Great Barrington named a top town

Residents enjoy living in the town of Great Barrington, which was named one of the best 15 small towns in New England by Boston magazine.

[SAL]

top town-- yes-- I see it once or twice a year--
thank goodness they didn't mess it up!

[Brian in MA - not MN]

It's a great place to live and work. Families and children love it (The Gifted Child, Tom's Toys, Robin's Candy Shop), and adults love it too(The Well, Napa Grill, Baba Louies, Bizen, Allium, 20 Railroad) and everyone in between. The town has a better credit rating than most MA towns, giving it better financing terms. A few local business people are creating jobs (Jane Iredale for one) and more will follow.

The most amusing thing about Great Barrington is that Bill O'Reilly (AKA the Grinch) hates us because we sometimes refer to Christmas decorations on Main Street as "Holiday Lights." Too bad he wasn't at the Chamber of Commerce Christmas party last year at Ward's nursery, where a large crowd was treated to a full choral concert of Christmas music by local schoolkids.

Bah Humbug, Bill.

[HellerClimateRef ugee]

Notice PLEASE that the photograph used to display the opinion that GB is amongst 15 "best small towns" in New England is a shot that shows the downtown area amidst a sea of leaves, the same leaves that are attached to trees that some yokels now want to cut down.
It's doubtful that without that lovely colorful canopy that the reviewers at Boston Magazine or at any other publication would come to the conclusion that GB was even worth a second look.
Can you imagine walking along Main Street if it were barren of foliage?
Wow, a long row of brick buildings, Oooh and Ahhh!

[Prove me wrong]

Brian is back...
Liberal namecaller to the core.

[Brian in MA - not MN]

HellerClimateRefugee wrote:

Notice PLEASE that the photograph used to display the opinion that GB is amongst 15 "best small towns" in New England is a shot that shows the downtown area amidst a sea of leaves, the same leaves that are attached to trees that some yokels now want to cut down.
It's doubtful that without that lovely colorful canopy that the reviewers at Boston Magazine or at any other publication would come to the conclusion that GB was even worth a second look.
Can you imagine walking along Main Street if it were barren of foliage?
Wow, a long row of brick buildings, Oooh and Ahhh!

we agree on something. amazing.

[HellerClimateRef ugee]

And come to think of it, Railroad Street would be a heckuva lot more inviting and cool in the summer with a line of flowering trees on either side of the street.

[Brian in MA - not MN]

Prove me wrong wrote:

Brian is back...
Liberal namecaller to the core.

Yes, I am here - clever observation, but what does that have to do with Great Barrington? If you recall, we got called a bunch of pinheads by Bill O'Reilly, and I am the namecaller? STFU and come back with something real.

What you, and idiots like you, have to realize is that on these threads you outnumber the liberals by 3 to 1. Do you really expect us to play nice all the time? I'm calling it the way I see it and you have no choice but to accept that as reality.

[Prove me wrong]

Brian, you waste our time.

[Brian in MA - not MN]

HellerClimateRefugee wrote:

And come to think of it, Railroad Street would be a heckuva lot more inviting and cool in the summer with a line of flowering trees on either side of the street.

I'm hearing that some people are planning to chain themselves to the trees when the Haupt guys come with saws. That will be a sight.(I won't participate). I just hope that they put in semi-mature trees as immediate replacements. I don't want to wait 20 years for shade.

[Brian in MA - not MN]

Prove me wrong wrote:

Brian, you waste our time.

and you, mine. Ignore it or deal with it. I feel compelled to reply every time you make one of your noxious posts, if only to deprive you of the satisfaction of being irritating.

[Peppy]

Brian in MA - not MN wrote:

It's a great place to live and work. Families and children love it (The Gifted Child, Tom's Toys, Robin's Candy Shop), and adults love it too(The Well, Napa Grill, Baba Louies, Bizen, Allium, 20 Railroad) and everyone in between. The town has a better credit rating than most MA towns, giving it better financing terms. A few local business people are creating jobs (Jane Iredale for one) and more will follow.
The most amusing thing about Great Barrington is that Bill O'Reilly (AKA the Grinch) hates us because we sometimes refer to Christmas decorations on Main Street as "Holiday Lights." Too bad he wasn't at the Chamber of Commerce Christmas party last year at Ward's nursery, where a large crowd was treated to a full choral concert of Christmas music by local schoolkids.
Bah Humbug, Bill.

Chritmas tree, Christmas lights, Christmas carols. Why not just call it what it is? Why the stupid liberal charade?

[Brian in MA - not MN]

Peppy wrote:

<quoted text>
Chritmas tree, Christmas lights, Christmas carols. Why not just call it what it is? Why the stupid liberal charade?

What stupid liberal charade? Why get worked up about it? I don't care what the decorations are called, but to have a red-faced bully label an entire town as a bunch of pinheads just because we turned the holiday/Christmas lights off at 10pm on weekdays to save energy is ridiculous.

There's plenty of Christmas spirit here when December rolls around, but its also easy to malign a place like Gt Barrington on a conservative show. We're in a blue state, we have same sex marriage, universal healthcare, an African American Democrat for Governor, 2 Democratic Senators, no Republican Congressmen, etc etc. What an easy target we are for a conservative misanthrope like O'Reilly. You can easily imagine his production elves at Fox looking for the ideal community to lampoon with ratings and advertiser spend in mind.

[chains]

isnt there a CVS and a subway on main st?

no chains?

[Brian in MA - not MN]

he said Railroad St, not Main Street

[pat the painter]

chains wrote:

isnt there a CVS and a subway on main st?
no chains?

Yes and also a Rite Aide as well as a few other chain stores.

[The Hamburgler]

Is there a McDonalds on Railroad St!?! There should be one on every corner. Sometimes, I like my hamburgers with cheese.

[Barringtonista]

You know what I like most about downtown Great Barrington? That I have to save up for weeks in order to afford a meal at most of the restaurants. That's the best! And at $8.00 a pound, the Co-Op's salad bar is a *steal*(for millionaires). Thank goodness for Martin's breakfast specials and Baba Louie's (before the price hike) and the burrito joint.

[Sarah]

Congratulations Great Barrington! You've worked hard and have come along way in 35 years. I remember you when ... You should be proud.

[George]

The Hamburgler wrote:

Is there a McDonalds on Railroad St!?! There should be one on every corner. Sometimes, I like my hamburgers with cheese.

Robble, robble?

[sal237]

Barrington has at least three faces: the rich who care only for themselves, the workingclass who are mostly nice people, and the scum. Who will win?