<p>i havent been to Williamstown, but i have been to the berkshires and i feel like its in the middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>people who currently go to williams: does that have any impact on the college and the experience? I like Williams, but im afraid that it'd be incredibly boring to be stuck in the middle of nowhere for 4 years.</p>
<p>Williams is located in a small town with beautiful surrounding mountains. Williams students probably spend more time on campus than do students at schools with lots of neighboring distractions. The good side is: better friendships with classmasts, more studying (hopefully better grades), and a safer campus. The bad side is: if you don't like anyone there, you willl be surrounded by people you don't like, it's cold in Mass., and some of the people have funny sounding northern accents. The town's limitations are no secret to Williams administators and they make sure there is plenty going on on campus.</p>
<p>I'm a sophomore at Williams, and I think that while there are plenty of downsides to living in Williamstown, there aren't any that I didn't expect coming in. I'm from a big city, so obviously moving here was a change. Williamstown doesn't offer much in the way of commerce, but it does have the absolute essentials-- a coffee shop, good sandwich places, restaurants, drug store, etc. We're about to get our very own "Ephporium" on Spring Street (the main commerical street in town), which is supposed to be a little grocery/convenience store place. Restaurants include Indian food, Thai, American, and down the road a bit there's Chinese, Sushi, Pizza, and others. Williamstown has lots of little gift shop type places, and some stores that few students ever go in to because they're more for the summer crowd. We have a small movie theater that shows mostly artsy movies and has great student discounts.
So that's the town. Tiny, but really pretty. And right down the road is North Adams, home of Super Stop & Shop and WalMart. This is not a commuter school by any means, and most people are on campus every weekend. There is a lot going on on campus so there's no reason to leave, and no place to go really. If you're in to skiing, snowboarding, hiking, rock climbing, etc. there are loads of opportunities for that stuff. Also, despite being in a little town, we have three excellent art museums around: Mass MoCA, the Clark, and WCMA. All worth checking out.</p>
<p>We all know we're in the middle of nowhere, and you should come here expecting that. That said, most of us consider our location in the Berkshires a positive thing, rather than a negative.</p>
<p>If you don't like the people you go to College with, you're not going to enjoy your experience no matter where that College is located. If you like the people you go to College with, chances are you're going to want to spend a fair amount of time with them, so the fact that that's exactly what you're doing at Williams isn't a bad thing. Since you're partying with fellow Ephs rather than townies, you have a much stronger and more supportive College "community" and social events are about as safe as they could be. </p>
<p>As thinkingoutloud said, the College knows the towns limitations and plans accordingly--I've never once been bored on campus. For that matter, I've never once felt like there weren't many things that I wanted to do at once but didn't have time for. </p>
<p>It's also important to note that while the town is small, they're there primarily for the college. There really is a huge amount of school spirit among local residents (they come out in large numbers to all athletic events), and the local businesses not only cater to undergrads (you'll find this in any college) but they truly care about them. I got my hair cut at the local barbershop and ended up staying and talking with the barber for about 30 extra minutes about the best Williams-Amherst football games he's seen here.</p>
<p>I like to see Williams' location, size, and relative isolation as good things. However, if you can't live without clubs then look to city schools because there ain't none here.</p>
<p>thanks guys! im not a person who goes clubbing, in fact i'd probably be more comfortable in a small town than in a city. But does it get really cold there?</p>
<p>Yeah, it really gets cold here. Last Winter (my only one in Billsville so far) was really, really, really cold. I've heard from just about anyone who's been here longer that it was unusually cold, and judging by this year so far I believe it. This isn't a great place for people who thrive on the beach and hate all things indoor or snowy. Williamstown Winters are extremely beautiful, and full of good things to do if you're willing to brave the cold a little. In addition to all the usual stuff, Williams has a grand tradition of Winter Study broomball and you can take sledding for PE credit. </p>
<p>Winter is cold, but Spring is that much more awesome when it comes (...in mid April).</p>