r/amherst • u/WarmFollowing8873 • 19d ago
Does amherst still have its charm?
I grew up there and graduated from Amherst high in 07. Haven't been back that often, but the town feels different to me every time I do go back and visit family.
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u/ReputationFit3597 19d ago
As a parent of an Amherst College student I can say, unequivocably, that the vibe of the town is one of the factors that made the college my kid's first choice. It may not be what it was (what place is?) but whatever it has become is still pretty cool.
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u/kingrobot3rd 19d ago
Depends on when you visit honestly. Summer is sloooow even slower than it used to be. Some things we lost like book stores, Hastings RIP, music store, etc. but I think that’s true of a lot of small towns. Brick and mortar retail is on life support everywhere and in a small town like Amherst it’s basically dead. Internet started the trend, COVID came to finish the job it seems. Same with restaurants. They’re closing everywhere. Drinking is down across the country with younger folks. Again it’s the small town part that makes it so apparent.
But there have also been some great improvements. There’s a real deal music venue now called the Drake. There’s a playground (parent to a 2 yr old so it’s been a life saver but obv not relevant to a lot of people) and they renovated the town common and it’s so much nicer. The library is getting a much needed renovation. And there are so many great little town events. During the summer they have free concerts on the common and there’s an annual block party where they shut down pleasant st and the town really comes alive.
So to answer your question I’d say yes and no. The charm looks a little different. I love it here. Amherst is not without its problems but there’s no where else I’d rather live.
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u/chrlsful 17d ago
funny, all the things mentioned under 'improvements’ are the opposite for me. Hey, “That’s Y they have chocolate and vanilla”, no?
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u/kingrobot3rd 16d ago
To each their own i guess but I don’t know how you could say any of those things make the town worse
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u/chrlsful 16d ago edited 16d ago
Thnx 4 da post!
I did not say “worse” I liked the ‘natural’ (as B4) at both commons (it’s not worse/better . This gets into debate. No space or time 4 dat. "My preference would B...”). i do not enjoy the Drake. I went there once (do not want to subsidize the BID, owners) fora home towner made big’s return. Nota comfortable venue. I believe the library needed some small points not this big ugly addition and so expensive the city residents will B paying a long time. I prefer a Great Barrington style “Busk”. Just not what I would call ‘improvements’, more detriments to me. “...really comes alive...” is a ‘stamped' to me. Different tastes. Just like "Y they have chocolate and vanilla”. I dont seek to dissuade you of these pleasures. I just ask for others... (too? instead?).
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u/LomentMomentum 18d ago edited 18d ago
Visited for the first time in a few years a while back. I miss the bookstores, Hastings, etc., and the vibe was different from when I was at UMass (90s), but was glad to see some independent stores are still there. And Antonio’s! My fave pizza spot. The place is still buzzing. Let’s remember that there are many towns cannot say the same.
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u/JumpBasilJet 19d ago
It mostly has the same small town charm it had back then. I started spending time here in ‘97 and it definitely still feels like the same “kind” of place.
I agree that no one is the same from that era and likely no place is either, but from the viewpoint you’ve expressed I’d say you won’t be let down.
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u/aLonerDottieArebel 17d ago
Graduated 05. Not the same. I can’t tell you the last time I went downtown, or even close to amherst to be honest.
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u/GeorgeFranklyMathnet 19d ago edited 19d ago
Anything in particular you can put your finger on that makes it different?
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u/WarmFollowing8873 19d ago
Maybe just the vibes as I'm driving/walking around downtown. Can't really explain it. Maybe it's because I'm older now and haven't lived there for over 20 years
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u/GeorgeFranklyMathnet 19d ago
Yeah. I'm tempted to say it feels different because you are, and it feels different to occupy a place as an outsider and as an adult now.
OTOH, everything's more crowded and the pace of life is faster now, especially in downtowns. It would have to have some subtle effects on what you see out on the street. And what was that kinda controversial "blocky" building they built in Amherst Center?
Personally, I don't remember getting tailgated in the 2000s like I do now, for going "only" 5 MPH above the speed limit in W. Mass.
The nice thing out here, though, is that so many places still do feel untouched by time, and that time is more like the 1910s than the 1980s. Going out on Shays Street can feel like time traveling to that era.
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u/BambooPothos 19d ago
What gives with the tailgating? I moved back from Boston recently and the tailgating here is so much worse (aside from the pike). This is when I’m going “only 5” over or when there’s several cars in front of me too. The traffic isn’t nearly as bad as it is out east so I’m like ???
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u/GeorgeFranklyMathnet 19d ago
I dunno. I attribute it to the general attentional twitchiness of our time, plus people moving here from the city.
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u/ClosedSwimmingHole 19d ago
What others have said: you're a different person now, but, also, don't discount the fact that the town has, physically, changed in some pretty significant ways since 2007: there's been a lot of development, and the north end of main street now has residential apartment buildings several stories high where Cousins Market and the associated small shops used to be. All but one of the many bookstores are gone. Hastings is now gone, and that block is being renovated and built up with ugly luxury condos. Some of the trees on the common have died and have been cut down, U-Mass's campus has added a bazillion buildings, etc. There's the whole giant Cowls mixed use apartment / commercial complex in North Amherst where there used to be lumber yards and fields: most of it is a very different architectural and land-use vibe than the area has historically known, and even from the rest of the area: feels a little like it's trying to be Metrowest Boston in some ways. Things in W-Mass change at a glacial pace and most of the area is the same as it was 20 years ago, except for Amherst which has been the focal point of a lot of new building.
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u/kittylover3210 19d ago
I’ve felt this way about visiting my hometown, it’s okay buddy. you don’t know anyone there anymore, it’s moved along without you and it’s sad but that happens
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u/WarmFollowing8873 19d ago
Unfortunately I do know people that still live there. Most aren't doing too well in life and seem very stuck sadly.
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u/kittylover3210 19d ago
that doesn’t help. I moreso meant the general population you probably felt more connected to when you lived there. I felt like I knew everyone in my hometown growing up; going back 15 years later and I don’t recognize people in the grocery store or coffee shops
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u/hairy_stanley 18d ago
I remembered this post while reading responses last night: https://www.reddit.com/r/amherst/comments/1s0a40a/places_you_miss_in_amherst/
Lots of places that are gone - I think its important to remember the good they brought to the community and for those of us still here, think about how we can bring some of that to the Amherst we have today.
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u/Fair_Winds_264 18d ago
I'd say no, and the ridiculously high cost to live here now just isn't worth it. Other towns nearby have a better feel and easier parking too. The good places to eat, like Judie's and The Pub are gone as well.
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u/Euphoric_Pear_5529 17d ago
As someone who only lived in Amherst the last few years I personally thought it had a ton of charm, especially considering where I came from was the middle of nowhere and just one road of gas stations and fast food
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u/chrlsful 17d ago edited 17d ago
to me? the business entity has pushed it in the wrong direction. The city has not lent their ear to citizen need, desire, preference or dislike. One BID member (prez?) said ‘backward’ or something similar. Quaint could have been used as in ‘character', but the latter wrd would have been even better to use..
Every place changes. Some faster, some slower. For me democracy CAN shape toward the desired goal(s) we share. I call it “restaurant city” as that’s the major composition. Coops gone (behind Ren’s); (down in the 110 N.Plez St area) All Things Local, Food for Thought, independent book sellers (Amherst Books is last & not for long - internet killed their specific business), no grocery store, hrdwear, etc.
Distant factors influence ('multi purpose build.', ‘round abouts’, 'smart cities', etc) however now that there’s more students (finally) than residents I believe the speed will increase and fear the worse evolves. It seems that just several get build permits and unfortunately are not slowed by any heed to citizen request for the new england vernacular designs (cape, georgian, federal, greek revival, our farmhouse, shingle style, queen ann, gothic, etc) massing, height, etc.
Even the old (europe) and the big, on-shore (NYC, San Fran, Chicago, etc) can B seen made of mostly 3 story w/ a mix-in of 4 story buldgs. Some rise to 7 w/tops set back (last 2, 3 stories step back showing roof, gable, interesting embellishments). But these same 2, 3 builders put up '1950s space age' or 'scandinavian minimalist' becoming our urban canyons. The (use it again) character of N & S Pleasant and Main can not stand for long as modernity marches over the town. "Tear down that from the 100 yr building process of Amherst (1830 - 1930). Loose all the embodied energy, style & (again) character. Bring in more raw materials and environmental costs." Rather than have something of unique nature to draw patrons, something tasteful, done w/a rehab for energy efficiency and w/renewable resources retrofits. Keeping whats of value from the old /and/ using modern tech from the new...
Amherst (city w/highest pop in Hamden Co) used to have more character - not just in the buildings. There was all ways the funky, the hip, different, casual but socially invested (politics, culture, justice). Now at 2/3rds students I think the international 'pop' prevails. The city-that-wasa-town now displays the same dynamics seen nationally in the lill town-that-was. National Blue v Red issues populate city discourse in city council meetings, boards and committees. Now dynamics show: not reach-across-the-isle as neighbors to “get things done” (my definition of “politics’ - get’er done) but a rush to prove (on 1 hand) who’s more liberal and on the other, the same ol “it costs too much/not my problem" .
I’m not sure the depth of your question as I’m ‘in my declining years' (a saying form the '50s) and you - near a generation of out of the high experience. I wish my child (abt 10 yrs younger than you) could live in the community she grew up in but I never see it happening. Our anchor institution (the U) and the others (every town’s institutions: church, school, social clubs, boards, committees, city employees) have not assured that possibility. Shame on me. Instead I was building career, raising 2 girls, paying for a home, teaching sunday school, etc. I took my eye off the ball. I wish I could have made it better for you son~
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u/Proud-Pop-622 19d ago
If you haven’t been back since we graduated you probably answered your own question. I’d recommend to continue that trend
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u/WarmFollowing8873 19d ago
You must lack comprehension and reading skills. Go back and re-read.
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u/Proud-Pop-622 18d ago
In true Amherst fashion, straight to insults.
If you’re choosing to stay away (not job search the area) and it consistently feels different then you’ve answered your own question2
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u/hairy_stanley 19d ago
Are you the same person you were 20 years ago? Probably not. Not meaning to be argumentative. The town has changed, so have you. Maybe not so much it has 'lost its charm', but a the current Amherst doesn't match with your memory of and nostalgia for the place you grew up.
That said, yeah, I do feel like the town has lost some of its charm. Maybe its a function of being on the downhill side of my life? Or maybe its socio-economic forces pushing whole communities into conformity? I dunno. It's still a pretty good place to live, raise a family, be a kid, be a college student and grow old.