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I have a hard choice ahead of me and I need to make a decision by tomorrow. I've got an internship coming up and three locations to choose from. I currently live in Austin. My choices are Boston, MA; Laredo, TX; and Fresno, CA.

I'm not going to let gun laws dictate my choice but I'd be lying if I said they didn't factor in a little. I realize Massachusetts and California have terrible firearms laws, and moving to Laredo would be an easy transition as a firearm-owning resident of Texas.

That said, I've never been to Laredo and I'm curious to hear opinions of residents who may live there currently or in the recent past. If you have anything, both positive or negative, to chime in with I'd appreciate it.

spongeworthy wrote:I have a hard choice ahead of me and I need to make a decision by tomorrow. I've got an internship coming up and three locations to choose from. I currently live in Austin. My choices are Boston, MA; Laredo, TX; and Fresno, CA.

I'm not going to let gun laws dictate my choice but I'd be lying if I said they didn't factor in a little. I realize Massachusetts and California have terrible firearms laws, and moving to Laredo would be an easy transition as a firearm-owning resident of Texas.

That said, I've never been to Laredo and I'm curious to hear opinions of residents who may live there currently or in the recent past. If you have anything, both positive or negative, to chime in with I'd appreciate it.

Never been to Laredo, but I've lived in San Diego, ca, and Pitsfield, MA, (western mass.).

Laredo is a no brainer.
Seriously, dude, stay in Texas.

Dangerous living in Laredo. That is something to think about.

It you work in Pittsfield, MA and don't like living there, you could live over in New Lebanon, NY. It is only about 10 miles away.



j/k, of course. Trading MA for NY isn't much of a trade.

Temporary?

Boston is an awesome place to visit. Lots of American history. A great jumping off point for travel deeper into New England (some of NE is fairly sane)

Of those 3 id go with beantown for a temp assignment.

edit

Fresno is not my favorite area of CA but you're only a few hours from many different things. Plus the mountains above Fresno are pretty nice.

One thing to keep in mind is that California is currently in a severe record drought. The Central Valley resembles the dust bowl era with so many fields left fallow.

Also don't forget that CA pays a pretty hefty state income tax and state disability contribution, which I'd imagine you'd have to pay.

Not that familiar with Laredo myself, but as Carlson stated the crime rate in the border towns is skyrocketing. One fact to consider is the cost of living for CA or MA is going to be WAY higher. You will definitely have more to do in those locations and as RoyGBiv stated there is a LOT of great history in Boston. My niece and nephew are MIT grads and stated there to live and work in Cambridge. They love it, but is not for me. I personally would choose MA over CA, but that is my personal preference.

Good luck to you on your investigation!!

I love west Texas, would live there if I could, but it's not for everyone.

Massachusetts is on the plus side one of the most beautiful states with tons of beautiful beaches (once you get away from Boston) with some of the best seafood in the world.

On the down side, the people in general are cold/standoffish, not all of course, but much like most southerners are generally friendly and hospitable, think just the opposite of Mass. types.

And, a Mass. 5.3% state income tax should be factored in your decision.

And, liberals with their kooky ideas abound.

As for skyrocketing crime in Laredo making it a doubtful location, I'd look into skyrocketing crime in Boston too. Boston is heavily crime ridden. There are some very seriously crime ridden areas like Roxbury to stay far, far away from.

I've lived in California, but know nothing about Fresno. However, this is another heavy tax state. Much like Mass. liberal politicians with their socialist mind set, feel perfectly justified into digging deep into productive working citizens wallets to fund their give away programs to those unwilling to work.

Laredo is probably one of if not the hottest city in Texas in the summer. You're in the sub-tropics.

Is it dangerous?

Oh yeah.

Hey, you're living across the border from a war zone...but, still, you're in Texas. I'd look into how much crime spill-over there is or perhaps isn't...

Keith B wrote:Not that familiar with Laredo myself, but as Carlson stated the crime rate in the border towns is skyrocketing. One fact to consider is the cost of living for CA or MA is going to be WAY higher. You will definitely have more to do in those locations and as RoyGBiv stated there is a LOT of great history in Boston. My niece and nephew are MIT grads and stated there to live and work in Cambridge. They love it, but is not for me. I personally would choose MA over CA, but that is my personal preference.

Good luck to you on your investigation!!

Crime in border cities has actually decreased (US side) in recent years. El Paso is actually one of the safest cities in the US.

I would suggest a little Google effort. You will see the perception of crime in Laredo doesn't match reality.

I bet the crime rate in Laredo is lower than Fresno.

Fresno is not the California you see on the post cards!

gljjt wrote:

Keith B wrote:Not that familiar with Laredo myself, but as Carlson stated the crime rate in the border towns is skyrocketing. One fact to consider is the cost of living for CA or MA is going to be WAY higher. You will definitely have more to do in those locations and as RoyGBiv stated there is a LOT of great history in Boston. My niece and nephew are MIT grads and stated there to live and work in Cambridge. They love it, but is not for me. I personally would choose MA over CA, but that is my personal preference.

Good luck to you on your investigation!!

Crime in border cities has actually decreased (US side) in recent years. El Paso is actually one of the safest cities in the US.

I would suggest a little Google effort. You will see the perception of crime in Laredo doesn't match reality.

Regular viloence may be down, but Cartel violence is more of a threat. I think that is just driving the amateurs out of the border towns farther north.

Thank you for the replies everyone. For a number of reasons I've decided to go with Fresno.

Fresno County appears to be quite liberal with their issuance of CHLs and I'll only need to limit my magazines to 10-rounds to be compliant with their draconian rules. This definitely puts off my AK plans but that can wait.

As far as crime goes it is definitely a problem in any city with 500K+ residents but neither location is on par with Chicago or Detroit.

Good luck. If you have any questions about CA gun laws, feel free to shoot me a message. The Cal Guns site is also very active but can be overwhelming with information.

Keep in mind you'll also need to register any guns you bring with you and there are some onerous restrictions around rifles and shotguns.