WESTERN WHAT?
Alison Lobron’s essay “Greetings From Way Out West” (Perspective, January 18) was so appropriate. I live in Central Massachusetts, specifically Leominster, and I remember chatting online with a Bostonian who wanted to know where Leominster was. The western part of the state has so much beauty, filled with an abundance of historic sites, great restaurants, recreation opportunities, and cultural events. I can understand why Governor Patrick picked Richmond for his summer home.
Larry Fraticelli / Leominster
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I love Western Mass. but need to get to Boston often for work. Just give us one train to South Station. That’s not asking for too much, is it?
Rick Kaufman / Palmer
After more than 45 years in the heart of Boston’s South End, I moved to a small town a bit west of Sturbridge. What a shock to find that Boston hardly exists anymore! We cannot get Boston stations on TV or radio. What is wrong here? Boston is our capital, and yet only a great tragedy like the Marathon crisis gets reported. We rarely even hear what is happening in Worcester.
We are living in the beauty and spaciousness of a more rural area (with lots of parking), but no one seems to know where we are. I would like to feel that I still live in Massachusetts, but most of the time I am not sure what state I am in. I wish I knew what I could do to have a more united Massachusetts. We aren’t such a big state, after all.
Carolyn Boehne / Wales
Twenty-five years ago I tried to leave a callback number with the phone receptionist of a national association based in Boston. When I began “413,” she interrupted with “I thought you said you were from Massachusetts.”
Denny Grubbs / Exeter, New Hampshire
In fact, there are a lot of folks from the Boston area in Western Mass. Brought here by Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, state agencies, or because a lot of folks in Massachusetts are from Massachusetts — so when we move, we usually move to places within the state. New Yorkers have come here, ruined the affordability of the area, and, oddly enough, seem more prevalent because they are simply louder. Folks from Brooklyn “announce” themselves. New Englanders just quietly show up.
Dave Pill / Pittsfield
What people consider “the Boston area” is growing farther and farther west, because lifelong “real metro Boston” people like me are being forced to move because of the cost of living. My town, in the Metro West/495 area, has a ton of people from Arlington, Somerville, Medford, Cambridge, and Boston. I was amazed when I learned we weren’t the only “Boston people” living there. It’s almost exactly 35 miles from my house to my office, and that’s the new norm. A lot of people I grew up with moved farther west than we really wanted to.
MarkP0902 / posted at bostonglobe.com
Western Mass. does not align itself with Boston. I can attest it’s Albany news and Yankees baseball. It’s the way it’s been for half a century and likely a lot more.
mauiluver / posted at bostonglobe.com
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