This independent haven is a ‘tangibly different’ college town

Northampton, Massachusetts —

A town’s motto can reveal exactly what’s charming about the place, and it’s also shorthand for its unique quirks.

Northampton, in western Massachusetts, isn’t the only place in the Bay State to grab a cup of Joe or promote independent thinking. But it is the only town there with the unofficial motto: “Where the coffee is strong and so are the women.”

The coffee that can be found in the town’s many cafés is not only strong but delicious and the women mentioned in the slogan include students — and alumnae — of Smith College , whose campus at the edge of downtown is one of the most beautiful in all of New England.

Opened in 1875, Smith is one of five colleges in a consortium that anchors this often countercultural corner of Massachusetts, known as the Pi