seriously admin's this should be split into Western Ma and east of the river Boston area (Springfield: house, movie theater)

[blueflames50]

seriously...who ever set this up...Western Mass...the Berkshires should be a separate from "east of the Conn. River" anyone who has lived here their whole life knows the difference but outsiders don't.

[western mass and love it]

But I live west of the river and really have no connection to the Berkshires. I might go to the Berkshires maybe 3 times a year,but go to the metro Boston area at least 2 times a month. And Western Mass in my opinion starts with the eastern borders of Hamden,Hampshire and franklin counties and continues to the New York border. As far as i see it and from friends that live in the Berkshires a lot of people are more drawn to the Albany area than anything iin Mass.

[Gabe1972]

There are folks who feel Western Mass starts as soon as you get out of Metro West. This has always bugged me.

[western mass and love it]

I have plenty of relatives who think Western Mass starts at around Framingham. My parents insist on staying at my house for at least 3-4 days when they visit because they don't like to drive long distances in one day(about 85 miles from WSPFLD to Watertown). They act like we live on the great lakes or something. But have no problems making the trip to Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun in the same night(which is roughly 100 miles from there house). It is just the perception that anything in Western Mass is so far away.

[NEOhioBound]

I hope they don't split the forums because as someone new to the area, I like coming into one forum to see the information about what is available throughout all of MA. I always forget to check in the Boston forums....

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by western mass and love it

I have plenty of relatives who think Western Mass starts at around Framingham. My parents insist on staying at my house for at least 3-4 days when they visit because they don't like to drive long distances in one day(about 85 miles from WSPFLD to Watertown). They act like we live on the great lakes or something. But have no problems making the trip to Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun in the same night(which is roughly 100 miles from there house). It is just the perception that anything in Western Mass is so far away.

In my experience, this is a MA thing. I've lived in a few different states and this is one of two (Rhode Island) where driving 30 minutes is considered a "long" drive. It hit me in high school. I had a bigger SUV as a car so naturally I was the driver for everything from football away games to skipping class and going to the beach. One day the waves were good so I decided I was going to skip classes with some friends and head down to Newport to do some surfing. One of the girls described it as a "road trip." We were crossing state lines (I lived two towns over from the RI border) and travelling more than 30 minutes (it's about 40- 45) so it was a "road trip" to her. Unbelievable.

On the other hand, my college roommate (Maine) dated a girl who lived 45 minutes from the nearest movie theater or bowling alley. Up there, people drove an hour each way to run basic errands.

I also lived in the Washington DC area. We relatives and friends who regularly drove all over Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia for various reasons. It's not just a rural/ limited access to amenities thing.

I wonder what it is about Mass. residents (maybe just Eastern MA) that makes many of them so opposed to driving a little ways (unless it's a commute to work)? It's probably just that for the most part, in Eastern MA, everything you need is nearby. People in my parents' area complain about driving 10 minutes to get groceries from a supermarket. It also may be that New England towns offer more of a "sense of place." Twisting, narrow roads that lead to/from little unique village centers often make each town feel further and distinctly different from towns even 3 miles away. In a place like Florida or Arizona you can drive 30 miles without changing elevation or scenery (sprawling box stores and parking lots) which makes places feel more nondescript.

Whatever it is, it's funny that such a geographically small state has so many distinctly different regions.

[CaseyB]

New sub-forums are usually created when there is a larger interest in an area or subject. There just aren't enough threads or inquiries about another part of the state to justify it's own sub-forum.

[miu]

Originally Posted by western mass and love it

I have plenty of relatives who think Western Mass starts at around Framingham. My parents insist on staying at my house for at least 3-4 days when they visit because they don't like to drive long distances in one day(about 85 miles from WSPFLD to Watertown). They act like we live on the great lakes or something. But have no problems making the trip to Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun in the same night(which is roughly 100 miles from there house). It is just the perception that anything in Western Mass is so far away.

Maybe it's because the Mass Pike is a toll road. And other east-west routes like Rte. 2 are very slow and inefficient ways to get anywhere.

[missionhill]

I see lots of inquiries about Springfield, Northampton, etc., and a few about farther west too, but maybe not enough to justify a sub-forum. But east/west of the river is misleading: W Mass begins in Palmer and thereabouts, not at the river (Springfield itself is on the east bank, after all). I see they use this notion sometimes in the Conn forum to mean west of the river as more desirable; east as less. Which is bunk in CT and bunk in MA.

I think the unawareness of W Mass among people in E Mass has eased up since the turnpike was built, and since U Mass developed its main campus at Amherst. Think of how hard it was to travel to Boston on old Route 20, and (when it ran at all) how slow the railroad was between Springfield and Boston. Another thing-- for discretionary trips, people like going to another state. Makes it seem like more of a trip. Why travel two hours to still be in mass when you could as easily be in RI, NH, etc?

[in_newengland]

I want to keep it as is but I do agree about the (jerks) who live in the Boston area and have never even been to the western half of the state. Yes, WMass starts at about Hampden County and I guess it could extend west to the Berkshires although I always think of it as ending in the hills before you get to the Berkshires.