150 Days in Northampton

I’m writing this in our apartment in Northampton, Massachusetts, just back from a sunny, snowy walk on a 12 degree December morning. Today marks 150 days since we moved here from Austin.

We’ll share Christmas with our son and his girlfriend tomorrow. Previously 2,000 miles and two flights away, they'll drive two miles to join us instead.

In April, he let us know that they felt settled in the area and if we wanted to move, we could. We sold our house of 15 years and arrived 95 days later.

There’s no denying that being close to them is the main reason we’re here. When you have one child, you don’t have to choose who to be near. We were eager to move, though, and had been exploring different options for years, especially as some of our close friends left Austin.

At one point, we thought we’d move somewhere in the general vicinity, like Portsmouth, NH, Cambridge, MA, or Hudson, NY. My friend Joel changed the way we looked at it. Being two hours away is still completely different than being in the same town. The same town is “Do you need anything from the grocery store?”, “Want to meet at the coffee shop this afternoon?”, and “See you for dinner tomorrow!” That’s what all of us wanted, not just easier travel a few times a year.

We knew that it wouldn’t work if we didn’t actually want to live in Northampton, though. Being familiar with it helped. Our son went to Hampshire College, so between college tours and trips back and forth, we had visited 10 times over the years.

The more we researched, the more we realized that Northampton was actually the perfect place for us. What we were looking for isn’t that easy to find. We wanted a small, progressive college town where we can walk to everything, plus…

• abundant nature, culture, and restaurants
• a thriving music and jazz scene
• a high percentage of creative people—writers, artists, musicians, small business owners
• easy access to Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s
• an airport within 30 minutes or so
• quality healthcare
• low to moderate climate change risk

After five months, it’s been even better than we hoped. Here are my highlights so far.

Walk to everything
We found a fantastic apartment in the perfect location—a beautiful, quiet part of town where we can still walk everywhere. Restaurants, coffeeshops, and stores are around the corner, of course, but also the library, grocery, dentist, chiropractor, barbershop, YMCA, coworking space, and FedEx dropoff. It’s glorious.

Jazz Shares
For jazz aficionados of a certain kind (jazzheads, I'm told), Jazz Shares is reason enough to move here. Absurd, I know, but there’s really nothing like it. The level of artists it brings to the Pioneer Valley is remarkable.

Modeled after farm shares, you buy a membership for the season. Since there is upfront funding, the organization can guarantee artists an audience and fair wage. That model combined with expert curation results it shows you might see in a European city.

The membership model also creates community, as you run into familiar faces all the time. I’ve been to some fabulous shows including Joe McPhee, Micah Thomas Trio, and Jason Robinson. I'm often sitting just a few feet away and can thank the artists personally after. Next year brings Matthew Shipp, Darius Jones, Sylvie Courvoisier, Satoko Fujii Tokyo Trio, Jenny Scheinman, and more.

Jazz Shares was such a big draw that I insisted on going to my first show on the day we arrived in town, fresh off of 3 days and 1,958 miles of driving.

Iron Horse
An iconic, recently remodeled, venue, the Iron Horse is bringing one fantastic show after another to town. It’s an ideal place to see a concert—welcoming and intimate. So far, we’ve seen Jess Cornelius and Jess Williamson, and upcoming shows include Yasmin Williams, The Bad Plus, Weather Station, and Mdou Moctar. I have always dreamed of being able to walk to a concert and it is indeed a wonderful experience.

Nature
The natural beauty in the area has far exceeded my expectations. The town stirkes a great balance between urban and rural. We’re a few blocks from Child’s Park, a lovely 40-acre park. Around the corner is the Mill River Trail and in the other direction is the Northampton Bikeway that goes to Amherst and beyond. There are also nearby mountain ranges we've yet to explore. And then there's Smith College.

Smith College
Across the street from us is Smith College, a terrific school with a gorgeous campus we walk around regularly. It brings students and faculty from everywhere, which means a constant influx of new perspectives and people who are constantly exploring and questioning. Colleges seem to beget great bookstores, coffeeshops, and concerts, too.

Out and about
We've had a lot of fun exploring places around town. Early favorites: Homestead, Tellus, Paul and Elizabeth's, Thai Garden, and The Dirty Truth.

For coffee shops: Tunic, Familiars, and The Roost.

And you have to have a great record store. Thankfully, there's Electric Eye.

Between Northampton, Easthampton, and Amherst, we have a long list of restaurants to try.

Church
We assumed that finding a church would be one of the most difficult things. Instead, we picked one to try and knew immediately that it was what we were looking for. First Churches started in 1654! The sanctuary is beautiful and peaceful, and the church is deeply involved in the community. Rev. Sarah Buteux and the congregation have been so welcoming.

Continuing the theme, walking to church is delightful.

Community
Starting a new life in a new place isn't easy. This is the fourth time we've done it since college. In one case, we didn't know anyone within 1,000 miles. It honestly went great, but it is quite the boon to have a core group to start with, including our son's best friend, whose company we've enjoyed for years. Just having people to point you in the right direction, explain how things work, and hang out eases the transition.

People have been remarkably kind and welcoming, though, and we already have a group of friends. The common recommendation to find groups that get together regularly, like the YMCA, Jazz Shares, and First Churches, and join in, works wonders.

There's a refreshing openness to people, contrary to the New England reputation, and a desire to form new connections. There are only so many people here, so everyone has a bigger part to play.

It's also an unassuming place where a surprsing number of people have something remarkable in their story. People are often leaning over and pointing out someone who once played with this person, wrote that, teach at that university, started a record label, and on and on.

One of my favorite moments happened while walking to coworking on a summer morning. Before moving here, I had connected with Joy Bagglio, the author who started Pioneer Valley Writers' Workshop. I wondered if Northampton was small enough that I didn't even need to reach out once I arrived. Maybe I would simply run into her at some point. Sure enough, we crossed paths at The Roost and I got to say hello. I love that part of small town life.

This experience has given me a renewed appreciation for what remote working makes possible. In the past, I would have to choose between my job and living in a town of 20,000 people in Western Massachusetts. I'm so thankful I can have both.