UMass Amherst is included in the Amherst Center neighborhood, but this neighborhood stretches beyond the southern border of campus. Greek life is present in this neighborhood, so this neighborhood is great for those students who love socializing.

Amherst College is also located within this neighborhood, making this neighborhood a great area to meet other college students. Mackimmie Hall, Prince Hall, and other student dorms are located here. For students who are looking for apartments, you can choose from options such as Lincoln Apartments, Village Park Apartments, and Olympia Place.

Nearby towns that are also worth checking out include Hadley, Belchertown, Hatfield, Granby, Pelham, and Leverett. And apartment complexes a bit further from campus that are worth considering include North Square at the Mill District, Boulders Apartment Homes, North 116 Flats, and Rolling Green Apartments.

Dining

Amherst is full of great eateries for students to choose from. For students living in the North Amherst neighborhood, House of Teriyaki is a Japanese restaurant that serves traditional Japanese dishes and sushi rolls

Students living in Amherst Center have a wide variety of dining options. The Spoke is a bar with a wide variety of alcoholic beverages and a bar-style menu, all at a great price. Many of this area’s restaurants are located on Pleasant Street, including Johnny’s Tavern, High Horse, and multiple restaurants offering Asian cuisine.

The Harp Irish Pub is an Irish pub located in North Amherst. While they do not offer student discounts, they do have daily specials, a full menu, and a variety of beers and ale. They also have game watches for popular NFL games.

Transportation

Getting to, from, and around campus can seem daunting when you move off-campus, but UMass Amherst has several options for students. UMass Transit is one way that students can get around. This transit system operates the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority campus shuttle for the Five Colleges as well as the towns of Amherst, Belchertown, Deerfield, Granby, Hadley, Northampton, South Hadley, and Sunderland. The buses travel on UMass Amherst’s campus as well as surrounding areas in the Pioneer Valley, including to local malls. These buses run from 7 am to 2:30 am, except when there is reduced scheduling. Students and employees can ride these buses for free during the academic year with a valid ID.

Amherst and the surrounding region offer a variety of ways to get to and from campus. There are buses available for the towns surrounding campus. UMass also promotes biking as an option for commuter students. Students who drive are also encouraged to carpool to help the environment.

Parking

Parking is a huge concern for students living off-campus, and UMass Amherst understands this and has a variety of resources available. Students need to get a permit for certain lots and there are a variety of permit options depending on what each student needs. While there are physical permits, the university is also using license plate recognition to scan license plates to verify that the vehicle is registered, and the student has the correct permit.

Aside from permits, there are also metered lots and a Campus Center Parking Garage. Students are encouraged to check out the parking map to figure out where they should park based on where their classes are.

Safety

Safety is a massive concern for students moving off-campus, and UMass Amherst has many safety measures in place to help students out. Students can view crime logs on the UMass website to be informed of what has happened recently and in the past.

UMPD has a free walking escort service where walking teams of students with radios walk with students across campus every night from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. during the semester. To arrange an escort, call (413) 545-2123.

Students are encouraged to sign up for UMass Alerts to be notified of ongoing emergency situations as well as campus closings. Subscribe with your cell phone to receive notifications. If you do not want to get text updates, notifications will also be sent to your UMass email and posted on the campus website.

Shopping

Having a variety of shopping options available to students is crucial, and Amherst offers this for students living off-campus at UMass. As mentioned above, the shuttle bus stops at local malls in nearby towns, so it is a great opportunity to go shopping at places not immediately near campus.

For those who live in Amherst Center, there are shops like CVS and Amherst Books. Like the restaurants, many of these shops are located along Pleasant Street, but there are stores located elsewhere as well. In terms of grocery stores, there are stores like Trader Joe’s and Simple Gifts Farm.