Western Mass (Boston, Worcester, Springfield: how much, colleges, living in)

[DCtoMA]

Our young family of 4 would like to find a place in Massachusetts with a lower cost of living than DC. Housing is ridiculous here and its too crowded.

My husband is considering a job with an employer in Springfield, so we are considering the move.

What is it like living in Western Mass for families? Is a commute from Amherst too far to get to Springfield everyday? Do people find there is enough to do with kids?

Thanks so much for any responses!

[FutureSoxFan?]

Originally Posted by DCtoMA

Our young family of 4 would like to find a place in Massachusetts with a lower cost of living than DC. Housing is ridiculous here and its too crowded.

My husband is considering a job with an employer in Springfield, so we are considering the move.

What is it like living in Western Mass for families? Is a commute from Amherst too far to get to Springfield everyday? Do people find there is enough to do with kids?

Thanks so much for any responses!

Amherst would be a bit of a drag for a daily commute (although I don't know what your level of tolerance for commuting is). Would probably be at least 30 minutes each way from Amherst to downtown Springfield.

Closer places would be Longmeadow, Wilbraham, West Springfield, maybe Northampton.

There is enough to do with kids, although not as much as in DC (certainly nothing on the level of the Smithsonian, etc).

Housing is not cheap in absolute terms in the Springfield area (unless you are looking in Springfield itself, which can be a relative bargain, but large parts of the city are not all that nice). The towns I mentioned above, especially Longmeadow and Northampton, can get pretty expensive (although not equal to the craziness of DC or Boston areas).

You could also look in the northern CT area (Enfield, Suffield, etc, between Springfield and Hartford). Still pretty easy to commute to Springfield from there.

[Giantone]

Any commute would be better then the Beltway so 30 mins isn't bad ...until it snows!You need to vist Western Mass first if you've never been there before especialy if you're use to DC.

[Bostonian08]

Originally Posted by DCtoMA

Our young family of 4 would like to find a place in Massachusetts with a lower cost of living than DC. Housing is ridiculous here and its too crowded.

My husband is considering a job with an employer in Springfield, so we are considering the move.

What is it like living in Western Mass for families? Is a commute from Amherst too far to get to Springfield everyday? Do people find there is enough to do with kids?

Thanks so much for any responses!

Western Mass (west of Worcester) is a fairly depressed and IMO depressing place. Coming from DC, I'm not sure you understand how much more impoverished those more remote places in America are. Dive bars, mud trucks keggers and dirtbikes are primary in the culture. Ther's a reason why it's so much cheaper.

[lettuce]

Originally Posted by DCtoMA

Our young family of 4 would like to find a place in Massachusetts with a lower cost of living than DC. Housing is ridiculous here and its too crowded.

My husband is considering a job with an employer in Springfield, so we are considering the move.

What is it like living in Western Mass for families? Is a commute from Amherst too far to get to Springfield everyday? Do people find there is enough to do with kids?

Thanks so much for any responses!

No, Amherst is not too far if you live in south amherst. You just take the back road (Bay road) over to the 91 and then south to springfield. You can also live in hadley or easthampton and maybe some areas of Holyoke that are close to the 5.

[tonrob]

Originally Posted by Bostonian08

Western Mass (west of Worcester) is a fairly depressed and IMO depressing place. Coming from DC, I'm not sure you understand how much more impoverished those more remote places in America are. Dive bars, mud trucks keggers and dirtbikes are primary in the culture. Ther's a reason why it's so much cheaper.

I agree. I, myself, live in a rusty trailer with my sister.

[Vagus]

Originally Posted by tonrob

I agree. I, myself, live in a rusty trailer with my sister.

. . . who's probably also your mother-in-law . . .

C'mon people . . . we're talking West Mass, not West Virginia . . .

[lettuce]

Originally Posted by Bostonian08

Western Mass (west of Worcester) is a fairly depressed and IMO depressing place. Coming from DC, I'm not sure you understand how much more impoverished those more remote places in America are. Dive bars, mud trucks keggers and dirtbikes are primary in the culture. Ther's a reason why it's so much cheaper.

Is this a troll post? I think it must be. Western Mass has some very affluent towns and well respected colleges. I'm not sure where you are coming from with those comments.

[lettuce]

Originally Posted by Giantone

Any commute would be better then the Beltway so 30 mins isn't bad ...until it snows!You need to vist Western Mass first if you've never been there before especialy if you're use to DC.

We have snow plows that clear the roads. I never once had to drive in snow all winter. I think winter is a mindset.

[Giantone]

Originally Posted by Bostonian08

Western Mass (west of Worcester) is a fairly depressed and IMO depressing place. Coming from DC, I'm not sure you understand how much more impoverished those more remote places in America are. Dive bars, mud trucks keggers and dirtbikes are primary in the culture. Ther's a reason why it's so much cheaper.

Pretty clear you've never been to Western Mass ,and it's also clear you no nothing of DC either.