Western Mass VS. NY Capital Region (Springfield, Westfield: job market, taxes, place to live)

[veinticrew]

I currently live in Westfield MA with my husband. We have 3 daughters who are 6yrs old almost 5 yrs old and 1.5 yr old. I personally am DYING to get out of Westfield MA for a number of reason. We have been researching the NY Capital Area and have had ours eyes set specifically on East Greenbush. We like the idea of the NY capital area because the job market in Albany seems to be very good right now and the public transportation system over there seems great. But as you can "read" I am using the word SEEM alot because I dont really KNOW. So I just wanted to get some input as to whether or not that would be a good location to raise a family with plently of family friendly things to do...Basically would it be worth putting our family through such a big move. I also like that we are so close to a major Metropolitan are like Albany where we would mostly get jobs...Dont get me wrong there are some things in Western MA that I have grown to love. I think its more the city of westfield that i want to get out of so if we find that East Greenbush is not a good fit then we will probably look for other places in Western MA. Thanks!

[loveautumn]

I really wouldn't consider Albany a major metro area...from my research, that area is OK but economically not growing at all. and you would have to pay NY State taxes...which are very high. I think Clifton Springs is one of the better suburbs as I recall. Have you thought about Great Barrington? I personally happen to love Western Massachusetts and Massachusetts in general.

I would suggest going over to the Albany forum and there's lot of information on the Albany area that would help you out. And of course, you need to visit there.

[SuperSparkle928]

Not to be blunt, but I lived in the Albany area for a while, drove through western MA about 120 times... any alternate options? (personal choice here, so just an opinion) Neither.

[Amontillado]

What's wrong with Whip City?

Actually I feel as if all the formerly industrial towns in central and western MA (and to be fair, many other regions) have a rather depressing atmosphere, and Westfield isn't all that bad compared to some. It's as if the reason why those places grew to their present size has gone, but they're still there. All those brick mills where people used to make stuff and earn money are sad to see.

One place I always like visiting is the town of Lee. It seems to have a busy atmosphere and it hasn't succumbed to tourist and second-home oriented cuteness. Probably being on the Turnpike helps it a lot.

("Whip City" is Westfield's nickname. It was the world center for manufacture of buggy whips. True fact.)

[brienzi]

Never been to Westfield, but have been 2 some of the major cities east of it, and they are depressing places. I thought Westfield was part of the Berkshires, with a thriving artist community, and a growing population. To me, it looks like a cool place to live but really stuck in the middle of nowhere with major slums close by, just my opinion.
From what i hear Albany is no paradise either..city wise...

[western mass and love it]

For what It's worth Westfield is not in the Berkshires. Also the Springfield area is more populated than the Albany area. Is much closer to other major metros and has more going on than the Albany area.