4/14/2023
Hi everyone, I hope you are well! In this blog, I’m going to discuss opportunities in the vicinity of Amherst (but technically off campus), the ways students are able to travel off-campus, and my thoughts on whether it is worth going to a college in a small town. If you have any questions, please email me at sgoldsmith24@amherst.edu.
Town of Amherst
Just outside Amherst’s campus, within walking distance, is the town of Amherst. It is small, but it has lots: a wonderful library, several restaurants, shops and boba shops, and a fire station. A little further away (about a mile if you were to walk) is a plaza with a post office, and also a Stop n Shop and other grocery stores. I contend that Hampshire Mall is walkable – it’s only two miles, and I’ve walked it before. There, you can find Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Joann’s, and Trader Joe’s, among other stores one would find at a mall.
Getting off campus
The easiest and cheapest way to travel off campus is to use the Pioneer Valley Transport Authority (PVTA). Bus rides are free to students during the school year with the presentation of your school ID, and the buses travel to UMass, Hampshire Mall, and Northampton. Sometimes my friends and I like to go to Northampton on the weekend to walk around and get lunch – it’s a bit of a time commitment, because the bus ride is about an hour, but it is a nice way to spend a day.
Students can also reserve Zipcars on campus. This is pretty pricey, because you have to pay an annual membership fee in addition to the car rental fee, but if you don’t have a car and need to drive somewhere off campus, it is a good option. Personally, I use Zipcar every weekend when I volunteer at the hospital in Northampton, and it is very convenient.
Lastly, there is a Peter Pan bus stop right on campus, which has buses to Boston and New York, among other places. One can also travel to the Amtrak station in Springfield, which has lots more options for destinations.
Small-town education
When I studied abroad this past fall in Paris, it was my first time living for an extended period of time in a city. I didn’t know what to expect, but I loved it. I appreciated the public transportation, that everything you need is accessible, and how many people there were. I’ve decided that for medical school, I’d like to be in a city, but for my undergraduate education I don’t mind being in a small town. I spend most of my time on campus, and because almost all of the student body lives on campus, I don’t feel the need to get out of the Amherst bubble in order to be social. Simply put, there isn’t a lot that I could get from a city that I need right now, and Amherst is a great place to be in for undergrad. I think if you have your own apartment while you are in college, that changes things, and it could be nice to live in a city. But for me, right now, I’m perfectly content here.
Thank you for reading! Have a great weekend everyone!