Indian couple considering move to Northampton (Boston, Springfield: rentals, employment, safe area)

[gojira_]

Hello,

I currently live in NJ , I received a job offer at Mt Holyoke and I am still deciding whether to accept the offer or not. In the mean time I wanted to check here with other forum members about renting in Northampton and surrounding areas.

We are South Asian (Indian) by ethnicity and I was curious to know if the area is accepting of brown folks? On the religious front I am a Hindu and my wife is a Christian but we aren't the temple or church going type.

My wife is a homemaker and my main concern here is finding a good, safe area to live in. Also, my wife likes to make new friends, blend into the community she lives in and participate in community activities.

We've lived in different states in the US and have always lived in mostly urban/suburban areas and if I consider this opportunity it will be the first time where I'd be moving to a rural area, which is again alright as long as the area is safe and have good people living around. Also unlike the previous moves this time we have a 4 month old baby. So, if I consider this location for the long term I would hope my son also gets accepted by his future peers.

I have also considered Hartford, CT as a secondary option but the commute to work would be 40 miles which will be exhausting.

All help is appreciated! Thanks!

[rethcir]

If you consider Hartford safe, you can live almost anywhere.

You shouldn’t have concerns about your kid fitting in, he or she will be growing up culturally American.

[gojira_]

Originally Posted by rethcir

If you consider Hartford safe, you can live almost anywhere.

You shouldn’t have concerns about your kid fitting in, he or she will be growing up culturally American.

Thanks for that input on Hartford. The only reason I considered that was because I have a few friends staying there. Apart from that I am completely ignorant about Hartford or any place north and east of CT.

[in_newengland]

Areas around Northampton are very safe and you would fit right in. This is a part of the country that's very, VERY accepting and tolerant. The only place I can think of that you should definitely avoid would be the city of Holyoke. But Mt Holyoke College is located in beautiful South Hadley. You could also live in less expensive but close by, Belchertown. It's best to stay east of the Connecticut River due to traffic jams going over the bridge. You could live in Amherst. These are wonderful, exceptional towns with nearly every cultural amenity you could want.Northampton and other towns across the river are nice to live in and Northampton is the closest city--the place you would go for shows, a great downtown, and restaurants. To live there, you would just have to put up with the traffic back and forth across the river.

The area is not really rural. It's more of a laid back suburbia with recent rural roots. It's an area that is in great demand and if you are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to live there, you should probably accept it.

[missionhill]

OP's point about Hartford is that it's a relatively large urban area with lots of different people including South Asians, quite unlike South Hadley and nearby towns. Probably most useful if other "brown folks" had something to say in response to his question. I think the Northampton-Amherst college town environment, even though predominantly white, is at least accepting of different people. South Hadley is at the southern edge of that academic-liberal environment. From South Hadley Falls south to the Conn line you have the Springfield-Chicopee-Holyoke area with declining post-industrial cities and a number of suburban towns. Poor non-whites are ghettoized in Holyoke and Springfield; otherwise it's pretty white but not at all academic. It's much more like the Hartford area but without an equivalent proportion of high-paying jobs. Living in Northampton seems like a good option -- not that far from Mt Holyoke, although the geography makes it a longer drive than you might think. It's a beautiful town in a beautiful part of Mass so should be workable for a non-metro region.

[gojira_]

Thanks for your responses. Good to read positive stuff on Northampton and surrounding towns. Since there are so many colleges in the vicinity do the students cause any nuisance? Noisy late night parties or drug problems?

Also, what would be good areas to rent within Northampton?

How is the town of Hadley? I see a lot of big chain stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Walmart, Aldi to name a few in Hadley.

@missionhill
You got it right. That is exactly what I meant when I mentioned Hartford as a secondary option. But, I'd prefer being closer to work than having to drive far.

[tovarisch]

I live in the Florence section of Northampton and can recommend it, though rentals may be hard to find. The only place you would have to worry about noisy student parties, etc., would be downtown Amherst (sometimes) and the part of Amherst that is right near UMass. Otherwise it's a pretty quiet area, overall. If you end up living in Northampton, you may sometimes have difficulty getting over the bridge (traffic, construction) to get to S. Hadley, but it's still worth it. This is a great town and I think you'd find it welcoming, with good schools. Hadley is also OK but Rte. 9 has the chain and strip mall character that you mention.

[GeoffD]

The better Hartford suburbs with the good school systems would be an awful daily commute to Holyoke.

Any affluent Northeastern suburb tends to be fairly diverse and tolerant of diversity since the inward migration for white collar and health care jobs is from all over the world.

For a Holyoke job, I'd start with Northampton and Longmeadow. They're not going to be diverse the way a white collar professional Boston suburb would be diverse but you won't be the only Indian family in town. If you're working in Massachusetts, living in Connecticut has some tax penalties in addition to the burdensome commute. Their automobile taxes are much higher than Mass excise tax. There is no Proposition 2 1/2 property tax law so the 'good' Connecticut towns tend to have high property taxes.

[raveabouttoast]

Northampton, and western mass in general, is not very racially diverse. The vast majority is white. However, I found it to be an accepting area and never felt discriminated against or anything like that when I was living out there. It's just not a big deal.

If you're close to UMass, you might run into the loud college parties, but otherwise it'll be pretty quiet. I think the main drawback to living in Amherst is dealing with route 9. If you need to go over the bridge in Hadley daily, you'll be dealing with a decent amount of traffic (relative to the area).

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by gojira_

Hello,

I currently live in NJ , I received a job offer at Mt Holyoke and I am still deciding whether to accept the offer or not. In the mean time I wanted to check here with other forum members about renting in Northampton and surrounding areas.

We are South Asian (Indian) by ethnicity and I was curious to know if the area is accepting of brown folks? On the religious front I am a Hindu and my wife is a Christian but we aren't the temple or church going type.

My wife is a homemaker and my main concern here is finding a good, safe area to live in. Also, my wife likes to make new friends, blend into the community she lives in and participate in community activities.

We've lived in different states in the US and have always lived in mostly urban/suburban areas and if I consider this opportunity it will be the first time where I'd be moving to a rural area, which is again alright as long as the area is safe and have good people living around. Also unlike the previous moves this time we have a 4 month old baby. So, if I consider this location for the long term I would hope my son also gets accepted by his future peers.

I have also considered Hartford, CT as a secondary option but the commute to work would be 40 miles which will be exhausting.

All help is appreciated! Thanks!

Speaking as someone of a similar ethnicity, and having lived in the greater Hartford area for 9+ years, I can say that the entire area is very accepting, so that should not be a consideration.

The Pioneer Valley, to me, is an idyllic location that I would love to live in if there was an employment opportunity! The area is vibrant with students (5 colleges) and associated cultural events, not to mention the unique vibe and restaurants of downtown Northampton. Why not consider Amherst? I understand its schools are fairly well regarded, and you would be in a reasonable commute from Mt. Holyoke.

East Longmeadow is another option although don't underestimate the pains of getting through Springfield on I-91. Too much construction, lane shifts, curves, etc. make for bottlenecks and far-from-carefree driving, even in good weather.

As much as I love the Hartford area, it would be tough to recommend it as a daily commute.