Comments
Emergency_Address_51 OP t1_iu6m9tf wrote
check thrice, 'cause you have very limited time fix, post-posting.
Current-Photo2857 t1_iu6mku2 wrote
But they made damn sure to include the Quabbin, can’t forget the four western MA towns they drowned so eastern MA could have water…
Banea-Vaedr t1_iu6mqn3 wrote
The state refers to them sometimes as The Abolished Counties, which I like because it makes WMA sound like something from The Lord of the Rings.
Banea-Vaedr t1_iu6ms81 wrote
Three. One was evacuated but would have survived if it hadn't been
Banea-Vaedr t1_iu6mw3f wrote
This is the attitude that made WMA create the need for a constitution.
Current-Photo2857 t1_iu6mzse wrote
Dana, Enfield, Greenwich, and Prescott no longer exist as towns, so I count it as 4 even if the land of one is still “technically” there.
Banea-Vaedr t1_iu6n32g wrote
Dana never went under. Imagine getting forced out of your home and then boom, it would have survived
milespeeingyourpants t1_iu6nsr3 wrote
495
Seaworthiness222 t1_iu6or67 wrote
413
Seaworthiness222 t1_iu6owpn wrote
OH my god I love that next to the last guy.
Emergency_Address_51 OP t1_iu6qgbs wrote
No, western mass is in such a good position. boston SHOVELS us money.. like no other poor area of any other state in the us. we have it made. To be forgotten in massachusetts is very lucrative indeed
Banea-Vaedr t1_iu6qk9v wrote
Boston has also engaged in policy that crippled western mass for centuries. Springfield and Pittsfield really could have been something.
thedirtyfozzy84 t1_iu6whcw wrote
We are the best part of the state, keep crying, your tears sustain me eastoids
Ineluki_742 t1_iu6yfn8 wrote
No. Here be dragons, stay away!
SabersSoberMom t1_iu721g3 wrote
Nope, dragons...a couple Wyvern, and some barbarians.
SabersSoberMom t1_iu72kwu wrote
We just drove past I-91, and it's desolate and unsettled. We use movie sets and holographs to create the illusion of cities and towns during September and October for the Big-E and leaf peeping.
Emergency_Address_51 OP t1_iu74c8g wrote
80% of Holyoke's $100 million dollar school budget comes from chapter 70 funding. Even if the school's failing, $100 million dollars is A LOT of great paying jobs, that in turn create more jobs. Massachusetts Schools are so fantastically financed that even "failing" school systems still make their communties better off.
SandyBouattick t1_iu74lrn wrote
It must be wild living in the "western MA" of large states. You can easily drive from one end of MA to the other in a few hours. Imagine what living in remote rural Texas is like.
Banea-Vaedr t1_iu74vap wrote
Boston sucking the life out of WMA to fuel its own economic boom is always bad
Emergency_Address_51 OP t1_iu75c80 wrote
​
Mass is practically tied for state with the highest per capita income.
Banea-Vaedr t1_iu75es2 wrote
And the distribution is awful because all the benefits go to Boston
Apprehensive-Page-96 t1_iu7644m wrote
Yeah we’re often forgotten about and unknown. lol
Apprehensive-Page-96 t1_iu768u2 wrote
Often does feel like that with Mt. Greylock.
Boston_Pops t1_iu77vb6 wrote
Hell. You mean hell, right?
LocalSalesRep t1_iu77w18 wrote
I too think you’re not truly on the cape until wellfleet
[deleted] t1_iu78o9j wrote
Been in Western MA for 25 years, gotta say, traveled and stayed all over new england, Western MA is one of my favorites, fairly normal, no political extremes, people are just friendly enough not to start an unprecedented conversation with you, but also not get road rage if you need to move over a lane lol. It has a great mix of city and "countryside" to it. Fairly safe, just quiet enough to enjoy it but not feel super isolated. Still got dunks every 3 blocks, I'm an hour from Worcester, 1hr 30 to boston and 45 min from the Berkshires. It's really quite the spot.
Emergency_Address_51 OP t1_iu78uni wrote
Above anything, this video is HILLARIOUS. you should watch his other videos https://twitter.com/MattWBZ . They're the best 'guy-on-street' interviews i've ever seen while also being good-hearted, 'real' and unpretentious.
Beantownbrews t1_iu7923g wrote
I’m glad nobody knows or cares about central Mass. keep thinking it’s Worcester and stay out!
Anklesock t1_iu7928q wrote
zdigrig t1_iu7ah8u wrote
Can confirm, Pittsfield native living In centex. My idea of far was so skewed before I came here
aaronmackenzie3 t1_iu7b04x wrote
You’re not wrong. I have a municipal job that pays the same as a job in an Eastern town but my cost of living is waaaay less. Sounds like winning to me
clubfoot007 t1_iu7b2ky wrote
No, just UMass
squarerootofapplepie t1_iu7bihq wrote
I mean it’s not as good as Eastern or Western MA, I don’t think that’s too controversial. We’ve got a lot of apples though.
nataphoto t1_iu7bkm1 wrote
Staying on 90 after the 84 split is ill advised
oceansofmyancestors t1_iu7c6yj wrote
Springfield WAS something, look at the history of the city. It was a very important city, it’s location made it so. City of invention and it just got crushed.
Banea-Vaedr t1_iu7c9l5 wrote
Exactly. City was sacrificed and reciecwd exactly 0nhelp until it was too late.
oceansofmyancestors t1_iu7cu0y wrote
I also like that we can go to Hartford for the Bushnell, West. Hartford for dinner, plus Evergreen Walk and all that is just 45 minutes away.
We can get to RI and CT and NH beaches faster than the Cape. We can ski. We can get to NYC in a jiffy. We’ve got loads of colleges and lots and lots of nature. We’ve got a lot going for us.
[deleted] t1_iu7enff wrote
Absolutely. Great place really
AatroxIsBae t1_iu7ip03 wrote
If there were more biotech jobs in western mass i would move back so fast.
FitzwilliamTDarcy t1_iu7izbx wrote
Tell us more about these most western countries.
darksideofthemoon131 t1_iu7jn6o wrote
The parts of Dana that didn't flood are a very spooky area now. Roads, sidewalks, all exist but no homes or businesses. It's like a strange pre-fab neighborhood before the homes get delivered.
Was out there last week, worth the day trip. The whole region is stunning thus time of year.
darksideofthemoon131 t1_iu7l2n7 wrote
Being in Worcester, I've always considered us the beginning of Western MA. I drive west of the city and it starts getting very rural and the forests get more expansive. I drive east and it's more congested. Politically the state demographic changes about 2 towns over from Worcester as well.
Technically Rutland is the geographical center of the state (they have a tree that marks the center in town, worth the stop and picture) and I think that once you get 2- 3 towns west of Rutland you start the beginning of Western MA.
84 and the CT River are the best boundaries to really delineate where the west starts. The proposal to make WMA its own state always started at that marker.
satwah t1_iu7n5p4 wrote
NativeMasshole t1_iu7nibs wrote
I thought it was, until all the Bostonians started killing our housing market. I mean, it's pretty much central to all of southern New England. You get the best of both worlds.
ShinigamiRyan t1_iu7o3by wrote
As a southcoast guy, I just presume the west folks have it handled and leave it at that. I already try to avoid going north, I have no intentions of going west, since that implies Rhode Island for me.
individual_328 t1_iu7osi2 wrote
It's kinda weird to just own your ignorance and not care. I feel bad when I don't know about things near me. It makes my world feel small and my experiences limited.
plastroncafe t1_iu7ruoy wrote
And here I would have said the Connecticut River.
MrRemoto t1_iu7st5p wrote
Not just survived... lake front property.
MrRemoto t1_iu7swnx wrote
Who was that lineman from the Pats who had a giant 413 tattoo?
Direct-Pressure-7452 t1_iu82zrq wrote
To a Bostonian like me, its not western MA, its eastern upstate New York
Ok_District2853 t1_iu8a78i wrote
I don’t understand why we have to choose one over the other. I’m just glad to live in Massachusetts. Everywhere is great. West and east. Just because I like chocolate ice cream doesn’t mean coffee ice cream is gross. I just had to choose one.
By the way the ice cream out west is world class. In this case you should go with coffee. Holy god it is good.
Valuable-Baked t1_iu8h5eu wrote
Western Mass where the Boston accent stops + the Midwest Aaaccent kicks in dontyaknow
bigolebucket t1_iu8hl2g wrote
I also grew up in Berkshire County, and I’m with Denise on this one.
Only the Shire is definitely Western MA to us. Honorable mention to some parts of Hampden/Hampshire/Franklin. Springfield-Quabbin = Central. Worcester = Outer Suburb of Boston
LadyTigerBomb t1_iu8mbyk wrote
That’s cool. We will keep our more affordable living out here.
Fit-Anything8352 t1_iu8nomv wrote
It's kind of funny because since Greylock is technically part of the Taconic mountains, Berkshire County doesn't even include the actual peak of the Berkshires (Crumb Hill, Monroe, Franklin County)
Occams_Fear t1_iu8nxll wrote
as long as none of y'all get the cute idea to stay in Maine after buying your cheap weed, we good!
rolandofgilead41089 t1_iu8qbo3 wrote
It's not though.
rolandofgilead41089 t1_iu8qocd wrote
As someone who has lived in the Pioneer Valley their entire life, I feel the 413 area code is true Western MA. The Berkshires are their own entity.
cdcyclist t1_iu8r484 wrote
Check out FloDesign Sonics in Willbraham
8bitAdventures t1_iu8r8uc wrote
What area code do you think the Berkshires have?
VacateBiscuitPie t1_iu8rn0a wrote
Good. They can all stay in their enclaves with their protective rock salt circle of 128 keeping them safe from “western mass.”
VacateBiscuitPie t1_iu8rqcb wrote
Yes, THIS.
rolandofgilead41089 t1_iu8rvja wrote
Honestly didn't know it was also 413. I've always thought of Worcester county as central MA; Franklin/Hampshire/Hampden county as Western MA, and the Berkshires are the Berkshires. Probably silly as the Berkshires are the western most part of the state but in my head it makes sense.
notthesethings t1_iu8z92j wrote
It takes about 9 hours to drive from one end of kentucky to the other. Eastern ky and western ky are so much more remote than western ma it’s ridiculous.
PolarBlueberry t1_iu8zwqa wrote
The Berkshires is the Berkshires. It starts to become more like New York so they have their own region. They drive to Albany for the big city and root for NY sports teams.
Western Mass are the 3 counties in the CT River valley and the hill towns directly east and west. They have their own media outlets based out of Springfield that almost exclusively talk about the I-91 corridor, with some stories from The Berks, but they also get Albany news.
Central Mass is Worcester County, which is now part of the Boston media network so they are not Western Mass, but Eastern Mass doesn’t accept them, they are their own.
then you have Eastern Mass which is subdivided by North Shore and South shore, with The Cape and Islands as their own region as well.
Watchfull_Hosemaster t1_iu92f73 wrote
Central Mass is the most underrated part of the state.
Watchfull_Hosemaster t1_iu92gsc wrote
Ware?
kw66 t1_iu93lbj wrote
Nope. It’s a barren wasteland. And there’s ghosts.
surprisekitten t1_iu954hw wrote
I’m as someone who grew up in the Berkshires (10m from ny boarder), if we went to a city it was NYC or Boston, who goes to Albany?
Can attest we did get tristate area news which was annoying, especially around elections.
bigolebucket t1_iu95ts1 wrote
Yeah “the city” was NYC to us. We got Albany TV before satellite hence the heavy NY influence.
RagingBone69 t1_iu989sn wrote
It was probably Ron Brace! Although he was with the pats for a short time, he was fun to watch and it was cool seeing someone from Western Mass on the team.
scientist4321 t1_iu9gohc wrote
Yeah, but it’s all Kentucky …
notthesethings t1_iu9h312 wrote
Sort of. The cultures are very distinct.
suhhhdoooo t1_iu9i3l4 wrote
Moved from central MA to CA. CA is not what you think it is. Once you get an hour plus outside any of the 3 big cities, you might as well be in Texas. At least in SoCal and Central Cal. NorCal is probably more like Vermont (talking out of my ass though)
NoeTellusom t1_iu9ivnq wrote
Pittsfield, MA here, too!
suhhhdoooo t1_iu9izbf wrote
Always curious what people think central MA is. I'm from the 508/774 just east of Worcester and we always called it central MA. I had an ex that maintained that anything west of Framingham was western MA lol
scientist4321 t1_iu9jotf wrote
It just shows my ignorance about all things Kentucky. Almost all things, I know BBQ is supreme, though.
notthesethings t1_iu9kz1x wrote
That’s true in the western part of the state. It’s pretty bad in central and doesn’t really exist in eastern.
Edit: talking about bbq
scientist4321 t1_iu9nh4w wrote
Moving forward I’ll stop talking about things I don’t know sooner. I have plenty of strong opinions about things I do know…
Comrade-SeeRed t1_iu9p7zf wrote
Is there an Eastern Massachusetts? I’ve heard of this fabled city called Boosetown, where the streets are all one-ways and people say, “youse” but I’m convinced it’s a myth.
zdigrig t1_iu9safg wrote
I remember thinking driving to williamstown was far, now I drive an hour(~70 miles) each way to work
WaketheDeadDonuts t1_iu9vuqj wrote
Represent!
EagleRose1971 t1_iu9wlv7 wrote
The city limits for Houston alone is the distance between Boston and Worcester
Branson175186 t1_iua24gx wrote
The way I see it anything west of the Connecticut River is Western Mass
NoeTellusom t1_iua456m wrote
I went to college in North Adams, so driving to Williamstown on the weekend was pretty common. :D
My sis makes the Pittsfield to Williamstown commute pretty regularly.
Past-Adhesiveness150 t1_iuahtby wrote
The truth is that when you are from Boston, born n raised...anything west of 495 is "western".
There is no reason to go west of 495.... I mean really, 95(128 for you stubborn old bastards) is about as far as you need to go. But since the marathon starts out that way, Bostonians consider it close enough to care about.
Past-Adhesiveness150 t1_iuai9g5 wrote
If your that far west, we consider you as part of VT. Cause once you cross the river your not from there... you just moved there to get away from everyone.
Past-Adhesiveness150 t1_iuaidhd wrote
When your from eastern MA, you just say your from Boston.
zdigrig t1_iuapcnt wrote
Pittsfield native dk why you got downvoted your comment hit home with me
Comrade-SeeRed t1_iuarbt2 wrote
Is it pronounced like Bow-stone or Boss-ton? Didn’t something famous happen there once?
Just kidding, of course. I’m just mocking the obliviousness of some of the Bostonian respondents.
I grew up in Miami, FL and we would say the same thing if you asked us about Orlando, Tallahasee or Jacksonville but those at their closest are a 4 hours drive away. Western MA is less than an hour and a half, two hours at most. That’s like driving from Miami to West Palm Beach. Driving to Jacksonville from Miami is the equivalent of driving to Canada from Boston.
Comrade-SeeRed t1_iuarmbx wrote
When you tell your out-of-state friends you’re from western MA, they ask, how close is that to Boston?
shitfuckimfucked t1_iuaydet wrote
Wilbraham isn’t even west of Springfield…
MattinglyDineen t1_iud4atm wrote
As someone from Connecticut who is less than 30 minutes from the Massachusetts border, I pretty much concur. I'll give all of Springfield to Western Mass, but that is the easternmost limit. Anything east of Springfield to me and it seems I'm getting too much into the Boston sphere of influence.
Emergency_Address_51 OP t1_iu6m4ck wrote
counties* fml!