Home About Archives RSS Feed

The Berkshires Aren't Boston

By Paul HarschiBerkshires Columnist

The Berkshires are not Boston. Thank goodness for that! When Governor Baker recently banned all non-essential travel on January 27th in response to the dire warnings from the national weather service of the winter storm "Juno" (when did they start giving names to snow events?), he did so for the entire state of Massachusetts. What he didn't know concerning The Berkshires is that Boston and most of the eastern half of the state are a different world apart from The Berkshires. We love it that way too.

Here is what Boston is famous for among other things: traffic congestion, The Big Dig, Logan International Airport, crowds, an antiquated public transit system and lots of colleges. The one thing we can ALL be proud of about Boston is really located in Foxborough, our Patriots football team!

Here's what The Berkshires are famous for: gorgeous scenery, music, dance, art, theater, boating, skiing, hiking, golf, tennis, biking, ease of access and ease of getting around (whether walking or driving, great farm to table fresh local foods, four colleges, and essentially a friendly, safe, healthy and clean environment.  The exception to the rule of low traffic is getting out of Tanglewood after a James Taylor or Yo Yo MA concert.  We also get around just fine regardless of the amount of snow or rain and we are spared the extremes from storms that can rip through the coastal areas of our state.  No sink holes here since we sit on solid rock, not sand like Florida.

I am constantly amazed and puzzled by all the people who would choose a congested, noisy pressured city life over a country and small town life such as we enjoy here in the Berkshires.  Williamstown MA, home of Williams College, has just one traffic light and many Berkshire county towns have no traffic lights at all.

High air quality, low pollution, great schools, solid family life, social and cultural life are all tops here in The Berkshires.  While a big city offers higher paying jobs it also requires a higher cost of living overall.  Some folks choose to live in suburbs outside of Boston and spend an hour or more a day commuting by car or public transit.  My commute is 8 minutes on average and usually I don't even have to stop at the one sensor activated light.

Everything one needs is right here in Williamstown from a great hardware store to an independent movie theater, to college events, to a wide variety of gourmet restaurants. We have a Dunkin' Donuts Shoppe and a Subway Sandwich franchise for fast food lovers.

Want to enjoy the benefits of living in The Berkshires but fearful of city withdrawal? No problem, hop on a bus, train or in your car and in a matter of 3 hours be in downtown Boston or NYC. Spend four hours traveling to get to Montreal, Canada. I know once you've moved here, if you do make the trek to the city, you will be all too eager to get home again and unwind. 

What intrigues me is that city dwellers will purchase a country home here in the Berkshires just as soon as they can afford one but we full time residents get to enjoy our "second home" as our first home all the time.

Life is Good in The Berkshires, really good but please don't tell too many people about it because guess what, we really like it just the way it is. 

Paul Harsch

 

 

     

Support Local News

We show up at hurricanes, budget meetings, high school games, accidents, fires and community events. We show up at celebrations and tragedies and everything in between. We show up so our readers can learn about pivotal events that affect their communities and their lives.

How important is local news to you? You can support independent, unbiased journalism and help iBerkshires grow for as a little as the cost of a cup of coffee a week.

News Headlines
Students Named to Simon's Rock Fall 2023 Dean's List
Clark Art Free Gallery Tours for Parents and Infants
Berkshire Adult Baseball League Welcomes Players for 13th Season
EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield
Williamstown Select Board Awards ARPA Funds to Remedy Hall
North Adams Regional Reopens With Ribbon-Cutting Celebration
Clarksburg Sees Race for Select Board Seat
Crosby/Conte Statement of Interest Gets OK From Council
WCMA: 'Cracking the Code on Numerology'
BCC Wins Grant for New Automatic External Defibrillator

Paul Harsch, president and founder of Harsch Associates, a Berkshire County based real estate brokerage firm, is a licensed real estate broker in Massachusetts, New York and Vermont, serving a diverse residential, business, commercial and land client base for 40 years. He has achieved personal career sales exceeding $131 million and company sales from 1979 will top $500 million in 2014. Harsch is a member of the Berkshire, Massachusetts, Southwestern Vermont and National associations of realtors, is a licensed Massachusetts real estate instructor and earned the CRB, CRS, GRI and CBI designations. Harsch is a 1969 graduate of Williams College.

To submit comments, questions or requests for future blog topics write him at paul@harschrealestate.com.



Categories:
Adams Real Estate (2)
Adams Real Estate (0)
Berkshire home for sale (2)
Berkshire property for sale (2)
buying (9)
buying a home in the berkshires (1)
home buyer (0)
home buyer (0)
home buyer (0)
home owner (6)
homes for sale in the berkshires (3)
Lenox Real Estate (2)
Monterey Real Estate (2)
Monterey Real Estate (1)
Otis Real Estate (1)
Pittsfield Real Estate (2)
real estate (11)
second home (2)
selling (10)
selling a home in the berkshires (2)
Stockbridge real estate (2)
The Berkshires (2)
williamstown real estate (2)
Archives:
Tags:
Berkshire County Real Estate Building Inspector Home Buyers Home & Garden Home Sellers The Patriots Berkshire County Homes Berkshires Properties Williamstown Ma Real Estate Million-dollar Sales Williamstown Ma Housing Market Attorney Homes For Sale In The Berkshires Boston Trends Investment Home Inspection Second Home Real Estate For Sale Williamstown Interest Rates Narh Legal Opinions Home Financing The Berkshires Engineering Medical Home For Sale In The Berkshires Berkshire County Real Estate
Popular Entries:
Facilitator, Transaction Broker Agent or Unrepresented?
The Berkshires Aren't Boston
The Best Small Town in America
For Sale By Owner: Homes for sale in the Berkshires
Real Estate Perspective 2013-2014
High End Sales, Williamstown and Berkshire County
Come Home to the Berkshires | Berkshire County, Mass.
Selling or Buying Real Estate Is Just Like Buying a Loaf of Bread
How will your Berkshire property value fare in 2015 and beyond?
What If: Engineer a New Use for North Adams Hospital
Recent Entries:
The Berkshires Aren't Boston
How will your Berkshire property value fare in 2015 and beyond?
Be A Contrarian
Come Home to the Berkshires | Berkshire County, Mass.
For Sale By Owner: Homes for sale in the Berkshires
The Best Small Town in America
The Froth Is Off
Do You Want to List Your property or Sell it?
The Home-Buying Process in 12 Easy (?) Steps
Selling or Buying Real Estate Is Just Like Buying a Loaf of Bread