First of all, if you come, welcome! Escapee transplants are wicked awesome!

Firstuball, the drawbacks. Cost of housing. This is an expensive place to live, but out here in western massachusetts, ESPECIALLY the pioneer valley you can get both rural and liberal. Up in the hill towns we have plenty of affordable homes with lots of land, and lots of good people. There are couple of qanon hotbeds so, as long as you steer clear of those towns (think orange, athol), you'll be good.

Everything else? Net positive. Healthcare is accessible, even in the rural areas. People mind their business but if you need help from your neighbors, they show up in droves. Also the same person who will immediately bring you inside and get you clothes and place to sleep if your house catches on fire in the middle of the night will happily yell 'yeah, go fuck yourself!' if they feel you have offended them in traffic. Be aware. It's not personal lol.

The school systems are overall quite well paying, but our teaching licensure is more rigorous than almost anywhere else so you/your partner will want to start researching what they need to do. You/your partner will not have difficulty finding work as a pediatric therapist, either.

We have art, we have theatre, we have nature that'll knock your socks off. We have fantastic museums. We have higher ed coming out our buttholes if you want to go back to school. Our public schools are number 1 in the country if you're planning on spawning lil beasts.