Any info on Western Mass?

[ontheroad]

Well it sounds as if you have it all under control. Good for you.

Yes, the Pioneer Valley is Western MA--couple of counties in WM, but Hampshire is what most of us have been referring to in this posts.

[Samsoncat]

[quote=ontheroad;3514216]Well it sounds as if you have it all under control. Good for you.

quote]


Oh lordy!, I don't know about that
I'm just researching the heck out of everything.

[ogre]

A lot of people have been suggesting Amherst and Norhtampton. Those are nice towns in the sense of being clean and fairly upscale, though I would still suggest that Amherst may be too much of a pure college town for many people who are not part of the college community to be fully comfortable there. Depending on the general feel of a town you'd prefer, you might also check into:

South Hadley: Not sure whether it's in Hampshire County, but it's in the same general area. Another college town, but not so much dominated by the college scene as Amherst or (to some degree) Norhtampton. I think South Hadley is somewhat of a suburb of Springfield. A mix of blue-collar and professionals, and basically a pleasant town.

Easthampton: Former working class town that has gotten to have more of a mix of social classes. Near Northampton, so that the shopping and dining in Noho is close by, but you're not as much in the heart of college territory (downtown Norhtampton is a destination for college students from all around this area, as Noho is the largest town in the immediate area).

Smaller towns with more of a rural character you might check out would be Shutesbury, maybe Granby, and possibly some of the outlying, more rural, sections of Amherst. Deerfield is also a nice-looking town. I don't know so much about Deerfield, so I'm not sure, but it's so nice and clean and uspcale in appearance that it might be expensive. Not sure, though, so it's worth a look. Some would also include Hadley on this list. I personally always had the impression that Hadley was just a drab little country town, but I never really spent a lot of time there, so take my view with a grain of salt. Enough people have good things to say about Hadley that it's another town you might want to at least include on your list of possibilities.

[Samsoncat]

I looked over some apartment listings on craigslist, one of which included a link to Aspen Managment, it had something that although pricey and only a 2 bedroom it seems like these communities offer security along with on premesis bonus's like heat, hot h2o included in the rent, no yard for me to mow etc.... of course they are more costly but I look at the 'added amenities' and feel that it would make sense. this one was in Feeding Hills.

Boy, its hard to know what is where without actually seeing it.
if anyone has any experiance with these all inclusive apartments... I'd sure appreciate feedback