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Smith College - Local Atmosphere - College ProwlerCollege Prowler3.46

Local Atmosphere

B
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Quick Stats

Points of Interest
  • Calvin Theatre
  • Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
  • Herrell's Ice Cream Shop
  • LGBT Pride March and Rally
  • Northampton Independent Film Festival (NIFF)

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

Northampton is off-beat with a bustling cultural atmosphere and can be described as “bourgeois bohemian”: a predominantly liberal, white, and upper-middle-class suburb. It is not unusual to see middle-aged activists protesting on the street corners, waving signs and wearing Converse sneakers. Hippies and hipsters abound, and while chain stores such as Starbucks and Urban Outfitters have recently begun multiplying on Main Street, most of the stores are locally owned. There are thrift shops, used-book stores, coffee shops, and funky boutiques. The Calvin Theatre is popular with students and has showcased musicians such as Ziggy Marley, Belle and Sebastian, and Joan Baez and comedians like Dave Chappelle, Margaret Cho, and Roseanne Barr. More off-beat musicians play at the Iron Horse or Pearl Street Nightclub, which are also favorites with many students.

Northampton’s big-city aspirations are obvious by its nickname, NoHo, a takeoff of SoHo and NoHo in Manhattan. Despite these aspirations, the word most often used to describe the town is “quaint.” Some students coming from bigger cities find it difficult to adjust. Stores close early, and it is a little pricey for a college town. When students need things like snacks and toiletries, they often head to the Hampshire Mall to go to Wal-Mart. However, most students say they love Northampton—it is active and vibrant with a respected cultural community. And even though it’s considered a suburb, the surrounding rural setting makes NoHo seem like a bustling metropolis.

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Smith Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Local Atmosphere at Smith College

TifDuckie3

'15

Women's Studies

3.1
B-

Nice

Northampton is a nice town to live in. Smith is right in the heart of downtown so you pretty much have almost everything within your fingertips. Sometimes however, I feel it would be nice to be closer to a major city like Boston. Instead, it's over a two car ride to get there.

Dec 12, 2011

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Local Atmosphere at Smith College

pinkroseliz12

'13

History

5.0
A+

NOHO!

Northampton is amazing. A huge selection of food, and culture. A nice little city to hang around in. I come from a bigger city, so somethings that is rough. But NOHO is wonderous.

Dec 06, 2011

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Local Atmosphere at Smith College

supercowbarbie

'11

Spanish Language and Literature

4.2
A-

Noho

Northampton is a great college town. There are several cute coffee shops and thrift stores and of course state street liquor if you don't have a car to get to liquor's 44. The food in town is good and surprisingly varied for such a small town. Veracruzana has good mexican food, Thai Garden for thai, Amanouz has bomb Morrocan and if you are able to spend money Cornucopia provides organic and natural foods. There are quite a few part time work opportunities for students and the town is super cute.

Unfortunately pretty much everything is expensive and there is no supermarket. There is a CVS though for snacks and toiletries. All in all is a great town that gets harder and harder to leave every year.

Sep 23, 2011

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Page 1 of 10

Photos of Smith College's Local Atmosphere

College Students:
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Smith College - The pondThe pond
Photo by AlanaMiller
The pond This is Smith's campus in the summer—it's absolutely beautiful. Students can take out canoes or kayaks for free, as well.
Link to this photo
Photo by AlanaMiller
Smith College - Mountain DayMountain Day
Photo by AlanaMiller
Mountain Day Every year in fall, the President picks a beautiful day to cancel class so students can go enjoy the outdoors, usually by apple picking at a local farm or hiking in nearby mountains
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Photo by AlanaMiller
Smith College - Botanical GardenBotanical Garden
Photo by jamiesamdahl
Botanical Garden A look at the botanical garden on campus.
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Photo by jamiesamdahl

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate the local atmosphere on the following topics

What is the local atmosphere like at your school?

What is the proximity to other universities? Is there much interaction?

Can you see yourself living here after graduation?

Facts

Shopping Centers
  • Hampshire Mall
  • Holyoke Mall
Major Sports Teams
  • Boston Bruins: NHL
  • Boston Celtics: NBA
  • Boston Red Sox: MLB
  • New England Patriots: NFL
City Web Sites
Distances to Nearest Major Cities
  • Boston: MA: 2 hours
  • New York City: NY: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Did You Know?

Fun Facts about Northampton:

  • NoHo is the birthplace of pizza-loving comic book legends the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.
  • The movie “Cider House Rules” was filmed at the Northampton State Hospital. Sadly, the main building of the hospital was recently demolished.
  • Abolitionists Sojourner Truth and Ralph Waldo Emerson both gave speeches here.
  • Northampton is home to Eric Carle, the author of the famous children’s books, “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” and “Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar.”
  • President Calvin Coolidge practiced law here, working as a country attorney in the building that now houses Fitzwilly’s Restaurant. Later, Coolidge also served as Northampton’s mayor for two years before rising to the White House in 1923. The Calvin Theatre on King Street was named for him.

Famous People from Northampton:

  • Augusten Burroughs – Author
  • Eric Carle – Children’s book author
  • Calvin Coolidge – 30th U.S. president
  • Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird – Co-creators of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  • Dar Williams – Folk singer

Movie TheatersWhat's This?

Amherst Cinema
28 Amity St.
Amherst
(413) 253-2547

CineMark at Hampshire Mall
367 Russell St.
Hadley
(413) 587-4237

Pleasant Street Theater
27 Pleasant St.
Northampton
(413) 584-5848

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Most Recent Student Author

College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at Smith

Name: Dara Kagan

Hometown: Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.

Major: Government, with a minor in the Study of Women and Gender

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