Berkshires vs. Cape Cod for late career move? (Boston, Northampton: house, find a job)

[Zephyr2]

If you go up to Camden, Maine, you get both the mountains and the sea, real downtown that is open year-round, reasonable real estate, especially outside of town a bit, most small-town amenities are right there. Downtown looking out over the waterfall and the harbor from the library is one of the nicer views anywhere. Mostly rocky beaches up there, but still fun to walk winter or summer.

[OutdoorLover]

To Zephyr2's point, some areas that might interest you beyond the Cape and Berkshires, since you have flexibility... I would include in your search (1) the North Shore of MA - I'll suggest Gloucester and Amesbury, and (2) in the Seacoast NH area just north of Amesbury, I'll suggest Exeter, Dover and Durham.

None of these towns are highly seasonal, and all of them are in a vibrant area with options for cultural events, outdoor activities, and practical shopping, and have medical services in the area, so you're not out in the weeds, either.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by Zephyr2

If you go up to Camden, Maine, you get both the mountains and the sea, real downtown that is open year-round, reasonable real estate, especially outside of town a bit, most small-town amenities are right there. Downtown looking out over the waterfall and the harbor from the library is one of the nicer views anywhere. Mostly rocky beaches up there, but still fun to walk winter or summer.

Yep, Camden is pretty awesome. That is where I will likely retire. It is a little out of the way, but the surroundings are just drop-dead gorgeous, whether it's the harbors, local lakes or the Camden Hills, there are a lot of public-access lands for e.g. hiking, kayaking and fishing, and while it's quiet by Massachusetts standards, it's a vibrant year-round area, and you do have the basic practical shopping and medical services that one "needs", there's a regional hospital on the Rockport/Rockland line, and Camden and Rockland even have an arts scene and numerous festivals.

I'd suggest it to the OP, but he/she said that Burlington, VT is too far from everything, so I stuck with the Mass North Shore and Seacoast NH.

[marber]

Just a heads up about the Cape. I moved to Falmouth in 2012. One thing I didn’t expect that really bummed me out is the amount of litter along the roads. The Berkshires are much cleaner.
Marc

[Bert_from_back_East]

Cape Cod is a very beautiful region of Massachusetts, especially in the summertime, but it has an "end-of-the-earth" feeling that Berkshire County lacks. Given the peculiar geography and limited road infrastructure of Cape Cod, the only major cities within reasonable driving distance from most towns on the cape are Boston and Providence, and it can be quite arduous to travel to those cities during high season. As other posters have mentioned up-thread, Cape Cod is somewhat of a "dead-zone" during the winter months, since the region's primary industry, tourism, comes to a complete standstill at that time of year. Unfortunately, the lack of commercial industry at Cape Cod and the major seasonality of the region have spurred one of the most severe opioid epidemics in the United States.

Despite having colder, snowier winters, Berkshire County seems to offer a wider array of year-round activities for residents and visitors alike. In addition to foothills and mountains, Berkshire County has many more farms, lakes, rivers, wineries and wooded areas than Cape Cod. Also, there are many more cultural institutions throughout Berkshire County, such as colleges, museums and performing arts centers, for example, than at Cape Cod. Finally, Berkshire County borders three other states, Connecticut, New York and Vermont, and the northernmost towns are only a short drive away from New Hampshire. As a result, Berkshire County residents have greater access to cities and regions located outside of Massachusetts and New England. If we use the very popular town of Stockbridge as a barometer for regional travel, then one is approximately 15 miles away from Pittsfield, approximately 41 miles away from Albany (which is the New York state capitol, by the way), approximately 48 miles away from Springfield and approximately 73 miles from Hartford (which is the Connecticut state capitol, by the way). Additionally, Boston and New York are both within 150 miles from Stockbridge. In other words, the location of Berkshire County is hard to beat.

[SWDOC]

Thank you, GeoffD, LOL, no wicked cold water for me! I like the idea of 2 zip codes! Maybe someday I can afford 2 small places. I'm tired of yard upkeep anyway :-)

[P Larsen]

The Berkshires also have reasonable access to the Adirondacks, Catskills, Green Mountains, the Hudson Valley and Lake Champlain Valley and Montreal. My close friends who long summered for over 2 decades on the mid-Cape and lower Cape (Osterville and Truro/Ptown) but then switched to the Berkshires and eventually bought a property for year round in Otis have converted to be enthusiastic promoters of the Berkshires.

[bizcuit]

Originally Posted by P Larsen

The Berkshires also have reasonable access to the Adirondacks, Catskills, Green Mountains, the Hudson Valley and Lake Champlain Valley and Montreal. My close friends who long summered for over 2 decades on the mid-Cape and lower Cape (Osterville and Truro/Ptown) but then switched to the Berkshires and eventually bought a property for year round in Otis have converted to be enthusiastic promoters of the Berkshires.

Also, not a bad jaunt down to NYC from the Berkshires, I think.

[SWDOC]

Thanks, P Larsen and bizcuit. I have a lot of friends in NYS so that is definitely a selling point. (I just haven't been able to find work in NY like I have in MA, which is what drove me to looking for MA towns.) Since I started this thread, I've connected with several friends who have friends that live in the Berkshires full-time. None of my friends have friends that live year-round on the Cape, so that may be my sign that the Berkshires are the place for me to try.

I'm really grateful for this conversation and all the helpful input!

[mdovell]

Ugh... The Berkshires aren't that much closer to Montreal. Besides the border is closed. As for NH it's easily a 45 from north Adam's to Greenfield and then another half hour to Brattleboro. Rt 2 is slower than the pike, there no real way to make rt 2 faster. As for CT much of that is along 91.There are small towns but not that much to really visit. For NY I'd recommend Hudson. Actually maybe you might like Hudson NY. It's very small but it's hot a good vibe.

I think much of this really boils down to how much driving are you willing to do and how much of a seasonality difference during the year do you want to deal with.