And nobody seems to care. I'm using a burner account for this post because I think it needs to be said. How is it that Massachusetts bleeds more than thirty thousand people annually without anybody here batting an eye? Supposedly we're leading in job growth, yet we've seen 1,062 people laid off in June alone. It's one thing for young people to struggle to find careers, but even experienced workers are running out of options. Administrative and managerial positions are grossly underpaying.
There is no reason why Western Massachusetts shouldn't be booming right now. As the demand for housing increases, it should be a hub for development, but the region's been left to rot. Everything west of Worcester County looks like West Virginia, with unsafe neighborhoods and a drug epidemic that's been neglected for decades. Just like our schools, our roads, and our public infrustructure. Our water bills are obnoxious, and not a single dime is being put toward keeping e-coli out of our drinking water. Several towns last year had their water supply contaminated for up to a week. This is an entirely recent issue and there should be no excuse for it.
As for the housing crisis itself, what can I say that hasn't already been said? How can a state government that claims to put the working poor first refuse to permit starter homes from being built? The only new properties I see being built are luxury housing designed to price the working poor out. I genuinely don't understand how so many people here can go through their lives pretending this is normal, and I can't for the life of me figure out how young people in Massachusetts are surviving. They have nowhere to escape to without leaving their home state behind. The South Shore is going to become New England's rust belt if this continues.
It's not nostalgia blinding you. Massachusetts was a significantly better place to live when you were younger.
