runs a bit further west). You're also near major roads leading to good hiking/camping. As was said, there are lots of wooded areas west of 128/95. Westward are the Berkshires, north are the White Mountains of NH, and N/NW are the Green Mountains of VT. Weather is highly variable due to the proximity of the Atlantic. For example, you'll have rain in Boston and snow at Hanscom. We have the traditional four seasons here, sometimes all of them in the same week. Fall color can be spectacular.

I've never had an issue carrying any length blade, but I tend to be very discrete--no clips showing, etc.

On the downside: Beware the deer tick, even in your backyard. Lyme disease is nothing short of a horror.

Shoot me a PM if you want additional info.
 
If you are moving to Hanscom, I am one town over. You can always PM me if you want any info about good places to eat, etc. I'm still considering AF JAG, and a mentor of mine was stationed at Hanscom for many years. If you are out west at Westover, I spent time in Amherst and there are quite a few good hiking/camping spots otu there as well.
 
I just came back from camping at DAR State Forest! I would highly recommend that for a great family camping area. They also have some beautiful trails as well!

Welcome to New England, if you don't like the weather, wait 20 minutes....
 
berzerker said:
If On the downside: Beware the deer tick, even in your backyard. Lyme disease is nothing short of a horror.
Click to expand...
This is important enough that it bears repeating. A friend of mine lives on Nantucket and contracted a tick borne illness, it very nearly killed him.
 
MA has some great trails, western MA is some very nice country! VT, ME and NH all have great woods, as does PA and NY. Basically, if you like the woods, this is a great place to live...other than the cost of living, and the taxes;)
 
Where in Mass are you going to be? Feel free to email me with any questions about the state; I've lived here most of my life, first in Western Mass and now in Boston area.
 
Regarding deer ticks:

On the bright side, doctors here expect to see Lyme disease, etc. so you don't have to work too hard to convince them if you get it (and you will likely know it if you do).


Otherwise, New England is fun! I am a transplant from Michigan, and I love being near mountains after all that flatness. Vermont and the White Mountain region of New Hampshire are some of my favorite areas.
 
Go to the islands Brother - Martha's Vineyard is heaven on earth and Nantucket is nice too and for a city Boston has it all. I'm from CT and New England is a great place to live and you're never very far from the ocean. You just can't beat it!!!
 
gunknifenut said:
MA has some great trails, western MA is some very nice country! VT, ME and NH all have great woods, as does PA and NY. Basically, if you like the woods, this is a great place to live...other than the cost of living, and the taxes;)
Click to expand...

I heard about the cost of living, moving from Oklahoma... well it's going to be interesting. :(
 
Foilist said:
Regarding deer ticks:

On the bright side, doctors here expect to see Lyme disease, etc. so you don't have to work too hard to convince them if you get it (and you will likely know it if you do).


Otherwise, New England is fun! I am a transplant from Michigan, and I love being near mountains after all that flatness. Vermont and the White Mountain region of New Hampshire are some of my favorite areas.
Click to expand...

I grew up in Alaska, I'm ready for some snow and some "mountains". Looks like I need to read up on Lyme disease.
 
Burke said:
Where in Mass are you going to be? Feel free to email me with any questions about the state; I've lived here most of my life, first in Western Mass and now in Boston area.
Click to expand...

Hansom is just outside of Bean Town, on the corner of Lexington, Concord and two other places, I forget what they are.
 
Joben said:
Check your local ordinances, they vary quite a bit (eg. Boston is draconian), but yeh knife laws are actually pretty good. Lol at least as far as i can tell, I've seen Mass 'weapon' carry laws described as a 500 word long sentence fragment. But it seems mostly concerned with mall ninja stuff, there isn't a state wide blade length limit for normal knives. Keep in mind though if you wander down into Connecticut you could get in trouble for anything 4" or greater unless you're hunting or fishing.

I realize you asked about weather and flora, but i thought the above worth mentioning...where are you moving from, that might help people tell you what's different. :)

As a general rule the New England climate is highly variable from day to day, sometimes even within the same day.

If you visit Maine, Acadia National Park is really beautiful, the area in and around it offers a lot of hiking and biking trails.
(though I'm not sure how easy it is to get to true wilderness, last time i was there we had young children in the party and stuck to the trails.)
What I said about New England weather goes double in Maine in my experience, you probably don't want to go out without at least a light rain jacket.
Click to expand...

Moving from Oklahoma, before that I was in Alaska, so East coast is foreign to me.
 
Great seafood everywhere :thumbup:

Maine, Green Mountains, White Mountains, the Cape - great backpacking and fly fishing, on fresh or salt water. Also great surf fishing for stripers and blues all along the Maine, NH, MA coasts. :thumbup:

Adirondacks - a little further, but 7 million acres of public land for hiking mountains and legendary fly fishing :eek:
 
Hanscom is Concord, Bedford, Lexington. Welcome. I am in Arlington. If want some decent BBQ, check out Blue Ribbon in Arlington Heights, and for a good beer selection with BBQ, Red Bones in Davis Square Somerville.
 
The Appalachian Trail runs through the western part of Massachusetts. You can hike it north all the way to Mt Katahdin in Maine! Check your compass before you start hiking - if you head south your hike will be quite a bit longer and you'll find yourself in Georgia. ;)
 
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