Moving to Washington, Oregon, California, Maine or Massachusetts?

I grew up in Mass and have been to California and I say Massachusetts. Mass Pros: History - If you like history...you'll love it in Massachusetts. Paul Revere, Lexington and Concord, The Old North Church, The US Constitution, Plymouth, Salem..the list goes on and on.

Oh and the best fireworks display in the country on the 4th of July. Charm - Boston is a charming city. It has a mix of old and new architecture, its cobble stone streets in Beacon Hill, its small city feel.

No matter where you go in Boston you feel at home. Nature: We have all four seasons and host just about any outdoor activity you can think of. The spring and summer are beautiful times of year in Mass.

The fall is also gorgeous. In the fall people come from all around to look at the leaves as they change colors in the fall around New England, we have some of the best beaches in the world down on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, Sand Dunes in Truro and more beaches in Provincetown. There is also skiing, boating, rivers for canoeing, state parks, camping, hiking, bike paths, bike lanes etc. There is so much to do here.

Location: being in New England you can get to any of the states in NE relatively quickly. Mass is not that big so you can drive from the beaches of Cape Cod to the mountains of the Berkshires (the entire length of the state) in about 3 hours. NYC in 4 hours, The White Mountains of New Hampshire in 2 hours, beautiful parts of Maine in less than 1 hour, Newport RI (mansions, festivals and more beaches) in an hour and a half, Providence RI in 45 mins (host all sorts of events), Green Mountains of Vermont (awesome skiing and camping) in 2 hours or more.

We also have the countries oldest mass transit system so there are ways to get around that do not require a car: trains: Amtrak, MBTA, busses (local and state to state), ferries, airports...you name it. You can take a bus from Boston to NYC for $35 Sports scene, events and culture: Boston is one of the countries best sports towns: The Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox (historic Fenway Park) and the Boston Bruins...need I say more? There are also numerous events all year long...brew festivals, colonial reenactments, food festivals, outdoor concerts, the Boston Pops and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Museum of fine arts, the museum of Science, the Museum of Contemporary art, the Gardner Museum, The freedom trail, Art festivals, various town and city festivals, great live music venues / concerts, casinos (an hour away).

On top of that you have all of the colleges around the state which demand things to do and host many events as well. Boston is also culturally diverse. So many ethnicities bring their own festivals and events to areas around Mass.

Food: The food in Boston is really good. First of all..The world class seafood. LOBSTER!

, cod, haddock, clams, clam chowder, oysters...yum! Awesome Italian food in the north end and better cheese steaks pretty much anywhere in and around Boston than in Philly (been there and can say that for a fact). Pizza?

Try Pizzeria Regina’s in the North End...you won’t be sorry. With so many ethnicities you can find great spots to try everything from Vietnamese food to Portuguese food and sometimes they just steps away from each other. Pubs and some local take out places / bakeries have some really good eats too.

BEST OF ALL: No Earthquakes :o) Ok so here are the cons: The winter. I may not be the right person for this state because I hate it. It sucks!

It’s gorgeous the first couple times but when it's slushy rainy snowy mix for three days in a row...people tend to get grumpy. However…the crappy winter makes the spring and summer all the more special and gorgeous. Driving: Mass drivers are notorious for being selfish and terrible drivers.

My theory is because it’s an old town and the roads were made for horses and carts...not escalades and big rigs (lots of one way streets don't help matters) . Also we have so many ethnicities that come from other countries and bring their poor driving habits with them (or cannot navigate the confusing city streets) and it makes for a bad mix. Then there are the college students who come from all around the world and have never driven somewhere like Boston and you get the idea.

Add in some snow and you get the full picture. These last two can go either way.

I'm not familiar with unnamed town 30 minutes from Boston. I am a bit more familiar with Modesto (never been there though). Don't expect life there to be like anything you've seen in a movie or TV show.

It's a typical Central Valley city, very hot in the summer, working class, conservative political views, probably not a whole lot to do in the city. It is day-trip distance from San Francisco, as well as Yosemite. Also, close to skiing.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.