Western Mass but not Springfield, which is a dead, crime ridden city now. Try the suburbs of Springfield or go a bit northward to places like Easthampton. Western Mass cities like Northampton used to be cheap but NYers moved in and took over so Northampton is more expensive than it used to be. It's still nowhere as expensive as the Boston area though. The Northampton area is artsy and very cultured with great colleges but not a lot of jobs unless you are a college professor or you work in a service type job.

Maybe you could live somewhere around Northampton and commute to a job in the Springfield area, but definitely stay away from Springfield as a place to live. I don't know why some posters are recommended Springfield but it's probably because they have never been there, have never seen it. They probably wouldn't recommend their "prize" city of Lawrence to you!