<p>I live in a town of ~700 and go to high school in a town of nine or ten thousand. I realize Amherst is larger then that, but it’s still considerably smaller than Chicago or New York. Not that I expect it to compare with a metropolis, but will it have that irritating small town feeling, or will it feel more like a larger city? How is the live music scene? The food? Are there opportunities to be exposed to other cultures? Or is it pretty much homogeneous?</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the greater Amherst area includes some 30,000 to 35,000 college students, not just at Amherst College but also at UMass, Smith, Hampshire, and Mt. Holyoke. So while the Amherst area is not metropolitan, it nonetheless has one of the largest concentrations of college students in the northeast. </p>
<p>In other words, Amherst is obviously not a major metro area in terms of overall population, but it arguably is a major metro area in terms of student population specifically. The student population is relatively diverse, and there are lots of student-oriented eating, entertainment, and shopping options. In terms of student culture, the Amherst area would compare favorably with much larger cities.</p>
<p>A National Acrobat - great song. You like Sabbath, then?</p>
<p>Like Corbett said, Amherst and the surrounding area are very student-centric. I live in Northampton, which is just a few miles from Amherst, and whenever the students leave for vacation there is a noticable difference, especially in Amherst because of UMass. That's not to say that Amherst becomes a ghost town when college isn't in session; it doesn't at all. But it is very different from your average small town in that there are a ton of good restaurants and music and stuff all with in a good distance. There are lots of different cultures represented in the area, too. It definitely does not feel like a large city. I think it is the perfect compromise--you have great downtowns in Amherst and Northampton, and there is more of a "countryside" feel nearby, with lots of places to enjoy the outdoors. But I may be slightly biased, since I grew up in the area and am not a big fan of cities.</p>
<p>When we visited Amherst, we asked the gas station attendant where the main "downtown" area was. He looked at us really funny, and said "Uh, you're in it." It's a cute town, but small. We didn't go to Northampton, the main big town in the area, but I believe people when they say the surrounding area feels bigger than it looks because of the large student population. </p>
<p>My son saw the music posters at Amherst and wanted to go there immediately - very cutting edge groups, he said, and the students seem to have a large role in deciding who to book. When I asked him to compare some other, larger, Ivy League schools we were visiting, he said the bookings seemed very conventional and kind of passe.</p>