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Western part of the state is easy as HECK. Maybe some of the nicest hitching one can do is in the Berkshires. I liked it so much I have made Northampton my home base! The bus system (PVTA and FRTA) runs the entire length of the state. If stuck in Springfield, which is notorious, take the PVTA north to Holyoke, then to Northampton, and then (if west, north, or southbound) to Williamsburg on the R41 bus. From Rt 9, to Pittsfield, you're in a great spot. Pittsfield is an easy jumping off point for Albany to the west, North Adams and Vermont to the north, and Great Barrington, CT, and NYC to the south (though if NYC-bound, the Conz st. southbound onramp on I-91 in Northampton is also sometimes a straight-shot hitch). If eastbound to Boston and Maine from the Pioneer Valley, take PVTA to Northampton and switch to the FRTA to Greenfield (m-f only). In Greenfield, get on route 2 east - you'll make it to Boston in a day or less.

Eastern MA is a different story. Rich assholes abound, as does, correspondingly, buck-wild ghetto zones. The entire zone inside the 495 was rough to me every time I hitched there. To be perfectly honest, the best strategy for getting out of Boston westbound seems to be buying a polo shirt and a $10 ticket on the commuter rail to Littleton on rt 2. I was stuck for ages in the winter in Lexington, attempting to walk from Alewife station on rt 2 (which is illegal there). The other good strategy is to get to Lowell and hit the railyard there. - Hillbilly Castro

== Cities ==