Bb, who's upset? There have been roughly a half dozen comments clarifying exactly what I said about the rest of the area. I'm not trying to be a dick about spelling; literally this error muddled what you were trying to say.

HVAC is often not unionized but pays great with minimal school-- my dad switched from hospitality to HVAC and didn't even have to complete his whole program to be certified and get a job.

😂😂😂 no one's mad. If someone says "Massachusetts is all cities" and you say "not in the Berkshires", the implication is that everywhere but the Berkshires is cities.

Btw, the county with noho in it is Hampshire county, not Hampden. The counties in western Mass are Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden. If you're gonna generalize about the region, you should make sure that what you're talking about applies to at least half the region.

Meh, lots of it isn't though. Unless they're looking to live in the woods, Franklin county is fine and TBH would still have options even if they do want the woods.

😂 You responded to a comment that said western ma is queer friendly with commentary on the Berkshires, aka the most remote and rural quarter of the region.

Franklin county has greenfield, turners, and half of the towns surrounding UMass/sharing a school district with Amherst, as well as the leftier towns of Sunderland and Montague.

If you're only talking about the Berkshires, clarify that. Lol no one is arguing with you about the Berkshires, especially in a thread dominated with discussion of the pioneer valley.

>It’s really just Hampshire county. If you go to the Berkshires, it’s not that great.

Me: what about these places in Franklin county? I live in Hampden county and there are queer spaces here.

You: Those aren't the Berkshires

Me: I never said they were, but implying that western Mass = Hampshire county or the Berkshires is also wrong. There are 4 counties in western ma and 3 of them are considered pretty LGBTQ friendly.

Well, you said w.mass isn't friendly, only Hampshire county is. My understanding is obviously Hampshire county is, and Franklin/Hampden counties also are, although to a somewhat lesser extent, probably in that order. I didn't say anything about Berkshire county.

They sure are, w.mass has 4 counties and Berkshire is only one of them. Wasn't saying berk is pro LGBTQ, that's the only one I haven't lived in

It feels like the language of your lease is relevant here. What does it say?

Is Greenfield/Turners not pretty queer? Some queer spaces down here in Hampden County as well although also lots of wealthy respectability politics republicans.

Enjoy! I would mention as well, if you're a prepared foods person, big y is the best Ive found.

There's nothing that is an exact equivalent imo-- I'm further east than you, but definitely still in western Mass and my personal tendency is to use alldi for everything I can use it for, and big y for everything else.

Honestly, when I was younger, I remember liking stop& shop a lot, but now I feel like only things I don't use are on sale.

Fair enough-- not a firefighter myself but other than a very occasional lip, I don't see/hear of much use here.

Tobacco products are not permitted in many departments; you commit to that when you're hired. Anecdotally, I'd say there's one guy on the shift/in one station who occasionally dabbles (out of the group of 8ish who staff that station/shift for my firefighter, and the guy is an old timer). The cancer risk comes from constantly working around burning building materials/the culture around cleaning gear, which is shifting.

Well, not really, because bartenders mostly notice the order in which people arrive, and I have a neck that can swivel 180 degrees, enabling me to address different people. The only line it creates is a horizontal one in front of the well/taps, which does not create a long tail that disrupts the barroom. I also can take orders as I run drinks to other parts of the bar.

Meh, when I was tending bar, if I was getting rocked and could talk to the next customer I would take their order as I made a drink. Can't do that really with a line.