Last Thursday boston.com had a feature “Dreamtown Finder:  Top 25 places to live in Massachusetts“.   Of course they provided a link to the town search calculator.   It was good entertainment while eating breakfast.   Based on my inputs, the top five rural recommendations were:

• New Ashford
• Savoy
• Hawley
• Cummington
• Monroe

I’ve driven through New Ashford but not the other four.   They’re all in western MA.  I’m more familiar with the southern part of Berkshire county than the northern part but the area around Mt. Greylock is very nice.  (Wife:  “Where the hell are those towns?  I’ve never even heard of them.  What were your criteria?”)    Interestingly, “opportunities for gainful employment” isn’t one of Dreamtown Finder’s selection criteria.  With that in mind, I also put in for “suburban” recommendations.  The top five were:

• Lanesborough
• Northfield
• Leverett
• Berlin
• Provincetown/Hatfield

I know Lanesborough and have driven through Northfield and Hatfield.  Berlin is close but other than passing through on I-495 I don’t think I’ve ever been.  I was surprised that Dreamtown Finder rated those five as suburban.  Unless they’ve changed dramatically in the last twenty years I’d call them rural.  Nice places but I suspect that finding work would be an issue.

Top five “urban” recommendations:

• Sharon
• Newburyport
• Westborough (Westborough?!)
• Lexington
• Bedford/Wayland/Acton

I would have pegged those five as suburban rather than urban but I take some comfort in that home scores in the top five.