Williamstown, MA

[Giverny]

I am looking to complete a master's in Art History, and I am looking at Williams College for its much lauded art history program.  However, I am less than comfortable with the fact that Williamstown has a population of less than 8,000.  I am used to living in a larger town.  I looked up the town online and it seemed to have received an unnatural dose of 'small town charm' - almost to the point of Pleasantville status.  Has anyone here lived in Williamstown?  Would you recommend it, or is does the town seem a bit too close for comfort?  Are there reasonable amenities?  I would love to visit and explore the town for myself, but that doesn't look like an option right now, so I would love to hear your opinions of Williamstown.

[dr. t]

I've never been to Williamstown, but I have been to North Adams a bunch. If you like nature, the area's great; the Long Trail and AT are right at your doorstep. However, it is absolutely a small town, and it's 2.5 hours in the car to anything of interest. 

Edited November 28, 2015 by telkanuru

[ExponentialDecay]

The campus smells like cheap booze Thu-Sun. The undergrads are dicks and your social status is determined by your boat shoes.

Other than that, are you at all familiar with your average inland New England small town? It's exactly like that. Beautiful fall, tight-knit but welcoming community, lots of options for craft beer dive bars and outdoor sporting activities, and ~0 dating options. Rent is impossibly high and it is equally impossible to find a local job. Invest in a good road bike; leave your SO behind because they will get bored unless they work from home.

If you're looking to find a job after your masters, I would pass because just the proximity to a big city will mean worlds to your internship experience and general employability (you can intern over the summers, there is obviously a college art museum as well as some shoddy Emily Dickinson house-type thing that they have at Amherst, but there are simply fewer opportunities, including for full-time employment afterwards - going into Boston or NYC for interviews if you don't have a car is a story with a preface and introduction). If you're planning on entering academia, places like Williamstown (Northampton, Amherst, Annandale-on-Hudson, Bryn Mawr, etc...) are in the 99th percentile of attractiveness in terms of where a professor of the humanities could spend his entire life, so you better start getting used to it.

Edited November 29, 2015 by ExponentialDecay