I just visited there last week, and it's actually really nice. It's not scary AT ALL. It's really more like an hour from the airport, and it's surrounded by rolling bucolic farmlands, not scary woods. There are farm-stands, and places to buy local meat, dairy and produce, used book stores, beautiful brick buildings and other old stuff, pretentious coffee shops, arty movie theaters, an abundance of micro-breweries, and even a Trader Joe's. The Five Colleges in the Pioneer Valley, which doesn't include U Mass, offer lots of cultural opportunities and interesting things to do. I stayed mostly in Amherst and Northampton and they are both enclaves of liberal, highly-educated people, as far as I could tell. I don't think you'll be bored. Buy a good coat though. I'm from CA too, and was very glad to have my huge poofy down coat on my trip.