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Some time ago I already inquired about Fairbanks, AK, due to a potential short-term (2-3 months) research stay next year. Turns out, the destination could also happen to be UMass at Amherst, MA, or Purdue at West Lafayette, IN. For a foreign scholar with wife and (then) one year old child, what would you suggest to be the best location? Potential criteria: Quality of the university, sights to explore on weekends (i.e. up to a ~3 hour radius), possibilities for wife and kid to spend the time when I'm at work (parks, shopping, cafes, streets/neighborhoods to stroll around), general atmosphere in the respective city - and so on.
(Of course, the considerations extend to the neighboring towns of Northampton and Lafayette, respectively.)
Amherst is just an okay college town. Downtown Amherst is kind of small, and it's surprisingly far from campus.
Nearby Northampton and Greenfield are better. I prefer Greenfield to Northampton because it's still liberal, but not too "granola," and it feels more--for lack of a better term--adult. Greenfield also has some nice restaurants and parks (the Poet's Seat, for instance), and it's closer to Brattleboro, VT (a fun, beautiful little town), North Adams (home of Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art), and New Hampshire (cheap liquor).
Northampton is livelier than Greenfield, but it's also more expensive. Northampton feels more like the stereotypical New England college town, with lots going on in terms of political activism. Northampton has more coffee shops than Greenfield, but good luck finding a spot to sit.
West Lafayette feels like a party-centric college town. Think drunk frat boys, rather than the idealistic gender-queeer communists you'd find in Northampton. Lafayette, again, feels more adult. And Lafeyette feels more like a real city. Many people in Lafeyette are from there and not associated with the University; I think this might be a good thing because it avoids the complaint that many have about college towns, which is that they feel rather transient.
So, according to my taste, here's how I'd rank the towns:
1) Greenfield, MA
2) Lafeyette, IN
3) Northampton, MA
4) Amherst, MA
5) West Lafeyette, IN
It's hard to rank schools, because both are very large public universities that are amazing in some areas and horrible in others. I think Purdue's campus is prettier than UMass, for whatever it's worth. UMass looks like some sort of a 1960's Soviet prison.
Although now I am a little worried whether I - being a libertarian with conservative leaning views on social issues - would be enjoying mentioned towns. When I visited Boulder, CO, once, the level of crazy liberalism visible in the downtown area was definitely a little too high for my taste.
Although now I am a little worried whether I - being a libertarian with conservative leaning views on social issues - would be enjoying mentioned towns. When I visited Boulder, CO, once, the level of crazy liberalism visible in the downtown area was definitely a little too high for my taste.
It sounds like Lafayette might be the best option.
Haha, in terms of politics, Northampton makes Boulder look like rural Texas. Like, I'm a Bernie Sanders supporter myself, but Northampton is too much for me. There just seems to be a smug disconnect from reality.
If you'll end up at UMass, my sense is that you might enjoy the nearby town of Miller's Falls--it's about 15 miles north of campus. It didn't strike me a ultra-liberal in the same sense as other parts of Western Mass. It felt really down-to-earth and family-oriented. But it's only about seven miles from Greenfield, which is bigger and has more to offer in terms of restaurants, shopping, and stuff.
It largely depends on what you like. I've never been to MA, but I've lived in Lafayette my whole life. "The West Side" is an entirely different world than Lafayette, and most of the students tend to stay on their side of the river. I want to move away, but not for bad reasons. Laffy is a city with a "town" feel. People aren't as friendly as in the South, but they are friendlier than East Coaster's. We have movie theaters, shopping malls, mini-golf, etc., your standard town things. There's several parks, a rock climbing gym, crossfit gyms, etc., if you are active. In a 3 hour radius you lengthen your opportunities x1000 because Chicago is 2 hours away and Indianapolis is 1 hour away, and the possibilities of things to do there are endless. My favorite place to go that's a drive is Turkey Run State Park, it's about 45 mins from here and it's absolutely gorgeous.
There's a lot of diversity at Purdue and people love to go get crunk at the campus bars, but if you cross the bridge into downtown Lafayette there are several really nice local hole-in-the-wall bars with a very different vibe and feel from West Lafayette. Also, Indiana is pretty conservative but the liberalism from Purdue does affect our area. There's still plenty of conservatives around but I feel that it's pretty equal. At any rate, I've never had issues with anyone.
Central Mass is a far superior place to be than central Indiana, despite the liberalism. You would be 1.5 hours from Boston, 2 hrs from NYC and about 3.5 hours from Montreal. You will also be able to take advantage of what New England and New York State has to offer, which blows away pretty much every part of the Midwest. Every New England state has a very distinctive personality.
For the sake of full disclosure, I have been to West Lafayette multiple times because my wife is a Delta Gamma from Purdue. I was married in Chicago and I spend a long weekend every year in Harbor Springs, MI.
All that being said, Purdue is a far superior school to be associated with.
There's no way you can drive from Amhest to NYC in 2 hours even if you managed to hit zero traffic. Fastest I've done (not to Amherst but a nearby town) was 2hr45min leaving from the Upper West Side. 2 hours to Boston is more realistic, though 1hr45min is possible depending on traffic and where in Boston.
I could be wrong, I suspect Amherst/Northampton might friendlier for someone coming from Europe. I've met a number of Europeans in the area, mostly associated with the university. Though perhaps Lafayette has some, too. But I feel like it would feel a bit less of a culture shock coming from Germany. It would also better sightseeing-wise.
For the sake of full disclosure, I have been to West Lafayette multiple times because my wife is a Delta Gamma from Purdue. I was married in Chicago and I spend a long weekend every year in Harbor Springs, MI.
I wouldn't have expected that there'd be poster familiar with both.
Last edited by nei; 11-24-2015 at 01:30 PM..
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