I would not hedge your bets on Western, MA. I have heard that even central MA is costing a fortune these days and so when Amherst is unaffordable, everyone who can't afford to live in Amherst for their jobs will be cramming into the remaining 1 hour of the state to commute. Then, you're moving into the territory of Albany where, you guessed it, costs are exploding.

This family is homeless which means it will take them several years to get on their feet (especially with a relocation) and sending them to western MA would just be buying them enough time to get priced out again. This story is necessary to highlight the exploding inequality in this state.