It's long been our plan to retire to Amherst Mass. There are 5 collages in the area and we can both teach part time to supplement income and keep ourselves nice and mentally awake. We have an elaborate plan to have a book/coffee shop called Rosy Cheeks which has a photography/ screening room for DH.
This is based on the usual amount of common sense and research (I read an article about Pioneer Valley in NYT having more bookshops than anywhere else in the US and knew that was where I was going)!!
We are lucky enough to live in a great catchment zone for public schools at the moment which is really great but BUT BUT they only go up to Middle School. Then we either have to move or pay for private which I would hate to do.
So, I was noodling around the internets looking at real estate in the pioneer valley and look what I found
This is based on the usual amount of common sense and research (I read an article about Pioneer Valley in NYT having more bookshops than anywhere else in the US and knew that was where I was going)!!
We are lucky enough to live in a great catchment zone for public schools at the moment which is really great but BUT BUT they only go up to Middle School. Then we either have to move or pay for private which I would hate to do.
So, I was noodling around the internets looking at real estate in the pioneer valley and look what I found
If this is your home then I am sooo jealous!!
Inside there are rich wood floors, film ready kitchen and appliances and that white building at the back - that would be a separate apartment - which you could rent out to pay for stuff - right!
I mentioned this to my husband who told me that he was ready to go tomorrow. He wants a college town life. It sure is tempting. We could trade our apartment living for this house and actually have lots of cash left over. The local schools? I can only think with 5 uni's and all those academics that schools would be pretty good - right????
Imagine living in an actual house. A lovely one. In a town that has free transport if you teach at the uni's. That has more coffee shops and book shops than any other business. That has tree's and stuff near by. That has snow that stay white for more than an hour. That doesn't smell like pee in the summer.
What are waiting for!
Do you live in a collage town? Do you live in MA or in Pioneer Valley? Please let me know what it's like.
We relocated from Brooklyn to New Hampshire (but RIGHT on the MA border!) and haven't regretted it one bit.
ReplyDeleteThings we've noticed that we really miss about city life? Outside of a big city you really end up driving a huge amount. Yeah, even with transit available, it's not like NYC where the buses come by often(ish). Lack of easy kid-friendly walking opportunities (our town doesn't even have sidewalks!) is a bummer.
Food is meh. We're lucky enough to live near good farmers' markets, Whole Foods, an excellent local fish guy, etc. But the fresh butchers we're used to in Brooklyn--not so much. The incredible array of yummy takeout or restaurant meals that we adored--nothing like that in a small town.
Our neighbors aren't anywhere near as liberal as we are. This isn't the worst thing in the world, and it's a nice exercise in tolerance for everyone involved, but it exists.
Playgrounds exist, but they're rarely busy, which is sort of a bummer. Hen loves playing with other kids, so going to Brooklyn to play at the incredibly packed playgrounds is a HUGE treat for him. Our local (deserted) playground? Not so much, even though the gear is comparable.
However...green, gardens, fresh food, low-key lifestyle, courteous strangers, safe neighborhoods, treehouse-in-the-works for our sun, ditto for chickens, plenty of room to spread out with our own projects, more light during the winter (which seems to help my moods immeasurably) lower insurance costs (OMG!) and general lower cost of living/higher standard of living.
(I hope you do it!)