Fall River, New Bedford (Boston, Fairhaven: appointed, best city, crime rate)

[seldomseen]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

I don't know about the crime, but I do know about a race riot that occured in New Bedford. Aside from that, I think New Bedford is cheap because it isn't Boston.

Crime, drugs, prostitution, and poverty are major issues in New Bedford, and Fall River. Most areas in access of 25 miles of Boston will be cheaper on average, but this isn't the reason why New Bedford/Fall River are affordable. The race riot occured back in the '70's, racial tension really isn't a major-overt problem as a whole in New Bedford, but Fall River has created a reputation for itself, as being more of a "racist" city against African Americans. Fall River is city that is predominantley made up of persons that are of Portuguese decent, Whites of various backgrounds. The Fall River police department have a bad reputation for racial profiling, and police brutality against African Americans--but there could be some exaggeration to the significance of this reputation.

Have you personally visited either of these cities? Both do have some "nice" parts, but the majority of the cities are close to being considered decrepid!! In all honesty, if a person has a family, they really wouldn't/shouldn't even consider either city as a potential home! Just pay the extra monies in live in the abutting towns, such as Dartmouth, Mattapoisett, Westport, Seekonk, Swansea, Freetown, Acushnet, et cetera...

Good Luck!

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by seldomseen

Crime, drugs, prostitution, and poverty are major issues in New Bedford, and Fall River. Most areas in access of 25 miles of Boston will be cheaper on average, but this isn't the reason why New Bedford/Fall River are affordable. The race riot occured back in the '70's, racial tension really isn't a major-overt problem as a whole in New Bedford, but Fall River has created a reputation for itself, as being more of a "racist" city against African Americans. Fall River is city that is predominantley made up of persons that are of Portuguese decent, Whites of various backgrounds. The Fall River police department have a bad reputation for racial profiling, and police brutality against African Americans--but there could be some exaggeration to the significance of this reputation.

Have you personally visited either of these cities? Both do have some "nice" parts, but the majority of the cities are close to being considered decrepid!! In all honesty, if a person has a family, they really wouldn't/shouldn't even consider either city as a potential home! Just pay the extra monies in live in the abutting towns, such as Dartmouth, Mattapoisett, Westport, Seekonk, Swansea, Freetown, Acushnet, et cetera...

Good Luck!

I have never been to New Bedford or Fall River(Fall River,MA is Emeril Lagasse's hometown). I always thought of New Bedford as a quaint small city by the Atlantic known for its whaling history and those things made New Bedford unique in my eyes. As for crime, I will never know until I go to New Bedford for myself. As for Fall River, I don't think I will be living there anytime soon.

[seldomseen]

New Bedford does have a lot of rich history, but it definately isn't an up-and-coming city, nor is it considered quaint, or sought-after anyone that has some first hand knowledge about it, and there really isn't anything in New Bedford. Because of all the local politics, and beauracies all the major retailers are located in abutting towns, e.g Walmart, Mall, Chain Resturants, Book Stores etc...Local politics have a history of keeping the city "down", and ensuring that folks who live there remain there! Despite my comments about the cities, definately take the time to personally visit the cities for yourself, so you can form your own opinion about them.

[surfingatwork]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

I have never been to New Bedford or Fall River(Fall River,MA is Emeril Lagasse's hometown). I always thought of New Bedford as a quaint small city by the Atlantic known for its whaling history and those things made New Bedford unique in my eyes. As for crime, I will never know until I go to New Bedford for myself. As for Fall River, I don't think I will be living there anytime soon.

You've probably seen pictures of the Fort Taber Park area of new bedford (which is quaint, beautiful and right on the atlantic). Yes there is crime in new bedford just like any other city in massachusetts including the cities and towns surrounding boston. the closest mall is north dartmouth, new bedford has the buttonwood zoo and park which just recently had a really great festival (last weekend), new bedford has numerous antique shops and outlets, they do not have a walmart but walmart is in fall river and in dartmouth, the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament, the largest Portuguese feast in the world (i just found this one out) is in august. You'll also find some really great portuguese food in new bedford.

You probably won't find work in new bedford unless you civil service or work in the schools. You'll have to commute but the great thing about living in southeastern mass is it's roughly the same distance to boston as it is to providence (providence is a little closer from new bedford).

[emski]

I grew up in Fall River, and my husband used to work in New Bedford. We actually just returned from visiting our family there.

We're considering moving back to the area, and would never choose to live in either city for the reasons stated above by the pp's. I can't speak for New Bedford now, but it used to be this way too-both cities are just run down, old, and a mess in general. It saddened me to see how bad it has gotten in Fall River. I was told that Mayor Lambert made a deal with the city of Boston to take all their section 8 people, making a large portion of the population in F.R. at poverty level.

Anyhow, while I agree that both cities have nicer areas (the Highlands in F.R. in particular), I would never want to live there, especially with a family. I agree that you would be better off living in Somerset, Swansea, Westport, Dartmouth, etc.

[leorah]

Have you investigated Fairhaven, MA? Very historic, lovely homes, low crime. Lots of history there.

[seldomseen]

Fairhaven is probably the most affordable option for housing for towns that are near, close to New Bedford. If you decide on Fairhaven you will want to consider the sections that are closer to Mattapoisett. Acushnet is also another relatively affordable option to consider too--but the closer you live to Rochester, the more expensive the housing prices become.

[FrozenAngel]

Originally Posted by twiggy

Why is Fall River and New Bedford so cheap for a house? Is there a reason? Online the town looks so cute but I'm from AZ and anything green with colonials looks good to me.

May I ask why you are looking at this area? You had better read the posts under, "What do you miss most about Massachusetts". You'll find more negative posts than positive.

[kjs213]

...from someone who grew up in Fall River and currently lives here? I know little about New Bedford except that Buttonwood Park has a nice (but small) zoo, they have a whaling museum and was the setting for part of "Moby Dick". Fall River, though, I know plenty about. This town is not the cesspool many who do not live here make it out to be. Do we have crime and poverty? Yes-- but not to the degree that Boston does. Do we have rough neighborhoods? Some, but not nearly as many people imagine we have. How 'bout a far more realistic list of pros and cons?

-Pros:
*Rich cultural palate (not many other places in New England have nearly as many great Portuguese and French restaurants as we do, with the added bonus of the International Institute of Culinary Arts and their scrumptious restaurants)
*Beautiful historical buildings (Some of the most beautiful Victorian homes I have seen <that are for sale, even!>, are in the Highlands district)
*More affordable than towns closer to Boston, and right off 24 (I think a 40 minute commute is a reasonable trade off for not having to pay 4 or 5 times as much for a similar house in a similar neighborhood, though I know some would disagree with me)
*Watching the sunset behind the USS Massachusetts after spending a day in Heritage state park and taking a whirl on the one of the oldest carousels in the country (when visiting the maritime museum in and around the battleship, ask to talk to, or be given a tour by George Dimmock, who also used to teach history <one of the few great teachers in the city>!)
*Fall River Celebrates America (we get Independence Day AND this!)
*Shopping surrounds us (I can drive to more malls, stores and Wal-marts than I can count)
*Friendlier than many other towns in Massachusetts, I have found, though I wouldn't expect the warm southern hospitality that seems to escape most New Englanders in general
*We do not have half the hustle and bustle you'll find in many towns in Massachusetts (some people like that constant, "on the go" feeling of some cities, I do NOT!)
*Our law enforcement officers are upstanding citizens that do their job well! I don't care what their rep is: I am related to one, go to church with two others and have never met one who was anything but polite (and no, I don't carry a card that says, "Hey, be nice to me, my cousin's a cop too!")
*Our town is a member of SAILS Inc., a library network that makes most of the libraries in the state available to peruse and hold books via the internet, as well as a plethora of encyclopedias and other research resources

-Cons:
*Our biggest con by far (and sadly one of the two pushing us to consider moving to the South <as in Georgia, not Connecticut>), is the unfortunate decline of quality public education (though there several wonderful private schools <one of which my sons attend> and a charter school dedicated to Marine Science): if you must have public school, then I will agree with others, Fall River is not a city for your family
*However affordable we seem to be when compared to the rest of the state, when compared to most of the rest of the country, home ownership is still a bitter pill. (This is reason two for me)
*There are NO technical jobs, and very few living wage jobs unless you are a lawyer or self employed
*There is no "night life" here, unless you like bars (I think this is rather a plus as sleep is my big thing at night, but I guess big city residents like to have "something to do" until the wee small hours of the night
*Public transportation is limited (and whatever anyone says, the "T" <the Boston commuter rail> is never coming here...)
*The rest of Massachusetts and most of Rhode Island think of Fall River as the "armpit" of the state, so anytime anyone asks where you are from, you have to be prepared to be looked at as though you just crawled out of a toilet

If you like the historical "feel" of the area, would prefer to not have sell your firstborn to pay for a house, and would like a good school district, then my suggestion would be: Assonet, Freetown, East Freetown, or Lakeville (all four share the same school district). My parents moved my sister and myself to Assonet when we got to high school age for the better schools and it made all the difference for me.

[FrozenAngel]

Originally Posted by kjs213

...from someone who grew up in Fall River and currently lives here? I know little about New Bedford except that Buttonwood Park has a nice (but small) zoo, they have a whaling museum and was the setting for part of "Moby Dick". Fall River, though, I know plenty about. This town is not the cesspool many who do not live here make it out to be. Do we have crime and poverty? Yes-- but not to the degree that Boston does. Do we have rough neighborhoods? Some, but not nearly as many people imagine we have. How 'bout a far more realistic list of pros and cons?

-Pros:
*Rich cultural palate (not many other places in New England have nearly as many great Portuguese and French restaurants as we do, with the added bonus of the International Institute of Culinary Arts and their scrumptious restaurants)
*Beautiful historical buildings (Some of the most beautiful Victorian homes I have seen <that are for sale, even!>, are in the Highlands district)
*More affordable than towns closer to Boston, and right off 24 (I think a 40 minute commute is a reasonable trade off for not having to pay 4 or 5 times as much for a similar house in a similar neighborhood, though I know some would disagree with me)
*Watching the sunset behind the USS Massachusetts after spending a day in Heritage state park and taking a whirl on the one of the oldest carousels in the country (when visiting the maritime museum in and around the battleship, ask to talk to, or be given a tour by George Dimmock, who also used to teach history <one of the few great teachers in the city>!)
*Fall River Celebrates America (we get Independence Day AND this!)
*Shopping surrounds us (I can drive to more malls, stores and Wal-marts than I can count)
*Friendlier than many other towns in Massachusetts, I have found, though I wouldn't expect the warm southern hospitality that seems to escape most New Englanders in general
*We do not have half the hustle and bustle you'll find in many towns in Massachusetts (some people like that constant, "on the go" feeling of some cities, I do NOT!)
*Our law enforcement officers are upstanding citizens that do their job well! I don't care what their rep is: I am related to one, go to church with two others and have never met one who was anything but polite (and no, I don't carry a card that says, "Hey, be nice to me, my cousin's a cop too!")
*Our town is a member of SAILS Inc., a library network that makes most of the libraries in the state available to peruse and hold books via the internet, as well as a plethora of encyclopedias and other research resources

-Cons:
*Our biggest con by far (and sadly one of the two pushing us to consider moving to the South <as in Georgia, not Connecticut>), is the unfortunate decline of quality public education (though there several wonderful private schools <one of which my sons attend> and a charter school dedicated to Marine Science): if you must have public school, then I will agree with others, Fall River is not a city for your family
*However affordable we seem to be when compared to the rest of the state, when compared to most of the rest of the country, home ownership is still a bitter pill. (This is reason two for me)
*There are NO technical jobs, and very few living wage jobs unless you are a lawyer or self employed
*There is no "night life" here, unless you like bars (I think this is rather a plus as sleep is my big thing at night, but I guess big city residents like to have "something to do" until the wee small hours of the night
*Public transportation is limited (and whatever anyone says, the "T" <the Boston commuter rail> is never coming here...)
*The rest of Massachusetts and most of Rhode Island think of Fall River as the "armpit" of the state, so anytime anyone asks where you are from, you have to be prepared to be looked at as though you just crawled out of a toilet

If you like the historical "feel" of the area, would prefer to not have sell your firstborn to pay for a house, and would like a good school district, then my suggestion would be: Assonet, Freetown, East Freetown, or Lakeville (all four share the same school district). My parents moved my sister and myself to Assonet when we got to high school age for the better schools and it made all the difference for me.

I am sorry but I just can't let you sugar coat New Bedford .... is more of a cess pool than not. The surrounding towns aren't too bad and good schools are easy to find but you are still in what we call the "Greater New Bedford" area. Stay away from this area .... really.