Reddit mentions of Working-Class Americanism: The Politics Of Labor In A Textile City, 1914-1960

Ok, some helpful hints:

1. New England states don't work like the other 44. We have New England Towns. And often Town Meetings. This isn't just a curiosity. The town you live in will matter A LOT more than it would in other states. The laws/ordinances can vary significantly. So can the tax rates. I mean by a ton. Like a $200k house on one side of a border might cost $1,200 per month all in (taxes, principal, interest, insurance, pmi, etc), and just over a border the same $200k might cost you $1,600 per month. Look up municipal mil rates. School systems too. There are no counties that mean a damn. So towns are your everything. Even if you like an area, if you're just slightly over a border, it can suck. Direct democracy is great. But it means the exact borders of these little municipalities matters a whole lot more to your day-to-day life. Folk from away don't get that. Talk to locals or ask about a town's reputation. Even just look it up on urban dictionary. The town matters.
   
2. Ok. About states. Laws do vary. Biggest thing in state law is that NH is anomalous. No sales or income taxes, so lots of savings there, but 2 different property taxes (one to town and another to state), and the highest corporate tax to make up for it. Otherwise, New England has pretty harmonious laws. But like I said, if you're buying a house, they almost vary more by town. Building codes, septic rules, all that shit is gonna change town by town.
   
3. Especially for property taxes. In general, NH is highest, then CT, then RI, then MA. But averages mean nothing. You're going to buy a house in a locality. So pay no attention to what you think is cheap. You don't know what's cheap until you see how they do assessments and mil rates. Like I said, $250k in one town is the same monthly nut as $200k in the next, and Fannie Mae will drop your mortgage limit due to DTI ratios if you want to buy in a high tax town. So don't be fooled by sticker prices on Zillow.
   
4. Commuting. Well, commuting can suck. But lots of people commute from NH or RI to Boston for work. Especially the MA/NH border is very porous. MA folk go to NH to buy cheap shit with no taxes. NH people go to MA for work. The roads can get jammed. So check out the trains. Shoreline East & Metro North in CT, MBTA in MA and RI, Amtrak from NYC through CT and RI to Boston, then on and up the coast of Maine. Amtrak, even the slow one, travels at 130mph south out of Boston. It can be pricey, but it can also make an otherwise impossible commute possible, and you can figure out monthly deals and other things.
   
5. I don't know about your background. Sounds like IT. Should be easy to find gigs along the south shore on I-95, then up I-95 around Boston, and then up Rt. 3 into NH starting in Burlington, MA. That's where the tech/defense stuff is. Unfortunately, it's generally where the higher priced real estate is too. The two are linked. But there are deals. And you may be able to find IT gigs in western MA or the cape or Vermont, but it's probably less likely.
   
6. So about state personalities: If they were sitting in the high school cafeteria, MA is the valedictorian captain of the football team. NH is the metal kid wearing leather who rides motorcycles. Vermont is the environmentalist hippy chick. Connecticut is the preppy popular rich boy. Rhode Island is the weird gritty indy artsy girl. Maine is the rural kid in the pickup truck who hunts and fishes every weekend. This is broad-brush. The towns still matter a lot. But if you're looking for personality of a place, that's not a bad way to think about the stereotypes of the states.
   
7. OK. I googled the job thing. Most are in Boston. Figures. But there's a decent chunk in Hartford and Providence. Hartford sucks. The tax rate is insane. Maybe the worst in New England. But Windsor right next door is nice. High rates, but they assess low. Providence is much more desire-able if you want to live in a city. In general it's nicer as you go north and west, and rougher as you go south and east in the city. Or live outside of it and commute in. Lots of cheap living in the Quiet Corner of CT or northwestern RI.
   
8. So my advice? Head halfway up Rt. 6 or Rt. 44 and split the difference. You'll be in easy commute range of both Hartford, Providence, or Worcester. And you could work in Boston in a pinch, although it would suck to do for more than a year or two. Killingly has some of the cheapest Real Estate going in southern New England. Brooklyn's nice too, but their tax rate has spiked some. If you'd prefer to be on the RI side, expect to pay a bit more for the sticker price, but taxes are generally cheaper. So Foster, Pascoag, woodsy places like that are still cheap, but within striking distance of jobs. Just remember, $250k in one spot with $2k property taxes the same monthly as $200k with $4k in another. I like Burrilliville. It's white as hell. But it's a nice community. They run their own electric company in Pascoag too. And it's the cheapest taxes you'll find there. Maybe a bit more rural than you want. But you're less than 40 minutes to Providence or Worcester, and Woonsocket ain't the prettiest city, but CVS world headquarters is there (so lots of jobs), and it's only 10 or 12 miles away. If you don't mind some roughness around the edges, Woonsocket does have dirt cheap real estate too for big old stately houses. But it was an old French-Canadian working-class mill town, and it's still kinda down on its luck even with the 7th biggest company in the US headquartered there. Schools aren't great either. So most of the corporate workers live just outside it. If you do ever go, check out Chan's. Southwick's Zoo is right over the border in MA, and one of the better Zoos in New England too.
   
9. So, anyways, I think you might do well to consider that sort of border zone where CT, RI, and MA meet. You'll be relatively far from beaches and off the train lines. But that makes the real estate affordable. And you'd be in driving range of several cities with job prospects. There's enough lakes and forest around there for plenty of dog-friendly fun. And it's only an hour ride to really nice beaches on the south shore should you want to surf or go swimming or let the dog sniff some sea air or whatever.
   
10. Other benefit is TF Green. It's the 2nd biggest airport in New England. It's growing and increasingly international. But it's still smaller and much easier to navigate than Logan. And you'd be about ~30 minutes from it. So easy enough to deal with should flying be any kind of concern.
    
    PS: Delaware's a slave state. It ain't anything like New England...no Yankees. Check out Yankee Magazine. It's at https://newengland.com/yankee-magazine/. You'll get a feel for Yankee culture that way. Especially check out the "Could you live here?" segment.