Rural for 4 Years

Ephman
Fri, 21 Aug 2015 10:57:44 +0000

First, as others have noted it is easy to get away – three hours to either NYC or Boston (or five hours to Montreal) makes it very easy to get a break from the rural environment. Second, remember that you are in one of the richest cultural areas in the country. MassMOCA (ten minutes from campus), in addition to being the largest contemporary art museum in the country, has a rich array of programming throughout the year. Here is a link to some upcoming events, including a major bluegrass festival in September: http://www.massmoca.org/search_results.php?st=2&search=30. A microbrewery is also coming to MassMOCA this year. Closer to campus, The Clark also is a world-class museum that hosts interesting events. If you enjoy golfing, hiking, skiing, orienteering or other forms of exploring nature, there are a ton of options near campus for exploring nature. And there are several interesting bars and restaurants in close proximity to campus. To me, the Berkshires are the best of both worlds – beautiful nature, escape from the hustle and bustle of city life, but also a huge amount of nearby culture and fairly easy proximity to big urban areas for a periodic escape. It’s also very easy to get off campus for a month during Winter Study if you are feeling a bit of cabin fever (or just want to get away from the cold for a month). Williamstown is hardly your typical rural town – how many truly “rural” towns host world-class theaters and museums, three bars, several art galleries, at least a dozen restaurants, and an independent movie theater?

Now, if you really don’t find the idea of being with only about 2000 peers in a relatively rural environment in any way appealing, of course Williams is not for you. But if you are generally appreciative of that environment, but are worried about having nothing to do to ever escape the campus bubble for a change of scenery or a break, that most definitely should not be a concern. You’ll be surprised by how busy you will be between academics, extracurriculars, and the enormous array of campus events – you could find an interesting lecture, or arts/sporting/service/religious event to attend virtually every day of the academic calendar, so it’s not as if you will typically be bored by campus life. And if you are creative, there is enough to do in the Berkshires (some other ideas: day trip to Bennington; going to the Normal Rockwell Museum; going to one of many interesting historic houses / sites / monuments) for the occasional escape when you need it, even without a longer trip to three major cities, all of which are easily accessible by car.