Good towns around Springfield, MA for a golfer and family (Boston: apartment, renting)

[thampton]

My husband and I, plus 11-month-old baby, are looking to relocate to the Springfield, MA area. Schools will eventually be important. My husband loves golf, so it'd be nice to have a few reasonably priced public golf courses within a 30 minute drive. I know that Amherst, Northampton, Longmeadow, and East Longmeadow are supposed to be nice and have good schools, but I don't know much else. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[lrfox]

I think those communities are a good place to start looking. Longmeadow and East Longmeadow are a bit more of your prototypical suburbs, while Amherst and Northampton are more independent with nice, active and walkable town centers and a historic housing stock. Amherst is very much a college town (Northampton has that title too, but not to the degree Amherst does) with UMass and other colleges (4 others to be exact) right in that area. All lovely communities, but different and one may suit your needs better than another. My favorite of the bunch is Northampton for the afore mentioned walkable town center. I love the choices in restaurants, shops, etc. There's a lot of activity in an otherwise quiet town. Both Amherst and Northampton are liberal enclaves while the Longmeadows aren't quite as defined (in all, Massachusetts is pretty left wing) in that regard.

I can't help you with the golfing. A quick google map search pulled up THIS map with courses listed (click the red dots for more info on each course), hopefully that can help.

good luck

[western mass and love it]

there is pretty much a golf course in every city town in western mass,if you prefer more rural living i would suggest the Amherst,Northampton area. good schools and a pretty laid back vibe with less city living.if you like it more suburban the East longmeadow ,Longmeadow ,Wilbraham area is also great place to look.If you prefer a more urban setting Springfield is a good choice, don't take to much stock into what you read on this board Springfield is a decent place to live.But outside of springfield you have West Springfield,Chicopee,Agawam,Ludlow,Holyoke and Westfield that all ofer a more urban setting but not quite the city living of springfield. And like i said before the is a golf course in just about every city and town in the area.

[thampton]

Thanks for the advice! We're moving from Boston (too crowded for us) and are thinking about moving west to the Springfield area or north (maybe the Portsmouth, NH area). We're going to take a drive north next week-end. If you happen to also have any advice on places north of Boston, please pass it along.
Thanks again!

[lrfox]

Thampton, I guess I would ask a few questions about you to give you a better suggestion. First, do you have a need for jobs or can you work your current job from home? Each area has its own employment situation that may make things difficult for you (Boston is far and away the best place to find work in New England). Next, what are you looking at in terms of a price range. Most certainly, anywhere in New England you choose to go (with the exception of Southwestern CT) will be more affordable than Boston, but each area is different so if your budget is tight, I'd go with the place you can get the most bang for your buck.

Portsmouth New Hampshire is great. It's a bit North of Boston, but due to the coast keeping it warmer, its winters are similar to what you find in Springfield. The schools in New Hampshire are not as good as the better ones in Massachusetts, but they're not necessarily terrible. The city itself is absolutely beautiful with charming colonial homes and a nice, walkable downtown chalk full of shops, restaurants and excellent architecture. It's still not far from Boston (about an hour), but far enough to get you away from the crowds of the metropolitan area.

If you're looking to escape the crowds of Boston, I'd seriously consider Portland, Maine. It's small (larger than Portsmouth, smaller than Sprinfield at 63,000 people), but it's incredibly safe and family oriented. I lived there for 4.5 years and was impressed with how family centric it was. I left because it was too small for me (I'm 23, single and in graduate school... Boston is perfect for me), but there's a great sense of local pride in Portland. Like Portsmouth, Portland has a charming, active little downtown area and many great neighborhoods. Portland is small enough that you can find a nice, suburban home (historic or new) within the city itself. If you'd rather have a little more room, 10 minutes outside of town in towns like Scarborough, Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth, etc you'll find very good school districts, small, safe towns and family oriented activities, etc. Gorham, Cumberland, Yarmouth, Saco, etc are all a bit further from Portland (within a half hour) but offer elbow room, safety and good schools. It's one of the best areas to bring up a family in New England for the money (It's hard to beat a place like Newton, but the cost is tough for many).

Furthermore, your husband would love the golf in the area. You have dozens of courses along the coast near Portland as well as the courses in the Mountains just minutes away.

Portland would be the first place in New England I'd suggest for someone looking to leave Boston due to the population density (Portsmouth next, Burlington VT after that followed by the Southcoast, Sprinfield/Northampton, etc). There, you'll find sufficient amenities, good schools, plenty of safety and vast natural beauty. Take a weekend and check it out. Now's a great time of year to visit.

[thampton]

Irfox, you're so nice to offer such great advice to a perfect stranger. We may be getting a bit ahead of ourselves with our plans to move. I'm a writer and work from home (so can work anywhere in the country), but my husband is a music teacher (elementary/middle school). He's sort of struggling with what he wants to do long-term -- continue to teach or try something different. I make enough money to support us, at least for a few years, but he doesn't want to be a house husband. Part of us wants to just bite the bullet and move to where we want to live and then see what we can patch together for income. But of course, that's kind of scary in today's job market. Right now we're renting a 2 bedroom apartment in Boston and really want more space. We have enough money to get a mortgage on a $350,000 to $375,000 home.

Anyway, your recommendations are much appreciated. I've heard good things about Portland, ME from others as well. We should really check it out! The only thing holding us back is that my inlaws live near Cincinnati, so a trip to see them might be tough from there. (We'd like to stay under a 15 hour drive -- Portsmouth just makes the cut -- or near an airport with direct flights. However, Portland isn't much farther than Portsmouth.)
T