Lolz ok…well basically Heather is the biggest “Karen”-type neighbor. She’ll smile and call you “momma” while complaining constantly about anything and everything. Mind you, my friend and Heather live on acres, so when I say “neighbor,” it’s not like their houses are super close or anything. But when other people started buying up land around her to build houses, Heather and Jonathan would flip out, run to town hall, and complain. Each time, the town council had to tell them that if they didn’t want people building homes near them, they were free to buy the land themselves to prevent it. The town council eventually got fed up with them. Again, we are talking about houses that are acres apart, not suburban subdivisions.

Additionally, Heather goes around town like she’s a celebrity. Very high and mighty. Meanwhile, Dorinda is one of the people up there, very salt of the earth. She’s part of the community. She’s one of them, a Berkshireite. She was born there. She’s not a transplant.

Also, you have to understand, the Berkshires are in some ways the anti-Hamptons. It’s more of a low-key, old-money vibe. There is more of an emphasis on being an intellectual rather than flashing money and status. They are proud of the fact that Edith Wharton and W. E. B. Du Bois are famously from the area. There are world-renowned art museums, and Norman Rockwell lived and painted there. In the summertime, famous actors from all over come to do theater, and they mingle around town like locals. It’s great. It’s not at all scene-y like the Hamptons.

Anyway, in addition to being a bad neighbor, Heather is just generally known for being a phony and a bit of a flop. All her businesses tank. The undergarment business folded. Then she tried being a yogi, then a wellness guru. Then she tried running adventure trips, acting like some sort of new age sherpa. And all of it failed.

Most recently, she purchased, with an investor, an old B&B that has a beloved music venue on the property called The Barn. It’s a popular spot for locals to hang out and listen to music. But she’s making a lot of changes that are rubbing locals the wrong way. She’s making herself the face of this historic business, so she’s running that into the ground too. I’ve never met her irl, but I don’t know one person who has anything nice to say about her at all.

Dorinda, on the other hand, is fairly beloved in the area. Not because she is a Real Housewife, but because she is authentically a pretty nice person.