Good suggestions so far. If I were able to pull it off, I'd most definitely live in the Northampton/Amherst area. However, jobs are something important to consider here.

What are your interests and activities? Do you see yourself spending many days at the beach during the summer? That might be something to consider. Massachusetts is small, but traveling to the beach from western MA is still a drive. I live north of Boston, where the ocean is close. It's also a shorter drive to coastal areas of NH and ME if that is important.

If you provide more info on your interests, we might be able to finely tune our answers.

I just disagreed with /u/Ky1e on something, and he didn't block or ban me. This is good. I think it looks safe to put this drama behind us and focus on more more mundane Massachusetts topics.

TIL that Amherst Chinese and The Pub are no more.

This got me digging for other area restaurants, and I learned that The Dove's Nest in Sunderland closed 6 years ago. That place was greasiest dump, and I loved it. It was the kind of place where the cook would sing the blues out loud and the waitstaff would just sit down at your table because their "feet hurt".

I also would get slices that just didn't exist elsewhere (black bean avocado, tortellini pesto, salad pizza, etc). There were times I would have it for lunch and dinner. I could eat there every day for a week and never have a repeat slice.

I realize it's not for everyone, but if I were to be limited to eating from one restaurant for the rest of my existence, it would be Antonio's.

Went to UMASS Amherst and lived off this pizza. It's possible that it doesn't stand up to some other pizza places that exist now. But back in the day, there was nothing that even compared. It was either New England Greek-style pizza with sweet sauce (which is a nightmare), or nothing.

Every time I visit the happy valley, I have to get a couple of slices. It could be just nostalgia, but I absolutely love it.

Antonio's (Amherst)

Thanks. It's good to hear these experiences.

Re: UI customization - I realized that I hardly customize my UI anymore, so I don't think I'd miss that. There were times I had all kinds of crazy setups with alternative launchers, but I've been sticking with the standard Pixel launcher for years now.

I've been looking into some of the Focus functionality, and it looks interesting. It wouldn't meet all of my notification needs, but it might be enough. Mostly, I think I'd have to change my expectations if I were to move to iOS. We'll see.

Thanks! This is really helpful.

> Unless there are other parts of the Apple ecosystem you really like, I don’t know that switching would benefit you if you already have a system set up. I think you could accomplish most of what you want on iOS, but it would take a lot of tinkering to get there.

You're probably right. I think the reason I'm interested in trying iOS again is that I would love for there to be competion or another option. I keep thinking that iOS will mature enough and bring more functionality so that I can live with it. I know I won't have everything, but I'm hoping it catches up to Android a bit.

Plus, Android hardware options are a mess right now. I have the Pixel 5a, which just got repaired (for free) due to the motherboard failure debacle. The 6 and 7 series Pixels are a disaster, and I will not be buying them. They went with a new chip set (Tensor), which runs hot and has an inferior modem. They dropped the fingerprint scanner for an under-the-screen one that is unusable. Motorola has fallen off the map, and the only real Android option for me is Samsung, which can't put adult-sized batteries in their phones. And they charge absurd prices.

iPhones seem to last forever (just have the battery replaced), have local Apple stores for support/service, have ridiculous resale value, and are just ubiquitous among most of my non-techy family and friends. I'd love to be able to just move over and deal with it. But I don't even have any other Apple devices other than Airpods.

Anyway, thanks again for your thoughts. Later this year, I'll likely pick up a used iPhone for another trial and see how it goes.

For what it's worth, I will likely do another iPhone trial this year. I usually purchase a used iPhone, use it for a month, and then sell it. It's been a couple of years, so I think it's time. There aren't many good options for Android phones right now, and I suppose I'm looking for a change.

Thanks. Do you just periodically view your lists of things to do so you don't miss something?

Overall, I want to interact less with my phone. When I've tried iOS in the past, I felt that I was having to do more with my phone, rather than get my phone to do things for me.

It's been a little while since I have done an iPhone trial, so I suspect things have improved. But there are a few things that I missed last time around.

Note: my lifestyle has been a parent and manager of boring household stuff, as well as a software engineer who has moved into the boring world of data. My kids are getting older, so I'm having to manage soccer practice, bball practice, etc for 3 kids while having a full-time job less now. This is one of the reasons I feel that I'm open to simplifying a bit more now.

• Android has a status bar along the top of the screen that has icons that tell you if you have notifications that you need to act on. I can work in whatever app I'm in and always be aware (without swiping) that I have something outstanding.

• Notifications have actions in the notification (reply, snooze, etc).

• Notifications stay until you have acted on it. There is no risk that something has disappeared because you looked at it.

• I need to get notifications from my work, but I don't want to be bothered by notifications from various systems that send out emails to everyone. I can decide how - or if - particular work emails notify me. These customizations can be made by sender and/or keyword. Some notifications never display, some display without sound, and some display and make a sound.

• The above type of customization means that any possible combination of variables that I can think of can be used to make my phone work for me, rather than me work for my phone. If I want to only receive notifications from people who text me about the "elephants" between the hours of 1:15pm and 2:45pm and I'm currently at work, I can make this happen.

• I value my sleep, but have needed my 3 kids to be able to reach me at all hours of the night if it's important. So, I don't get woken up when they message me unless they include a secret unmute word. This will allow the notification to make noise, so I will get it.

Overall, I just want to have control to make the phone work for me in a way that allows me to not have to try to remember the 500 things that need to happen. And I don't want to be forced to browse around my phone looking for app badges or anything else. I want to use my phone less and have it act like my personal assistant, so it can free me up to be more present.

(I'm sure I'm forgetting things from my last trial with iPhone. Plus, I'm sure it's changed since then.)

EDIT: Did I get downvoted for this? Fascinating.

Serious question - so, you only use the notification system for instant messaging apps? Do you use any productivity apps on your phone (todo lists like TickTick or Todoist or even calendar events)? Would you say that your phone is mostly a communication tool for you?

My bad. I am just going by my anecdotal experience. I work with people with iPhones, and they generally have different workflows for getting things done. Some use paper todo lists or have simple lists that they manage on regular intervals (check list in the morning and evening, for example).

Note: I'm still trying to convince myself that I could simplify my life and move to iOS. But I've had a personal assistant (Android) for so many years, that it would be challenging.

Anyway, don't mean to generalize. I should have meant to say that in my non-scientific observations, the people that I know seem to have a different relationship with their iPhone than I have with my Android - it is all down to notification systems.

I've been looking at moving to iOS, but need a functional notification system as well. I get the impression that most iPhone users use their phones for gaming and play, rather than productivity. Otherwise, there is no way they would tolerate this, right?