Editor’s Note: The author wrote this article in collaboration with 1Berkshire’s Economic Development and Marketing teams.
The Berkshires is no stranger to welcoming people to our region. For generations, we have been the year-round home for thousands of residents, the seasonal home to thousands more, and the weekend getaway for yet more visitors looking to experience all we have to offer. Even with our depth of regional assets, for decades we have faced the persistent challenge of a declining regional population. After the initial decline beginning in the 1980s, the region has continued to experience a trickle of out-migration over the years, resulting in challenges around workforce capacity, local tax bases, and more. Then, COVID-19 happened.
While the pandemic has presented immense challenges both locally and globally, an interesting thing has occurred here in the Berkshires. As more urbanites and suburbanites have realized the value of our quality of life, the cultural and natural resources at our fingertips, and the immense potential that the Berkshires has to offer, they have begun to move to the region. In many cases, the individuals are rediscovering the Berkshires, driven by past interactions and experiences. Perhaps they attended summer camp here, had local family they would visit, attended music events at Tanglewood or performances at any of our fantastic theaters, or maybe they grew up here and migrated away. Whatever their past as a friend and/or neighbor, this moment in time has inspired a return to the Berkshires.
What is potentially more interesting, though, are the truly new transplants, who over the course of the past year, have found their way to the Berkshires. We know that they are coming—the explosive growth in home sales tells part of the story. According to the Berkshire County Board of Realtors’ Market Data Report for April 2021, the closed sales count is up 43.9% year over year and the pending sales count is up 68.5% year to date. While the report doesn’t carry information about the buyers’ zip codes, it’s safe to say that in-county sales cannot possibly account for the totality of this increase, and at least some portion is from outside the region. These new transplants have done more than buy homes and lease apartments. They have also been hired by local businesses or started their own businesses, set up home offices, joined religious congregations, and enrolled their children in our school districts. They have become new threads in the tapestry of our communities and economy, and have presented the region with both a new challenge and opportunity to pursue: embracing and retaining the newest residents in this place we call home.
From each and every corner of the county, individuals, communities, organizations, and businesses have begun work to figure out how to do this—to create ways for new residents to network (mostly virtually), to provide them with the resources they need to comfortably settle into their new surroundings, and to contribute to the “stickiness” of Berkshire hospitality that has attracted and enraptured so many of us who have chosen to make our lives here.
Much of this activity has been online, on Facebook especially. Over the last few years, groups like North Adams – Good News, Pittsfield, Mass – Good News, and Great Barrington Community Board have become platforms for showcasing and highlighting the great things happening in those municipalities. In more recent times, these and other such online communities have also become the location for new residents to introduce themselves, for existing residents to greet them and answer questions, and for building relationships and bonds critical to welcoming new members of the community.
Businesses have found ways of doing this as well. Here at 1Berkshire, we have produced a variety of #liveBRK blogs that tell stories about our amazing residents and why they chose to live here. We share these articles with residents and visitors who might decide to relocate. Also in our Official Guide to the Berkshires you will find a relocation section, including editorial about what it means to live here and other useful resources for those moving or considering a move. This resource helps to augment all the information we provide in our relocate section on 1Berkshire.com.
For several years now, municipalities like Pittsfield have coordinated high-touch “red carpet” operations to help invite, introduce, and welcome new businesses to the region. This same approach is now being applied for the newest residents of the area. Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. will continue to operate their Downtown Pittsfield Ambassador program this summer. The ambassadors are essentially a walking visitor booth offering a friendly face, local knowledge, and helpful direction. In Great Barrington, the recently-launched GBLabs has taken a programmatic approach, offering challenges to engage individuals both digitally and physically to help get them out, become familiarized, and invite them into the fold. Berkshire Camino has kicked off its second season with new “walkabout” tours, which are hour-long strolls around Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, and Stockbridge (with more towns to come later this year), designed to provide a quick overview of the history, current happenings, dining and shopping spots, and more. The recently launched CozQuest engages participants in treasure hunts around the Berkshires with the goal of connecting people with local businesses.
As these efforts are welcoming in the people, those people are bringing investment. New businesses, both home-based and customer-facing, have begun to emerge with these new transplants. Fortunately, the Berkshires has the tools to help businesses start and grow. From free and confidential expert business counseling through the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center’s Berkshire regional office, to business accelerators and pitch competitions from EforAll Berkshire County, innovation challenges through Lever, workspace and shared high-tech tools at the Berkshire Innovation Center, and coworking spaces like Framework and The Werkshires, there is plenty of support to get started or expand operations.
Beyond simply being the neighborly thing to do, it’s important to acknowledge that welcoming our new neighbors can yield benefits to the Berkshires as well. New residents will pay taxes—on items they purchase, property, businesses, meals, and more. These taxes will be a significant boon to the state and local municipalities, especially in the wake of the pandemic that has hit local economies so hard. Schools and religious congregations, many facing dwindling enrollment, could well see the benefit of additional participation. While we are still awaiting district-level results of the 2020 Census, the early word is that while our region won’t lose representation on Beacon Hill, it is likely that many of our elected officials will see their districts grow further east. The arrival, and persistence, of additional residents will help us resist the demographic gravity of larger populations in the eastern part of the state, and arresting our population decline has been a goal in the Berkshires for nearly half a century. Finally, new residents bring new ideas and enthusiasm to the region. Alongside businesses, you can expect to meet new artists, organizers of social activities, employees, volunteers, friends, and perhaps eventually family members as new people join our communities. These are just a few of the many benefits we stand to gain, as long as we welcome our new neighbors.
The welcoming effort that goes the farthest is you. If someone has recently moved into your neighborhood, drop by and (taking safety protocols into consideration) introduce yourself. Let them know the transfer station’s hours, where to get the best pizza in town, and who your pediatrician is. If they have questions, answer them or direct them to someone who can. You are our best Berkshire resource; help us roll out the red carpet for today’s new neighbors who are tomorrow’s friends and family.
