Leaving Home

Written in January of 2007.


Pittsfields Shot

I read the article in this past Sundays Berkshire Eagle entitled, Youth Bolting State, with great interest. The subject matter is one that I have spent much time pondering and mulling over as of late. I applaud the Eagle for the recognition of a problem that really will continue to cripple the state in coming years unless some major changes are instituted. All to often the Eagle categorically ignores any and all problems that residents of the county really face on a day to day basis. And I believe it is safe to say that the problem of losing youth, especially those with a college education, has hit and will continue to hit the Berkshire especially hard. Unfortunately, Hillary Chabots article failed to give this all to real problem a recognizable or 'human' face. No real reasons or solutions for the Massachusetts brain drain were offered. More importantly, the voice of the youth of Berkshire County was noticably absent.

I thought that, perhaps, I may be able to shed a little light or at least offer some perspective on the subject matter.

I am a 25 year old resident of Pittsfield Massachusetts. I received my BA from the University of Massachusetts in 2004. In May of 2006 I receive my MS from the same institution of higher learning.

In the months leading up to my graduation date I spent alot of time debating, both with myself and with others, where I should go. My field of expertise is Labor Studies and Political Theory. If I wanted to use my degree in any meaningful way I would need to go somewhere, almost anywhere it seemed as long as it was not Berkshire County. This idea held a certain appeal for me. I wanted to start a career, I wanted to use my degree, I wanted to ensure that I felt 'justified' by putting myself in over $40,000 worth of debt. I looked into jobs in Boston, New York City, Seattle and San Francisco just to name a few.

On the other hand I felt guilty about not coming back and giving Pittsfield a 'shot'. I felt indebted to the community and to my family and friends that stayed behind. I felt that putting myself in over $40,000 worth of debt would mean little to nothing if I was not able to give back to the community that raised me from birth. I knew that I would not be able to find employment in my field. I knew that the economic situation is Pittsfield was dismal. But I naively believed that having a Master's Degree would give me at least a small upper hand in the economies job market. So I decided to give Pittsfield that 'shot'. I decided to give the place 1 year. 12 months to find employment, get my finances in order after 7 years of utter destruction from college bills and inflated rent prices in Amherst and 12 months to discover for myself if living in the Berkshires as an adult really was as terrible as so many of my peers told me...

It is now nearly 8 months since I finished graduate school and returned to my place of birth. Things have not gone according to plan. I took a job as a line cook at a restaurant that I started working at over 8 years ago to get myself through high school, BCC and even college. I am still employed there full-time today. While the establishment has been as good to me as I can expect this is certainly not what I want to be doing. I have been scanning the classifieds in the Berkshire Eagle every thursday, saturday and sunday since this summer. I frequently check ..nberkshirejobs.com. I even go so far as to check the websites of known local employers for job opportunities on a regular basis. I send my resume out anywhere from once to 6 different times in any given week. And still nothing. I have had a handful of interviews. But nothing that has lead me to employment...

And so here I am. I am broke and discouraged. Like so many other people in the county I am without health insurance. I am unable to find a job that provides affordable health insurance and purchasing it on my own is absolutely out of the question. To add insult to injury, the Massachusetts legislature, recognizing this for the problem that it is in all of their infinite wisdom, decided that the solution would be to force people like myself to purchase our health insurance from private companies. Soon I will be forced to pay a monthly fee that I cannot afford for an 'emergency only' health plan that I will rarelly, if ever, be able to use. Insurance is simply a luxury that I can not afford right now. Furthermore, being that it has now been more than the prerequisite '6 months' since I finished my academic career the federal government has recently been pounding on my door to pay back the $40,000 that they graciously leant me so that I might get an education. My jaw nearly hit the floor when I received my first bill and realized that they expected me to pay $385/month for the next ten years. I had to call and threaten to default (a move that would have ruined me financially I know) to get them to drop the payments to $100/month for the first year. Still a very, very hefty fee on my current salary. And I keep on sending those resumes out.....

In addition to the dismal state of the counties economy I have run into some other areas of concern. Most notably is the quality of the night life in the area. I enjoy seeing live music. It is a luxury that I have grown accustomed to over the years. So much so that I was unaware just how much of a rarity it had become in my hometown of Pittsfield. Fortunately, just down the street from my abode La Cocina offered me an opportunity to see live music a full seven nights a week. But for nearly the entire duration of my recent stint in Pittsfield the city government, and the Sheriffs department in particular, have gone out of their way to harass and bully the establishment. So much so that there are now rumors that the business will be sold and live music in the city will be done for good...

I have been 'interested' in the so called 'cultural revitalization' that some believe the city of Pittsfield is currently undergoing. The leaders of this process, still in its infancy, will to make some decisions on what sort of Pittsfield they want to see in coming years. On the one hand, they could continue to introduce high priced and hi-fallutin cultural events to the city that are to be marketed towards wealthy tourists and do nothing for the residents but provide a few minimum wage jobs. On the other hand, they could work on ensuring that they introduce venues and events that are affordable and appeal to the mass of people living within the confines of the city. I fear that it may be the former that is already happening. But I hope this is not the case and believe that there is still time to reverse the path that the city is undergoing...

If Massachusetts, and Pittsfield in particular, plans on reversing the trend of college educated young people leaving the area they will need to do several things. And do them quickly they must. First and foremost the economic situation needs to be fixed. We need good paying jobs with benefits. We need to be able to pay off our ridiculously high student loan bills. We need health insurance and dental insurance and wouldn't even mind a paid day off once in a while. We need the sort of jobs that unions once provided to our residents before the government and employers teamed up to kick them out. But we do not need the government sticking its nose where it does not belong and forcing us to purchase a sub par health insurance plan without helping improve our financial situation so that we might be able to afford said plan. We need to have things to do and places to go out in the area. We do not need the city governments needlessly harassing fine establishments such as La Cocina. And if the city is going to go through a 'cultural revitalization' we need to ensure that it is one that is accessible to the majority of its population. I care little for events that I can not afford to attend...

When all is said and done, I am not optimistic about the future of the state or this city or my future therein for that matter. At this point I believe that the damage may already be done. After 8 months of tireless job searching and back breaking work I may just be done. Even If I were able to find a great job in the area tomorrow I do not know if It would be enough to make me stay. I will stay here through the summer. I truly do enjoy the "Beautiful Berkshires" in the summer. But I have given this community a "shot". I am leaving...