"Thats a lot of places for one state" -- Not if you consider the huge distance from each other. SF to LA 6.5 hr of driving, SF to San Diego, over 9 hrs.
In the same distance in europe you would have Rome, Milano, Paris, Berlin, Zurich, Vienna, Frankfurt.... and so many other cities in between.
Yeah. Up here in the Northeast, New England is basically Boston. All Massachusetts/New Hampshire/Rhode Island/eastern Connecticut of it. (Vermont and Maine are nowhere, and western Connecticut is NYC.)
Depends what you want. The pioneer valley (Amherst/Northampton/etc.) is incredibly beautiful. OTOH, there's not all that much to do. If you like outdoorsy stuff, hiking, woodlands, and rolling fields, Amherst is for you. If you want a bustling social scene and lots of people with common interests, stick to Boston. There are a couple of nice coffeeshops & bars in both Amherst and Northampton, but these are towns with a population of 7000 vs. 600,000 for Boston.
Personally, I can't stand living without some green in my life, so I loved Amherst. But I was in college, and it's rare that college students lack a social life. I have friends who stayed behind after graduation and some of them complained about being bored (though one of them ended up in Vermont instead, go figure).
