Submitted by Elegant-Anteater783 t3_zpcbjp in massachusetts
11BMasshole t1_j0s6zcm wrote
Hampden , Hampshire and Franklin counties are western Mass. Berkshire County is the Berkshires, Not considered Western Mass but it’s own area. Worcester County is Central mass. Everything east of that is eastern mass.
Irishfury86 t1_j0shnt7 wrote
We absolutely consider the Berkshires to be western Mass.
11BMasshole t1_j0shy4n wrote
Nah, Berkshires are their own thing. Western Mass is Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden Counties.
CausticOptimist t1_j0sjxi8 wrote
How on earth is a part of Massachusetts that’s west of what you consider to be western massachusetts not western Massachusetts?
A_Man_Who_Writes t1_j0tph01 wrote
It’s west-west MA
11BMasshole t1_j0sl4y0 wrote
It’s not , it’s the Berkshires. It’s in the far western end of the state. But it’s not the area referred to as Western Mass. it’s the area referred to as The Berkshires.
giob1966 t1_j0sm5lw wrote
I'm from the Berkshires and you're wrong.
CausticOptimist t1_j0slsm3 wrote
I’m aware of where/what it is. I grew up there and lived there most of my life. I assure you that it is both. Just like the north shore is in Eastern Mass, the Berkshires is in Western Mass
GroomedScrotum t1_j0sqrd5 wrote
You're so wrong it actually hurts a little. Berks are very much considered Western Mass.
giob1966 t1_j0t6jrr wrote
Just another person from MA trying to erase us...
GroomedScrotum t1_j0u8tkd wrote
Always. I did a lot of hospitality work in the Berks and damn were Boston folks the worst. Was working at a hotel and had some dude from Boston complaining at check in how "nothing ever goes right when you come to the country." I told him he should probably head back to Boston then.
Irishfury86 t1_j0sps92 wrote
No. Just no.
There's nobody in Berkshire County who wouldn't consider themselves part of western mass. I honestly don't know what you're talking about.
Ask someone from Pittsfield if they're part of Western Mass. They'll say yes. Same with someone from North Adams, Great Barrington, Dalton, Richmond, Sandisfield, Cheshire, Williamstown, etc.
Source: I live there and have access to a map and a sense of direction.
CausticOptimist t1_j0suzl0 wrote
Bros in this sub who grew up in the Boston suburbs but went to UMASS for three semesters and never left campus are the real experts on western mass though
singalong37 t1_j0u2wy1 wrote
I don’t know about ppl in the Berkshires but it is or was a thing in the Springfield-Holyoke area to say western Mass is only hampden, Hampshire and Franklin. Makes no sense geographically.
Irishfury86 t1_j0u39ak wrote
Cool, but since I live in the Berkshires and we call ourselves Western Mass, that doesn't really matter. What other people call themselves isn't relevant. We're part of Western Mass.
RedditSkippy t1_j0scsqi wrote
I consider the Berkshires WMass. It’s not Pioneer Valley WMass.
JasJoeGo t1_j0smmrp wrote
The Berkshires aren’t part of the Connecticut River Valley/I-91 corridor but they’re still part of western mass. It’s possible that western mass has multiple subregions, surely.
Fit-Anything8352 t1_j0s8msr wrote
I don't think Berkshire county is the sole extent of the Berkshires. For one, the geographic peak of the Berkshire mountains is Crumb Hill in Monroe (Franklin county), but even if you ignore that the places people colloquially call "the Berkshire hilltowns" basically start somewhere around Huntington, which is very much not part of Berkshire county.
If you look at a terrain map there's a very clear line that goes down a little bit west of the west edge of the Connecticut river valley where the Berkshire hills obviously start building up, and by the time you get to route 112 it's pretty mountainous.
I think places like Rowe, Hawley, Plainfield, Cummington, Worthington, Middlefield, Chester, Blanford, and Tolland are pretty "Berkshires" and none of them are in Berkshire county proper.
11BMasshole t1_j0s9e0t wrote
I’ve been in this area for 50 years. Absolutely no one considers Huntington the Berkshires. They consider it the Hilltowns. Most people associate the Berkshires with Lee, Lenox , Stockbridge, Great Barrington, Williamsburg, Pittsfield, North Adams.
Hence it’s own distinct area called the Berkshires.
Fit-Anything8352 t1_j0s9mz6 wrote
Even then there's still a little problem with "the Berkshire mountains" not being entirely contained in Berkshire county lol without the peak of Crumb Hill. We can disagree over where to draw the east border but that's a bigger oversight. You'd think it would be named after something it actually contains, right?
Hell you can even go on the Wikipedia page for "The Berkshires" and see how half of the things it contains aren't in Berkshire county.
RedditSkippy t1_j0sd034 wrote
Mt. Greylock is the highest peak in the Berkshires AND the rest of Massachusetts.
Fit-Anything8352 t1_j0sfqez wrote
Mount greylock is not part of the "Berkshire mountains"(Massachusetts part of the Green Mountains). It is part of the Taconics that run along the border of New York and Massachusetts/Connecticut. They are geologically separate mountain ranges.
Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts though, I never said it wasn't. It isn't by any definition except maybe the cultural one "the peak of the Berkshires," despite being frequently misattributed as such.
Zazadawg t1_j0te6tt wrote
technically Mt greylock is part of the taconic mountains
RoyalSloth t1_j0shli3 wrote
I mean yes the geographic Berkshire hills go beyond Berkshire county. But anyone from the Berkshires knows “the Berkshires” by itself means you’re talking about the county. If you mean the hills you’d need to specify that
giob1966 t1_j0t6twm wrote
Those of us who are from there use "the Berkshires" to refer to Berkshire County itself, rather than the mountains to the east.
[deleted] t1_j0selxn wrote
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