Traveling the world is exciting ... and exhausting, too.

Spending vacations at the beach is fun ... but then there is the sunburn.

Skiing in Colorado is thrilling ... but when the snow melts what else to you do?

Arizona is hot and dry and sunny ALL the time ... enough said.

Florida is great for the winter months but year around?  Oh my.

Home, yes, that is what the Berkshires are for.  And these are the reasons why:

The Berkshires are about crisp fall days of spectacular color followed by cool fall evenings and the wonderful aroma of fallen leaves.

The Berkshires are about fresh fallen snow blanketing everything in silence and turning everything it touches into a silhouette of pure magical white.

The Berkshires are about the brittle cold of winter made perfect in front of a blazing fireplace for snuggling inside with hot chocolate or mulled cider and your favorite book.

The Berkshires are about the exuberance of spring when it finally arrives and the joy of seeing the new shoots of green breaking ground, the sounds of the first spring birds joyously returning to start new families of their own, the first night of frogs singing in the ponds, the rich aroma of spring rains...

Then our summers, hot days, swimming in our pristine lakes or under a waterfall, boating, tennis, golf, gardening, hiking and sipping iced tea in the long afternoons.

The Berkshires are about the theater and art venues so plentiful here and lacking in  all those other locations.  Where on earth is there so much to see and do, to hear and be engaged in that stimulated the senses and intellect?

Where else but in towns like Lenox or Stockbridge can one get from home to an extraordinary experience like Tanglewood in such ease, no traffic (except at the gate itself)?

Where else can you virtually step from your home in Great Barrington or Williamstown onto trails in minutes that take you to breathtaking views?

Where else but towns like Monterey or Sandisfield, Otis or Becket can you live right on the lake of your dreams and yet be just minutes away from fine dining, winter skiing and the theater?

Where else but in Williamstown can you take classes at the top rated college in the U.S. in the morning, [play a round of golf on one of the top rated courses in the east, attend award-winning theater in the evening following a fabulous meal including farm to table local produce and cheeses and all within a short stroll or 3-minute car trip?

Nowhere else can you find living like in the Berkshires!  Isn't it time you called the Berkshires home?

Paul Harsch, president and founder of Harsch Associates, a Berkshire County based real estate brokerage firm, is a licensed real estate broker in Massachusetts, New York and Vermont, serving a diverse residential, business, commercial and land client base for 40 years. He has achieved personal career sales exceeding $131 million and company sales from 1979 will top $500 million in 2014. Harsch is a member of the Berkshire, Massachusetts, Southwestern Vermont and National associations of realtors, is a licensed Massachusetts real estate instructor and earned the CRB, CRS, GRI and CBI designations. Harsch is a 1969 graduate of Williams College.

To submit comments, questions or requests for future blog topics write him at paul@harschrealestate.com.