I have read a lot of wild things on CC, but this is one of the wildest!
I’ve lived in and visited a lot of college towns, and Northampton ranks up there with the very best of them. It has a classic main street, good restaurants and bars, independent retail shops, live entertainment venues, and is very walkable. For Smith College students, an added bonus is that downtown is adjacent to campus. Lots of UMass-Amherst , Hampshire, Mt. Holyoke, and Amherst College students take the bus or drive there.
South Hadley has a couple shops, and a bus stop… to get to Northampton.