Moving from AZ to MA

Hi A.!

Welcome to the Pioneer Valley. I live about 15-20 mins north in Brattleboro, VT and I work in Northampton, MA which is south of Northfield. The great thing about this area is the I-91 corridor allows for fast commutes up and down the valley, winter storms excepted, so your employment options expand.

Because Northfield is in Franklin County, I recommend contacting the local Community Action agency, which covers both Franklin and Hampshire Counties. You can get help finding child care and finding an early education job!

They serve hundreds of children through Head Start and Early Head Start, as well as non-Head Start child care programs. They also run the region's child care referral service, so they are connected to private providers and centers and might be able to tell you where to look for openings, or give you the opportunity to post on a providers' listserv with your qualifications. They run provider groups and the local coordinated family and community engagement work (CFCE, see http://www.mass.gov/edu/birth-grade-12/early-education-an.... For information on their child care resource and referral program, Child Care Outlook: Child Care Outlook, contact: ###-###-####

And here is the Community Action website link to their current openings. The pay isn't great but they allow you to have your age-appropriate children with you and it will connect you with the early ed community. Plus you get school vacations off (with paid unemployment for the summer, I think) and great benefits. http://communityaction.us/job-openings.html

In terms of housing, the best resource I've found is Zillow.com, because then you get all the listings for all area agencies. If you are interested in a listing, then you can go to the agency's page and contact to learn more.

Good luck!!! You're embarking upon an exciting adventure!

Wow A. that would be quite a move! I am from MA and love it, but it's all I know.

That part of the state is very, very, very, very rural. It's close to the Vermont and New Hampshire borders. Kind of in the middle of nowhere, although I-91 does run through there. It's the Connecticut River Valley area, which is beautiful. I can't emphasize that enough - if you're a nature lover, that part of the state is heaven - you have rivers, mountains, rolling hills, forests, etc. Lots of people head out to that area to go "leaf peeping" (see the leaves changing colors) in the fall. Summers would be pretty mild. Winters would be long and cold, and spring would be late and wet.

The population there is about 1,000 - 2,000 people, which is considered a very small town by MA standards. The schools in MA as a whole are consistently rated among the top in the nation and Northfield is average for the state in standardized test scores - so not great schools by MA standards but probably decent on a national scale.

The average income in that part of the state is about $40-$50K per year, which is low by Massachusetts averages but the cost of living in that part of the state is much lower than it is where I live and houses out there are dirt cheap.

I would imagine that your husband's company will work with a relocation service that can answer some questions about your own employment opportunities, etc. I would look into licensing requirements for your field in NH and VT as well as MA because more populous areas with more jobs may very well be closest to you in one of these states vs. traveling an hour or more to a busier part of MA.

Hello- I grew up in Mass - moved my family to Southern NH about 7 years ago. How about visiting the town's website?
http://www.northfield.ma.us/

You will love Massachusetts in the Fall :) Not so much in the winter! Good luck. Relocation is tough!

Hi A.,
Welcome to western MA!

I have lived in MA for the majority of my life and currently live just a few towns south of Northfield. I have friends and co-workers who live there and I've been to the wonderful Drive In movie theater there.

This area of Western MA is rural but there are some great local cities that have a lot going for them such as Northampton in MA and Keene and Brattleboro NH. Keene would be the closest to Northfield, but Northampton and Amherst MA are within 45-50 minutes. All have colleges that you could teach at once you got your MA state teaching license. (or whatever it is you'll need.) There are also numerous public and private elementary and high schools in the area, including Northfield Mount Hermon right in Northfield.

As JB said below the cost of living is a bit less here than the Boston area but don't expect dirt cheap housing prices. We've been looking for a 1500 square foot ranch for my mother to move into and they start around $300,000. You won't find a $200,000 house out here that isn't small and in need of a lot of costly remodeling. Possibly, as Michele W says, you can find that just over the NH border.

MA has School Choice so if you are not thrilled with the elementary school in the town you settle in you can look at other towns and bring you child to one of them if they have a school choice opening. We do that with 2 of our kids as budget cuts in our town really decimated the schools budget. We are extremely happy with where are kids go to school now, although it means more driving for us as transportation is not provided.

You can join craigslist for Western MA to see what jobs are being advertised right now. This may give you a sense of where to start your search.

I can give you the name of a friend who's a real estate agent if you'd like. Just send me a private message for that and any other questions you have.
This area is a really nice place to live and has a lot to offer. And we're only 2 hours from beautiful Boston if you need that city fix.
Good luck.

We moved from Ut to Southern, NH 8 years ago. It is beautful in New England! Where Northfield is located you could also considering moving to NH. The cost of living in NH is a bit lower than MA. There is only property tax. One option you could consider is renting for a short time to see what area you would like to live in. There is always a need for child care and I'm sure you could find a job. Like another post said, the public & private school systems are a higher quality typically than other parts of the country. Come out for a visit & I'm sure you will fall in love with the area.

I was in the same boat as you! We moved from Phoenix to Charlotte NC about 3.5 years ago...I to was a preschool director! Since we've also moved to Orlando FL and now we are in Clearwater FL...I'm praying for the day we can get back to AZ! Even though my husband makes very good money now I would take a huge paycut to be back in the dry 118 degree summers, with my family and friends...sigh. back to your question though, what I did was contact the licensing board for the state to find out if there's any specific requirements that state has. EX in NC you have to have their state credentials, even though I have a Bach. In early childhood Ed and a CDA from AZ.

My brother and his family live in Northfield, and we both grew up nearby. The local newspaper is the Greenfield Recorder - you might read it online to get a sense of the area. There is a wide variety of housing available, from old Victorians to smaller starter homes. The town houses the campus of a now-closed school for girls, the Northfield School, which has some beautiful empty buildings. Whatever moves into that campus will dramatically impact the nature of the town. Please feel free to write to me offline if you have specific questions. Best of luck!