City of amherst

paying3tuitions
Fri, 09 Feb 2007 21:39:40 +0000

Car not necessary in Amherst. Public transportation (FREE) shuttle runs between the 5 colleges, the mall, and (I think also the town center).
Biggest free bus system outside of DisneyWorld, no kidding.

Trains by Amtrak (google it up!) or bus (greyhound, trailways or Peter Pan, can’t remember which) takes you to NYC or anywhere else you want to go. A free bus (I think it’s free) runs 3x daily from UMass campus.

If you attend Amherst College or you can walk 1/4 mile to the town center. UMass is a healthy walk, maybe half a mile, or take the shuttle if you’re really lazy.

The town is delightful. It’s described this way: “Cafe, bookstore, bookstore, cafe. Cafe. Another bookstore. Restaurant. bookstore.”
(as compared to some towns that could be described: pizza joint, nail place, beauty salone, pizza joint.)

My S who attended was more involved in theater and music EC’s on campus than parties, but stopped in to say “hi” for a half hour on his way to some activity or other. He was always performing or rehearsing on evenings, even weekend evenings. The athletes don’t have enough to do in the evenings so maybe they party more.
So, there are parties but you don’t have to build your social life on them, in other words. His friends came out of the campus activities.
Lots of interest in meeting kids from any of the other 4 campuses in the “Five College” system (Amherst, UMass, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, Smith) keeps it lively. Whenever you want a change of scenery or to meet somebody different, just hop a shuttle and rattle around a different campus.