What do people in western mass think of people in eastern mass (Boston: suburb, area)

[G-fused]

Originally Posted by FCMA

You're doing exactly what Western Mass people figure Eastern Mass people do, lumping two very different parts of the state together. Central and Western Mass are two very different areas in politics, vibe, land use patterns, and geography. Central Massachusetts has more in common with Eastern Mass since it functions largely as a far flung suburb of Boston up to and including Worcester on the Mass Pike and out to Gardner on the Route 2 corridor.

I mean that's fine, but you might be doing that thing I mentioned earlier, extrapolating the 495 forcefield of outer suburban boringness bleeding in to semi-rural Trump towns to indicate that it's what Western Mass is like.

I was mostly joking in a snarky Eastern Mass way. I have no strong (or medium) opinion on what constitutes Western Mass. I love Western Mass. May the force be with it.

[mdovell]

Originally Posted by western mass and love it

And for the most part people in the Springfield area have no idea what lies past Northampton to the north or Westfield to the West. They know the Hartford region and most people I know have no problem hopping in the car and traveling to Boston. But you ask them to drive to Greenfield and that's like taking an overnight expedition. It's all about how people perceive things. Forget going to the Berkshires, that's almost out of the question for most people I know.

Eh I've been to Greenfield a few times and Brattleboro once. It isn't bad but it all depends on what you want to do.

The rail though is going to be big. $8 To New Haven: DOT Announces Proposed Fares For Hartford Line - Hartford Courant

The monthly pass is pretty cheap. I'm also thinking some of the other trends are going to get faster. Rents are going up in springfield and new haven but down in hartford. As it stands now the HUD rent levels for a 1 bedroom in springfield can get you a 2 bedroom in hartford.

Take a community that isn't doing well and provide fast rail access to two areas doing better and think about what happens. It's long been argued that public transit is like gas on fire in terms of gentrification.

[FCMA]

Originally Posted by G-fused

I was mostly joking in a snarky Eastern Mass way. I have no strong (or medium) opinion on what constitutes Western Mass. I love Western Mass. May the force be with it.

I figured there was a good dose of snark. May the force also be with Eastern Mass!

[tamajane]

Eastern MA/Boston seems to have more in common with Eastern NH and Eastern Maine than it does with western MA. A coastal thing? Yet there are rural areas there as well, just not as vast as in the western parts of those states. Those eastern areas of NH and Maine do not revolve around Boston, they have Portsmouth, Portland, Nashua, etc.

Western MA people have a bit of a different accent than typical Boston accent.

[tovarisch]

Actually, we have a VERY different accent; more like CT natives.

[in_newengland]

Originally Posted by tovarisch

Actually, we have a VERY different accent; more like CT natives.

That's right. I'm from WMass but lived on the north shore in EMass for quite a few years and have recently absconded to CT. And they talk just the same as I do! (Well, actually, in CT there is a Boston type accent when you go east of the river and there's a NYC type accent down in Fairfield County adjacent to NYC.)

But central CT, and the CT River Valley and CT to the west of the river (with the exception of NYC based FF County) talk just the way we do. They even order "grinders." I have always thought that the CT River is the dividing line. It also divides Vermont from NH and Vermont speaks as we do; NH tends to have that "Boston" accent.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by tovarisch

Actually, we have a VERY different accent; more like CT natives.

Maybe to someone from CT. It’s an incredibly subtle difference to Southern ears.

[BSB1]

Western Mass exists to house, and afford good memories, for those who attend Deerfield, Mt. Holyoke, Williams, or Amherst.

[in_newengland]

Originally Posted by BSB1

Western Mass exists to house, and afford good memories, for those who attend Deerfield, Mt. Holyoke, Williams, or Amherst.

You can't be serious. If you are, you forgot Smith, lol. If your interpretation of "afford" isn't only about money, you might add UMass in there too. (Williams College is not in WMass, btw, but it is in the western part of the state.)

[BSB1]

Originally Posted by in_newengland

You can't be serious. If you are, you forgot Smith, lol. If your interpretation of "afford" isn't only about money, you might add UMass in there too. (Williams College is not in WMass, btw, but it is in the western part of the state.)

Smith, of course, I knew I'd forgotten one.

>>(Williams College is not in WMass, btw, but it is in the western part of the state.)<<

Now, I hesitate to ask, but is there a difference?