Pittsfield, MA area

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Jay H

New Member
Nov 20, 2006
659
NJ
I may be relocating to the Pittsfield, MA area and just wondering about bike-friendly towns to look at for real estate needs. I am pretty familiar with the area already as I've done a bunch of hiking and cycling through the region, etc, but just curious more on bike friendly routes to Pittsfield that avoids Rt 7, etc. Would like to stick north of I-90 just to say within 15 miles ish of downtown. Job would be located east of where Rts 7/9/20 all converge..

If anybody is local to the area, would be great to find a good place to start looking for a bachelor pad in the area. Probably looking for a pet-friendly townhouse/condo first but if there is an offer for a house I can't refuse than that is fine...

Jay
 
Born and raised in Pittsfield, now living a couple towns east, but still work here.

What sort of biking are you looking for? Simple recreational biking we have the Rail Trail, a biking/walking trail that was installed where an old N-S rail line was. its nice and flat and runs through some beautiful scenery starting at the Berkshire Mall and running North a couple towns. Its nice for biking because it gets you away from auto traffic. Mountain biking you can just head out and go up a local mountain, state park, whatever...there are thousands of places to go. If you're more competitive, check out the Josh Billings Runaground...the local annual triathlon (run/bike/canoe)...its my understanding the bike ride is a killer. Note, I don't do any of these activities myself, haven't made the time in many, many years.

A good first step would be to check out the Berkshire Eagle, the local newspaper. Their website is decent. but not great...not all the classifieds make it online. Also check out the yankee shopper, another local classifieds paper. Lots to rent in central berkshire county, the pets are the tricky part but you'll find places that will let you do that as well.

I have a friend who has been trying and trying to sell a spec house he built in Becket, which is about 10-15 minutes southwest of the I-90/Rt 7 interchange. I don't know if he would be amenable to renting or leasing but I could ask and if so, put you in touch with him. Its a beautiful house and he's a great guy...though its out of the radius you're mentioning.

So why are you moving here? Work I presume?
 
Yeah, I got an offer from General Dynamics in Pittsfield as I am hiker/biker/cyclist/paddler/climber who works as a software engineer as a living... :)

I'm looking at W. Stockbridge, Stockbridge probably as the furthest I want to live because that would be 15-17 miles and I am also a diehard bike commuter so it sounds like Becket is too far for a bike commute... So basically, I'm more intereesting in bike commuting, and how bike friendly some of the more major county roads are to get to GD...

I have bike toured in the area before as a few years ago a friend and I bike from my house in NJ to Great Barrington and camped at Beartown S.F. We did day trips up to Pittsfield and the Shaker Village and we explored Stockbridge which was a lot of fun... I'm aware of the some of the bike paths east of Mt Greylock and I wanted to bike up it but didn't have the time when we were there. I used to mtn bike much more than I do now but thanks for the pointers... that's a unique tri, Run/Bike/Canoe, BTW... :)

I'm currently checking out craigslist and might visit in 2 weeks to look...

[edit] I just googled where Becket is.. it's north of I-90, a bit southeast of PIttsfield... That doesn't look terrible far but could depend on where in Becket it is... Could you get me an address? I can google it better then.. I mean if I just google maps becket and get directions to GD, it only says 15.7 miles which is still about an hour's bike ride... so long as it's not in the Alps...




Jay
 
I'll check on the address and let you know if they might be interested in renting/leasing.

I'd say a fair bit of Becket is equidistant to GD in Pittsfield as W Stockbrisge. If you're in deep outer Becket you could go up Rt 8 to Dalton and over to GD from there. The whole county is fairly hilly, but I wouldn't say Becket is any worse than the other towns.
 
Thanks Mayhem...

I like the hills, it keeps the bike ride interesting... My bike commute now is flat as a board and I'm a hill climber, it gets the lungs working..!

While you check, I do have 2 indoor cats, I don't smoke, and a single bachelor, so I am not really looking at a big place, perhaps 1 or 2 BRs is fine...

I would love to find a place with a wood stove, but that is not a necessity..

Jay
 
Didn't see them this weekend, but I probably will next weekend. I'll stay in touch.
 
Not on CL as far as I know. They've been looking to sell it exclusively, but I'm thinking for the right person they might be willing to turn it into an income property instead of just paying the mortgage and doing upkeep.
 
Finally connected with my friend, they are interested in renting so I'm going to PM you their contact information.
 
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