Have relocated to Williamstown in MA .. job related .. for the next five to seven years .. Have been looking around for a place to live .. I recognize Williamstown is lovely .. but overall not an awful lot to do .. the musuems are great and theatre is abundant throughout the Berks .. Overall though Pittsfield seems to offer a central location more shopping and restaurants .. also convenient to Lee .. Lenox .. Stockbridge .. Great Barrington and not all that far from MASS MoCA .. MCLA or Williams .. Pittsfield seems to have more housing opportunities to offer as well .. not sure if we will buy a condo or try to rent .. Given the economy .. we prefer to rent .. The commute is doable from Pittsfield and am willing to do if Pittsfield really does offer so much more than Williamstown in terms of restaurants .. shopping .. etc .. however .. I know very little about the area .. so if you have info to share .. please do ...

Pittsfield is definitely the most central location but I wouldn't want the drive to Williamstown every day (considering the winter). It can be a nasty drive. I worked at Brodie Mountain for a winter (now Snowy Owl resort). It was not a fun drive during the snow.

Williamstown is also closer to Jiminy Peak (if you are a skiier).

Lenox / Stockbridge are obviously the most tourist places and are very expensive but worth spending time at.

There are probably more rentals available in Williamstown given it being a college town. But there are a few condos and some rentals in Pittsfield near Pontoosuc Lake. I would at a minimum stay on the North Side of Pittsfield. Make sure to research neighborhoods in Pittsfield as there areas to avoid -especially lower West St (towards Park Square) and off of North Street (the part that goes through downtown.

In case you haven't found it yet, Coltsville (off of Crane Ave and Cheshire Road) in Pittsfield has most of the chain stores and leads you to Walmart, Barnes and Boble, Price Chopper, etc. Any major chain store is located here or at the Berkshire Mall, which is 5 minutes from there.

There is a good restaurant on Route 7 on the way to Williamstown that I used to work at - the Old Forge. Lots of beer selections, Chicken Wings and great entrees. OK prices and can be busy. Matt Reillys is a local bar with a deck on the lake.

If you have more specific questions, post them and I will try to respond. One note: its been 6 years since my parents moved and I only go back occasionally.

Sorry to say, there isn't that much more to do in the Pittsfield area than in Williamstown. I lived in Pittsfield, and used to say that it had all the inconveniences of a city with none of the conveniences. Summer time is a different story, especially in south county, you can be busy full time absorbing all the arts, music, dance, theatre, and other culture available.
But in the winter, I suggest a few ski lessons, and some of the outdoor activities that the area offers, cross country skiing is great, hiking on Mt Greylock, there is one private ski club that is a great value. Or break out your bowling shoes and head to your local alley! Given a choice, I would live in the north county area around Williamtown, lots of great museums in the area, the college offers a lot of activities that the public can attend, some great music, theatre, decebt restaurants, and movies at the images cinema.

Just noticed my typo in my previous post, its Barnes and Noble...

I would stay in Williamstown..of course, I am a wimp when it comes to driving in serious snow conditions ( some ex NYer, heh?)
We actually considered living there, I like that they have that amazing museum (The Clark) and all the cafes and restaurants and student activities.
This is where Summer Stock Theatre happens! You will see if before it goes to Broadway..
I love college towns, there is a lot to do all year round.. Pittsfield never appealed to me.. there was always something depressed about it.. maybe because they did fall into bad times .. and there are parts of Pittsfield that are not so great, which might be why there are some homes that look like bargains.
Rent for at least a year, the way the economy is, you don't want to buy a home right now, (do you?) lol
Good luck with the decision.. and congrats on the job

I really do have concerns about Pittsfield .. most people who live in the Williamstown area love it .. but I have yet to find much outside the college offerings to do .. Very picturesque .. charming .. but honestly there aren't a ton of other things to do .. I agree that the commute could be difficult at best .. especially during winter months .. In Williamstown .. however .. most of the housing is tied to Williams and not available to the public in general .. There are a few condos for sale .. but we are concerned about buying anything right now .. as far as I can tell .. the housing market here is just as depressed as anywhere ... Again .. I share concerns about Pittsfield .. but also recongize South Country seems to offer much more in general .. but going any further than Pittsfield is much too far ... I did drive through Dalton which seemed nicer than Pittsfield at first glance .. not sure about housing there ... Adams and North Adams seem depressed as well .. I so appreciate all your comments ... Thank you ...

I live in Dalton now, and its a great town. But if your looking for a place with something to do, then this may be the wrong choice, much less to do here than in a college town like Williamstown. Very few restaurants (none that are good), nice paper mills (all US currency paper is made here), good quiet community. It's close to Coltsville, so grocery shopping and the only Barnes and Noble in the area are about 5 minutes away. If you have children, then Dalton (and Williamstown) are great choices, good schools, and a good community, lots for the kids to do like dance classes, sports, community house events, parades etc. You are about a 40 minute ride to Williamstown, more in the winter. Housing here is not cheap, like anywhere in the county, rents are pretty high.

Living in Dalton .. do you go into Pittsfield or South County at all for theatre .. shopping .. ? Having lived in the Boston area rentals costs here seem lower .. What concerns me more is I find there are few rentals that have been truly modernized .. updated .. most rentals that we have looked at are very dated .. or run down ... at best mediocre .. To date we have not looked in Dalton yet as we only really drove through this weekend after looking in South Pittsfield at a condo .. but the ride home was difficult .. as it was lightly snowing ..the roads were icy .. several cars had skidded off the road .. You are right Williamstown is lovely but most of what Williamstown and/or Williams offers is geared to the college community .. I am happy to go to a museum .. a lecture .. but I am interested in a little more life going on around me ... which I haven't seen as yet .. Thank you for your comments ..

I remember your concerns about this in your postings earlier this year.

I have worked in two private liberal arts colleges and a state university that were located in semi-rural areas, more rural than the Berkshires. I have also been a househusband at a rural college where my wife was the token female senior administrator. I ask these clarifying questions based on that experience.

Are you the employee or the spouse?

If you are
(a)the employee
(b)faculty, and
(c)junior faculty (which I am assuming because of the economic issues you mention), you are likely to be very busy getting your teaching in order and setting yourself up to begin or continue research toward publication, which is taken very seriously at a place like Williams. Expect to work harder than you did in grad school for the first three years.

If you are the partner/spouse, it is going to be critical for you to find something to do yourself, whether volunteering, taking courses, or working, even if it is not in your chosen field. If you are male, this will be more difficult than if you are female, since there is a whole economy of jobs geared for faculty wives -- research assistants, upper level library assistants, etc. that are harder for a househusband to break into. Ask me how I know.

Your partner/spouse as a new faculty member is going to have to put in a great deal of time, not as much time as an investment banker, but a lot, and for a lot less money.

They are likely to be out many evenings, and particularly if you live in Pittsfield and your partner/spouse commutes to Williamstown, there may be nights when they can't get home safely. So your first criterion is finding a place where you feel safe when alone. Next would be a place that is pleasant to be in with good internet connectivity, good PBS and NPR reception and a bank of windows facing south so you can get some sun. Finally, it would be nice to be within walking distance of some amenities -- a coffee bar or bookstore or the like.

You may not be able to get all of these but I hope I have helped you think some issues through.

If I were doing it, I would find a place in Williamstown and then mingle like crazy. People will ask you what you want to do, and you will have the opportunity to network. Another possibility is doing contract work remotely for someone you may have worked for in the past, though that keeps you in the house rather than out and about, which is not desirable.

Whatever you do, be cheerful and positive about it, whether you are feeling it or not. You will hurt your own and your partner's chances for the future if you are perceived as hating where you are, plus you will be miserable. Wherever you are, be there fully. It took me my entire twenties to learn this, causing much unhappiness for me and sadly, much for my dear wife. When I learned it, I found a career that I loved and rocketed as high as I wanted to go.

It's been many years since I've been to Pittsfield but it's no where I'd go out of my way to live.

Williamstown is much nicer imho. And why not live closer to where you work? Keep the daily commute to a minimum. Doesn't mean you can't go to Pittsfield on the weekends if you want to do something there.

Sincere thanks to all of you .. Having lived in Boston .. part of my issue is missing the familiar that I truly loved .. Not sure what we will do .. but clearly you have all put the commute in the forefront .. probably right where it should have been .. And to Ackislander .. point well taken .. Thank you .. !

I lived in Pittsfield briefly (6weeks) one summer and spent a winter in Lenox. Stay in Williamstown!

You will not find anything in the area similar to what you had in Boston. If you move to Pittsfield you'll gain a long commute (difficult and sometimes near impossible in winter) and little else.

We renamed Pittsfield 'the pits' and some housing is cheap there for a reason (PCB pollution, I think, but check this before moving).

I lived in CT for quite awhile, but spent alot of time in Massachusetts (lived in Boston for a year). First, get having anything like Boston out of your head in that part of Massachusetts. Just get it out of your head - it's not the same AT ALL. Second, the commute is huge, and I agree with almost everyone else that Pittsfield would not be a place I would choose to live unless my commute to work was 5 minutes from there (even then, I would think hard about it). I think Ackislander gave you amazing advice... Get somewhere close to work - and you will find things to do. Every place has things to do - but it is NOT Boston.... Also, I would not plan on buying a house in that part of the state - the housing market is really tough there....

I posed your question to a friend who was raised in the area and now lives in NYC and has a weekend home in the Berkshires. (We took a pilgrimage to the Clark this past fall on a picture perfect fall day.) Her answer mimics what everyone else has said

"Anyone moving from Boston to that part of the state is going to find a
dearth of things to do. I think Williamstown does offer more in terms of art/Clark, Mass Moca not too far, a fair amount of good stock theatre. That said, most of the "things to do" are probably a bit closer to the south end of Berkshire County. There you have Lenox, Stockbridge and Great
Barrington. Lenox has good restaurants, Tanglewood and Kripalu
(yoga/Eastern style place for classes and retreats) and Canyon Ranch. But beyond restaurants, some art and some theatre, I'm not sure what else there is.

In terms of shopping, there is the Berkshire Mall just north of
Pittsfield, the outlet shops in Lee, some cutesy little
shops in Great Barrington or drive to Albany. Pittsfield has very little to offer."

I might commute to AVOID living in Pittsfield, but not the opposite!
;-)

im not sure if you are interested. but my family has a house for sale in wiliamstown. it is a very resonable price for town. it is walking distance of the college and right near the middle of town. e-mail me if you are interested and i can give you the realiter info. [email protected] good luck

Again .. thanks to you all ... ! ! We have put the idea of Pittsfield behind us .. We are looking at two apartments in North Adams .. honestly .. there really isn't much in Williamstown that is available .. We are now living in an apartment in a two family house that is clean and safe with a lovely landlord who lives in the house .. I was hoping to find something a bit more modern .. as well as a bit more to do .. I am feeling like I have taken a step back in time .. but can certainly take my time as I put Boston behind me and start our new life here .. we do have a house on Cape which we adore .. so I will spend much of the summer there as well .. Interesting when we began telling our friends of our move .. most everyone told us how absolutely beautiful it is here .. bucolic .. closer to Manhattan where our sons live ... etc .. etc .. I feel guilty now complaining so much about what it isn't here .. It is so much about what we get use to .. take for granted even .. I am having to learn how to live life differently .. change isn't always easy .. but maybe .. just maybe there is a lesson here for me ..

Interesting when we began telling our friends of our move .. most everyone told us how absolutely beautiful it is here .. bucolic .. closer to Manhattan where our sons live ... etc .. etc .. I feel guilty now complaining so much about what it isn't here ..

Well, to be honest, it is all those things, but that doesn't make it Boston or New York, so that's why it's difficult for you. Our son almost went to Williams College so we visited the area (including Pittsfield and Bennington, Vt). Pittsfield seemed like a typical depressed Northeast town to me, maybe a little down at the heels (not at all vibrant). Williamstown, on the other hand, we just loved. But our son chose NOT to go there because he couldn't get over the remoteness. Maybe he was right, maybe not (he's long since graduated from college). I think once you meet people or get involved in an activity, you'll find that you love it. BTW, when we visited (now 6 or 7 years ago), there was a fantastic Thai restaurant on Spring Street. I don't remember the name, but it was really great (and I live in the SF Bay Area, where there is no shortage of delicious Thai food).

You must mean Thai Garden on Spring Street .. Yes it is very good and always crowded .. I think your son was wise beyond his years .....

I think in terms of night life, restuarants, concerts, events, etc, you're gonna be happier in a college town like Williamstown than in a depressed small city like Pittsfield. Pittsfield might have more shopping / malls. Weekend drives to the Berkeshire tourist towns will be about the same amount of effort.