Written by Seth Stutman
Photos by Lanae Photo

Sponsored by East Village Place

Published in Longmeadow Neighbors (November 2023)

As COVID-19 was upending life as we know it, the Reiff family decided to add to the chaos by moving to Longmeadow - and now that they are moved in and comfortable - they know they made the right choice.

“Longmeadow is a great town to raise a family. We love the parks, the library and the shops,” said Rebecca Reiff.  “It is very family oriented with a nice community feel. We love the sidewalks and that kids can ride their bikes around town.”

Neither Rebecca nor Zachary Reiff knew a lot about Longmeadow before the move, but as they were compiling a list of what was important to them, Longmeadow met their amalgam of desires pun intended.   Zach grew up in the Chicago area and Rebecca grew up in Sudbury, MA. The pair had moved around a bunch and lived in several different places before coming back to Massachusetts. 

“We wanted to be closer to family and found this to be a great area in terms of family friendly activities, education for our children and proximity to great vacation spots,” said Rebecca.

As fate would have it, both Rebecca and Zach made their way to St. Louis for grad school and it was in middle America that they fell in love … and worked to earn their degrees. Zach has a Bachelor’s in Psychology, Master’s in Biotechnology, and Doctorate of Medical Dentistry. Rebecca has a Bachelor’s in Psychology and Master’s in Occupational Therapy.  

In 2021, with a baby on the way, the Reiff’s moved to Longmeadow and Zach took over Longmeadow Dental Care on Williams Street after realizing the lack of dentists in the area - and he loves to work and play in the same town.  

“It's nice to be in the town where you also practice. Providing care to your neighbors is a great honor and pleasure. You don't get the doc in the box feeling when you know your neighbor is providing the care. I really like that. It is something that medicine and dentistry is losing,” Zach said. 

The Reiff family moved to Longmeadow in part to raise their children in a town with great schools, sidewalks and an old-fashioned feel and the youngsters Isabella (3) and Teddy (1) also have taken to town.  Isabella loves playing outside, going to the park and she is enthusiastically learning how to ride her scooter and bike, while Teddy loves going out shopping and waving hello to everyone he sees. Both Teddy and Isabella are excellent singers and dancers - they take after Zach. The whole Reiff family love going to local festivals/fairs/farmer’s markets.

"Both of my children love the programs at the local library and playing at the parks in town. We are hoping to take up tennis as a family when our kids get a little older,” said Rebecca.

When they aren’t parenting, the Reiff’s love to expand their budding fruit garden, working with advanced technologies to further his dental practice, playing at Bliss Park and strolling the shoppes.  The Reiff family bounced around and lived in Illinois, St. Louis and Virginia, and now that they are more settled, it’s time for additional road trips exploring New England!

“We love day trips to the beach in Connecticut and we love to travel to Portland Maine and Old Orchard Beach. One of our favorite things about New England is driving distance to so many great vacation spots and we can’t wait to explore more,” said Rebecca.  “Our annual tradition is traveling to visit Zach’s family in Chicago and eating Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza (the best deep dish in Chicago)!”

Now settled in Longmeadow, the Reiff family can sit back and contemplate the whirlwind that the last few years has been, and how happy they are to be home.  

“Longmeadow has it all from great schools to great people. It’s very family oriented with a nice community feel,” the Reiff’s say.  Everyone has been very friendly and welcoming - and whether you see us walking, biking or scooting around, or happen to catch Zach at Longmeadow Dental Care, feel free to say hello. We always love meeting new people!”