A college town and New England small-town wrapped in one
Home to the University of Massachusetts’ main campus and two liberal arts colleges, Amherst is a vibrant college town amid the Pioneer Valley’s rolling landscape. Locals and students alike can watch the UMass basketball team, dubbed the Minutemen, or enjoy on-campus museums, like the Beneski Museum of Natural History at Amherst College. Downtown offers an eclectic mix of peaceful pocket parks and lively college bars, and several mountainous hiking trails are in town. This exciting atmosphere makes Amherst, with its 39,300 residents, the most populated town in Hampshire County. “People graduate one of the colleges here and don’t leave. And if they do leave, they almost always want to move back,” says Sherri Willey, a lifelong Amherst local and Realtor with William Raveis.
Amherst is surrounded by the small but beautiful Holyoke Mountain Range.
Folks walk through along Amherst's historic Main Street lined with shops and restaurants.
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Amherst is a rental-heavy town
Most homes in Amherst were built between the 1950s and ‘60s. Ranch-style houses, split levels and Cape Cod cottages are all common here. The median single-family home price is $609,500, which is higher than the national median of $406,000. Willey says that student housing often coexists alongside the homes of full-time residents. “Student housing is scattered all around town. A lot of them live in the multifamilies downtown, but you could live miles away from one of the campuses and still have a student renting the house next door.” She adds that students also affect new housing developments. “There isn’t enough housing here. Right now, there are quite a few apartment complexes being built that are geared toward students.”According to FBI data, Amherst’s property and violent crime rates are consistently lower than state and national figures.
Student housing around Amherst ranges from rental apartments to high rise dormitories.
Beautiful renovated Colonial Homes can be found throughout Amherst.
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The University of Massachusetts is in Amherst
Amherst is served by the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District, earning an A grade from Niche. The district educates a little over 1,200 students with a 10-to-1 student-teacher ratio. Founded in 1863, the University of Massachusetts is Amherst’s oldest and largest school, with around 28,600 students. The school offers over 100 majors, ranging from computer science to agricultural studies. Willey says non-students frequently walk around the university’s 1,450-acre campus, covered in brutalist-style architecture. “Each college campus in Amherst is open to the public, so people will take their dogs to walk around, depending on which school they live closest to. UMass is the biggest and most well-known, so that’s always the most popular.” There are two small liberal arts schools here: Hampshire College has 1,300 students, while Amherst College has 1,900. Each college in Amherst is part of The Five College Consortium, which also includes nearby Mount Holyoke College and Smith College. The consortium allows students to take classes at every school, no matter where they are enrolled.
The historic buildings Amherst College sit on a hill overlooking the Amherst Common and downtown.
The University of Massachusetts flagship campus is located in Amherst.
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Mount Holyoke hiking and UMass basketball games
Willey says attending UMass’s NCAA Division I basketball games at William D. Mullins Memorial Center is a popular pastime. “I’ve been going to UMass basketball games since I was little. The environment of the stadium is amazing even if they aren’t having the best season.”Amherst has over 60 green spaces, including downtown’s Amherst Town Common, where a farmers market is held every Saturday between April and November. Mount Holyoke Range State Park offers 3,000 acres of hiking, horseback riding and cross-country skiing trails stretching through wetlands and cedar forests. Amherst experiences all four seasons, with warm summers and about 40 inches of snow every winter.
The Mullins Center at UMass hosts the most exciting sporting events in Amherst.
Enjoy the beautiful trails and many amenities at Mt. Holyoke Range State Park in Amherst.
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A charming downtown, and the nearby Holyoke Mall
College bars, coffee shops and Italian restaurants fill stand-alone buildings in downtown Amherst. As locals stroll through downtown, they’ll also pass Romanesque Revival-style churches, lush town commons and the Amherst Cinema, an independent movie theater. Amherst has several strip malls with chain grocery stores and other big box retailers, and larger commercial centers are within driving distance. Holyoke Mall, 15 miles south, is New England’s third-largest shopping center, with over 150 stores.
The Holyoke Mall is just 20 minutes from Amherst with many options available to browse and shop.
Amherst Residents enjoy meeting and relaxing at Share Roasters.
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Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst
“I’ve lived here my whole life, and I don’t think I’ve been to every museum in Amherst,” Willey says. At Amherst College, the Beneski Museum of Natural History is home to the world’s largest collection of dinosaur tracks, while the Mead Art Museum has work dating back to the 17th century. The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art showcases the art of the author of “The Hungry Caterpillar” and other children’s book illustrators. Located in her Federal-style childhood home, the Emily Dickinson Museum hosts regular poetry readings and the Tell It Slant Poetry Festival every September. Willey says tourists flocked to the museum after the “Dickinson” show aired on Apple TV. “I talk to people all the time who visited specifically because they watched that show and became obsessed with her life.”
Visit the Emily Dickinson House museum in Amherst.
Beneski Natural History Museum in Amherst has many beautiful and educational displays to view.
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Amherst has two bus systems
Pioneer Valley Transit Authority buses offer rides across western Massachusetts, while Five College Consortium buses shuttle students to each campus. The closest airport is Bradley International Airport in Hartford, 50 miles south via Interstate 91. A 92-mile drive east on Interstate 90 reaches Boston. An Amtrak station is 8 miles southwest in Northampton, also home to the Cooley Dickinson Hospital.
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