When Marshall Raser of Carr Hardware was trying to get his son, Bart, to move back to Pittsfield and get into the family business, Bart told his father that The Berkshires are only good if you're 35 years old with kids.

Bart's not wrong, though. A lot of children who grow up here, move away but eventually return to raise a family. Well, what about retirement? Do people move to Pittsfield to retire?

According to kiplinger.com, a trusted source for finance advice and business forecasts, Pittsfield, MA has been named number 21 out of 50 best places to retire in the U.S.

New England is notoriously expensive, but Pittsfield offers a small pocket of relative affordability—more reasonably priced than Boston, where living costs are 48.2% above the U.S. average. Housing is notably affordable: The median home value in the city located in the western part of the state is $170,900, compared with $341,000 for all of Massachusetts and $423,300 for Boston proper.

Besides affordability, Kiplinger takes note of all the indoor and outdoor activity available in Pittsfield and the surrounding Berkshires. Lakes, mountains, trails, camping, fishing, golfing, skiing, leaf peeping; plus all that the arts offer up here, MASSMoCa, The Colonial Theatre, Tanglewood, Clark Art Institute, Barrington Stage, and more.

Pittsfield's total population, as of 2016, was around 42,800, with 21% of that being 65 years or older who's average income was around $56,500.

 

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