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OGRE, I come from Northampton MA and my mother's family were all from Northampton. It used to be a very nice little city, then in the '70s it became gentrified and a lot of good people had to move out to make room for the wealthy New Yorkers who came in and took over. Granted, by the '70s the place had become run down but still we did not need to have our local stores replaced with New York boutiques and tons of really high priced jewelry shops and trendy expensive shops. as well as give up our reasonably priced homes to people who came in and paid huge prices for them.
Yes, lots of good things came in with the New Yorkers, it's just that it was a big change (like a revolution) and it forced most of the locals OUT and completely changed the city. We never called it NoHo, it was always HAMP.
Sorry, but I think I just vented about 3 decades of anger on you and you didn't really deserve it.
Northampton is a beautiful little city situated in a charming setting of blue mountains on all sides with a large river going by. People like to go boating on the river but it is not safe for swimming. (currents) There is a huge population of students and they like Northampton so much that they tend to stay, making the population outlandishly lopsided. Lots of cutsie little shops that cater to them, a few shops that are good for just about anyone, and lots of really expensive New York style shops for those who can afford them. There is a mall down rte 91 for those who want an alternative to the alternative.
Northampton boasts a fabulous and diversified mixture of restaurants. Smith College campus is a pleasant place to stroll and it offers wonderful gardens to walk in. Also a world class art museum at Smith. The Forbes Library is an absolute treasure. The Academy of Music is a lovely old building that stages plays and musicals. There is a group called The Young at Heart Chorus who travel the world -- that's how good they are -- they're senior citizens with lots of talent.
Yes, a few older people are allowed on the streets -- even people in their 40's, 50's and 60's and they are NOT ALL pathetic. Maybe they grew up there! Maybe they were out partying long before you were born?
Northampton is known as the lesbian capitol of America and if you are not one of them it can be a little bit embarrassing. Northampton is known for its tolerance but it is much too pc now -- I am not referring to the lesbians -- I am referring to the intolerance of anyone who does not conform to non-comformism. (This can get confusing and I'm trying not to write a book.)
It is not a good place to find a job unless you are a college professor as there is now a big gap between the colleges and the people who would work at normal jobs. All that is left are service jobs -- you can get a waitress job or work in one of the boutiques but mostly people have moved south or out to Boston for jobs.
We left for jobs, cleaner air, and to be by the ocean, and just because Northampton has changed too much. (The air--pollution created in NY and NJ funnels up the river valley and lands in places like Northampton. In the summer there were far too many high air pollution warnings.) I haven't missed Northampton at all except for one particular restaurant across the bridge in Amherst and two Indian restaurants in Northampton. A lot of the beauty is gone now, covered by huge condos and big ugly new houses but you can still catch glimpses of how it used to be......lush green hills, cows out in the pastures, miles of cornfields, beautiful country roads, all surrounding a fun city to visit but I wouldn't want to live there anymore.
Northampton is called Paradise City -- and it was. I would call it Paradise Lost.
Location: Chesterfield in Beautiful Massachusetts, New England
76 posts, read 173,987 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skinut74
my wife and i are looking to relocate from long island to somewhere less crowded. we have job offers in both concord nh and northampton ma. can anyone offer a reason for choosing one over the other? thanks to all who reply.
I lived in Northampton for 14 years, and I LOVE that city. I live 15 minutes away now in Chesterfield, but it's close enough that I can go anytime.
Northampton is just a clean, cultured, GREAT city. There is a lot to do, restaurants of all kinds, theateres, shops up the ying yang.... It's great.
Just moved from Florida to Lakes Region. I love going down to Concord and the mall area. So peaceful compared to the craziness of Florida. Born and raise in Connecticut I would take NH. It is HOME......A vote for NH
OGRE, I come from Northampton MA and my mother's family were all from Northampton. It used to be a very nice little city, then in the '70s it became gentrified and a lot of good people had to move out to make room for the wealthy New Yorkers who came in and took over. Granted, by the '70s the place had become run down but still we did not need to have our local stores replaced with New York boutiques and tons of really high priced jewelry shops and trendy expensive shops. as well as give up our reasonably priced homes to people who came in and paid huge prices for them.
Yes, lots of good things came in with the New Yorkers, it's just that it was a big change (like a revolution) and it forced most of the locals OUT and completely changed the city. We never called it NoHo, it was always HAMP.
Sorry, but I think I just vented about 3 decades of anger on you and you didn't really deserve it.
Northampton is a beautiful little city situated in a charming setting of blue mountains on all sides with a large river going by. People like to go boating on the river but it is not safe for swimming. (currents) There is a huge population of students and they like Northampton so much that they tend to stay, making the population outlandishly lopsided. Lots of cutsie little shops that cater to them, a few shops that are good for just about anyone, and lots of really expensive New York style shops for those who can afford them. There is a mall down rte 91 for those who want an alternative to the alternative.
Northampton boasts a fabulous and diversified mixture of restaurants. Smith College campus is a pleasant place to stroll and it offers wonderful gardens to walk in. Also a world class art museum at Smith. The Forbes Library is an absolute treasure. The Academy of Music is a lovely old building that stages plays and musicals. There is a group called The Young at Heart Chorus who travel the world -- that's how good they are -- they're senior citizens with lots of talent.
Yes, a few older people are allowed on the streets -- even people in their 40's, 50's and 60's and they are NOT ALL pathetic. Maybe they grew up there! Maybe they were out partying long before you were born?
Northampton is known as the lesbian capitol of America and if you are not one of them it can be a little bit embarrassing. Northampton is known for its tolerance but it is much too pc now -- I am not referring to the lesbians -- I am referring to the intolerance of anyone who does not conform to non-comformism. (This can get confusing and I'm trying not to write a book.)
It is not a good place to find a job unless you are a college professor as there is now a big gap between the colleges and the people who would work at normal jobs. All that is left are service jobs -- you can get a waitress job or work in one of the boutiques but mostly people have moved south or out to Boston for jobs.
We left for jobs, cleaner air, and to be by the ocean, and just because Northampton has changed too much. (The air--pollution created in NY and NJ funnels up the river valley and lands in places like Northampton. In the summer there were far too many high air pollution warnings.) I haven't missed Northampton at all except for one particular restaurant across the bridge in Amherst and two Indian restaurants in Northampton. A lot of the beauty is gone now, covered by huge condos and big ugly new houses but you can still catch glimpses of how it used to be......lush green hills, cows out in the pastures, miles of cornfields, beautiful country roads, all surrounding a fun city to visit but I wouldn't want to live there anymore.
Northampton is called Paradise City -- and it was. I would call it Paradise Lost.
Help! I'm terribly traumatized by being made the scapegoat for undeserved venting about changes in Norhtampton!
Okay, not really. Actually, I think I hear you loud and clear. Someone familiar with Northampton in recent years might see a very nice town, but if you grew up there several decades ago, you might feel the town's current good points are undermined by the way the place has changed from the town you first knew as home. It's difficult to see the real hometown kind of place where you grew up lose its neighborly feel when trendy newcomers change the character of the place to something superficially attractive, but without the depth you knew in the past. Under the circumstances, I think you did very well at portraying Northampton's present character. Towns can be nice in different ways. Whether someone will like the positive qualities of a particular town depends on personal preferences in what kinds of good points matter most.
By the way, I'm not sure what nickname Northampton's residents might have for the town now. I lived in Amherst while attending UMass, and I know the UMass students typically used the term Noho.
It has been a few years since I've been in that area, so I can't say from personal observation that Northampton has gotten so p.c. that it has lost its traditional tolerance for all stripes, and instead has become intolerant of people who are anywhere close to the mainstream. All I said in my earlier post was that I had heard rumblings that this might be happening. I would be uncomfortable saying it more definitively than that, since I don't know from any recent experiences. It sounds as if you are aware of what has happened more recently, and that Northampton has become too p.c., which is really unfortunate.
As for people well older than most of the college students who still hang around and party with the kids, well, you must think I'm younger than I am if you think most of those people were partying "long before I was born." I'm not that much of a spring chicken. When you pointed out that some of these people may have lived in Northampton (or Amherst, where you see even more of this crowd) all their lives, actually, I think that's often how this phenomenon develops. People grow up in a college town, start partying with the college kids when they are 19 or 20 or so, then just sort of stay in that mode, and wake up one day to find that they're 45, 55, etc., and they're still partying with the kids.
For the most part, these people are harmless, so they have a right to live as they choose, but I have a right to my opinion of how they live. Every situation is its own situation, but generally I find it kind of sad to see people in their 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's . . . with no friends their own age, still living like twenty-year-olds. I'm no prude, either. I had my younger wilder days. In fact, this is probably why I can see enough contrast between then and now in my own life to understand that those younger wilder days have their place, but at some point you realize that a rich, full life involves more than going out and getting hammered every night.
At any rate, these people are part of what gives college towns their distinctive character. And this character is quite distinctive, so much so that many people are going to have intense feelings--whether positive or negative--about life in a college town, so it's worth letting people considering college towns as places to live know that this college-town character is something they will want to consider in deciding whether they would like to live there.
I hope you can understand that people considering Northampton now are interested in knowing what the town is like now, and that is the kind of information most users familiar with Northampton in recent years will try to provide. I do feel for you, though, especially because the Northampton of the past which you describe sounds more like a town I would like than the way the town is now. Best of luck to you in moving on and finding the right place for yourself. Take care.
Nicolem: sorry to hear you're living in a place you don't like. But, perhaps you have moved away from Concord by now. A few questions-- How long have you lived in Concord and where have you lived before, that you are maybe comparing Concord to? Are the people you've come in contact with "gruff" or 'take it or leave it" types? I'm trying to understand what sort of reactions from people you're getting, besides the, not holding the door for you incidences... Is it the New England" stoic attitude you hear about, or the "take care of yourself attitude I've also heard about? Or do you think the people you've come in contact w/ are unhappy people?
What other things don't you like about Concord, besides the refugee resettlement issue? you said tht you like other NH towns. What towns are those and, what do you like about them??? Thanks for sharing your experience and reflections.
What other things don't you like about Concord, besides the refugee resettlement issue? you said tht you like other NH towns. What towns are those and, what do you like about them??? Thanks for sharing your experience and reflections.
Simple: boredom. Small as it may be, Concord is as lifeless of a city after dark as they come.
Oh, guess that would be a bummer if you wanted nightlife. Where do you think it will be better in that regard--portsmouth?
Of course, if you've got $400k to drop for a home.
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