Great Place To Live, If You Can Find A Job
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11/11/2008
To the reviewer who said there are only two large companies in Pittsfield, I can assure you that GE is not one of them. GE began shutting down its' businessess and leveling it's buildings many years ago, leaving a wasteland of raised graves where the buildings once stood, covered by rocks and impermeable membranes. This was done to minimize any future leaching of the PCB's they left behind into the ground water and the Housatonic River. Basically, GE got away with murder, - when they should have been taken to court and made to pay dearly for the contaminants they not only left in the soils but walked away from scott free, - to never be held accounrable in the future. GE may have grown this town, but it left it a sewage dump without ever looking back - a shame and a disgrace. Thank you, Jack Welch, you never included this in your book about how great you are.
There are no more large employers left in Pittsfield and the town has seen close to a 30% drop in population since GE closed its' doors. Basically, it's a service economy town, - low paying jobs and small businesses. In addition, as a result of the liberal welfare laws in Massachusetts, drugs and crime have made their way to Pittsfield. When I raised my family there in the 1970's and 1980's, there were no murders or drug trafficking - not any longer. The town is now a drug corridor from NYC to Hartford, CT, through Pittsfield, and on up to Canada. The main street, North Street, is now ugly and deserted and a hang out for the disenfranchised. Long gone are the shoppers and the middle class members of society who made the city what it was.
On the plus side, the areas surrounding Pittsfield are some of the most beautiful on the east coast. VT is 45 minutes away, NY is 20 minutes away, CT is 45 minutes away, and Boston is 2 hours away. The Boston Symphony spends the summer at Tanglewood in Lenox, 15 minutes away, and there numerous other concerts to be seen. Williams University in Williamstown, one half hour to the north, has hosted may famous stars in their summer stock play series. There is plenty to do and explore, especially during the summer months.
All in all, it's still a good place to raise a family, if you can find a job to support them.
Bp | Rock Hill, SC