Great Barrington vs West Stockbridge

[G1..]

Originally Posted by Bert_from_back_East

If your husband will be commuting to Albany for work on a daily basis, then West Stockbridge is a more viable alternative than Great Barrington, since West Stockbridge is geographically closer to Albany and situated on the Massachusetts Turnpike. I would imagine the likelihood of hitting a deer or another wild animal while driving on the Turnpike is lower than it would be on U.S. Route 7 or any of the other narrow, winding country roads in the area. However, both Great Barrington and West Stockbridge offer different ambiances, so you and your husband will need to spend at least one full day in each town to determine which one would be a better fit for you. My best advice would be to go with your "gut instinct."

If you and your husband are open-minded to living in other Berkshire County towns, I recommend that you investigate my personal favorite of Lenox. Although I am a Rhode Island native and slightly partial to my home state, I am convinced the most "storybook" New England town is, without a glimmer of doubt, Lenox. And Williamstown, in northwestern corner of Berkshire County/Massachusetts, is first runner-up.

Manchester and Dorset Vermont are pretty nice as is Woodstock Vermont.

[berkshiregrl]

I live in the Berkshires for peace & quiet but especially lack of traffic. So, between the two, I'd pick West Stockbridge. GB is full of tourists especially in the summer. But that said, it's pretty true for most desirable towns in the Berkshires.

I've lived in Hancock and Williamstown and commuted daily to Albany for many years. I still work for the same company but I now work from home. It's also about where around Albany he works. I personally hated commuting on 90 and much preferred the secondary roads. I normally drove 43 with some additional shortcuts. However, in the winter it can be hairy and I often worked from home on bad days or left early.

I've always found southern Berkshire county has a different feel than Northern. I've always prefer northern because I like the proximity to Vermont, the Adirondacks, Whites etc. Southern is better for getting to NYC. Boston is the same either way although southern will use 90 while northern direct route is 2.

I like Williamstown for the college, Clark Art, theater festival and small town feel even though the town is basically owned by the college. That has good and bad aspects but you know the place won't become a dump.

You want to check taxes although they will likely be lower than NY which has the separate school tax. Hancock MA has the lowest taxes in the state if that is important to you.

I never really minded commuting and with the Albany traffic patterns I always felt my co-workers from Clifton Park had a longer and more anxiety producing commute than I did.

[countrykaren]

Thanks everyone. We are taking rides out to the Berkshires to look around. Tired of paying $8K for property taxes...and so pay even more. We are both native NY'ers...originally from Long Island and just "naturally" moved upstate with our jobs. We still have time, so we will be looking into everything we can. Keep the info/ advice coming.