young single mom wanting to relocate..PLEASE HELP! (Boston, Springfield: apartment complexes, crime rate)

[lostgirl22]

I'm a 22 year old single mother of a 2 year old looking to relocate. ive been trying to do alot of research to find somewhere that best accomodates to me. I live in a very small town right now and am so sick of it. i dont have a car and we dont have busses or anything like that here so just to take a taxi from my house to anywhere in town which is only a couple miles it cost $6, which might not seem like much but for me if i'm going to work I have to drop my daughter off at daycare so it cost more for the stop, then to take a taxi back it ends up costing $20.00 all together just for one day that adds up! We also don't have much to do here so unless your into outdoors stuff like hunting and fishing(which i dont like to do) there is nothing else. We have no museums, no big parks, no anything big at all! when i was younger all there was to do for kids was party which i dont want my daughter doing. Granted theres worse problems in bigger cities but at least theres places i can take my daughter on our free time that we can both enjoy. I'm low-income so need a cheap place to live that is also safe. I just got my g.e.d. so would like to go to college somewhere reputable. I understand i have limited options for my case but any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have looked into springfield, MA because it was on list for cheaper cost of living and higher min. wage and I got really interested in it until i started reading all the negative posts...PLEASE HELP!!!

[ogre]

First, congratulations on earning your g.e.d.

Springfield has pros and cons for someone in your situation. It is true that many people have a generally negative impression of Springfield. Downtown S'field is kind of run down, and the city has had a high crime rate for years. However, there are members here at the MA forum who are personally familiar with S'field who sometimes post info about nicer neighborhoods in S'field, so it's not as if every corner of the city is bad. You most likely could find a decent place to live in S'field, at a lower cost than you'd be likely to find in Boston or vicinity.

A potential major drawback even if you lived in a decent neighborhood would be the schools in Springfield. I have no intimate personal knowledge of the city's schools, but their reputation is bad. With a two-year-old, you're only about three years from the time she would be in public schools, so you'll need to give some serious thought to whether you'd be able to get into a position to move within that time.

One big advantage you'd have in S'field is that the area has good bus transit for a smaller metro area. If you can be flexible about the possibility of moving within a few years, it may be that you'll benefit from posting a thread here asking specifically about the better neighborhoods in S'field, so you catch the attention of the members at the MA forum who really know S'field, with the plan to live in S'field initially, then consider moving to get your daughter into a decent school system once you've had time to become familiar with the Springfield area.

In general, you'll find the cost of living in MA lower outside the Boston metro area than within the Boston area. Depending on your budget, it might be a good idea for you to look into some of the less expensive suburbs of Boston, in order to take advantage of good public transit, and the greater number of jobs than you may find in much of western MA. Though it really depends on your budget, one Boston suburb that might work is Framingham. Framingham is sort of a Plain Jane generically suburban kind of town. Nothing special, but it might be a good spot for someone in your situation. In addition to commuter rail service to Boston, there is a local bus transit service that operates during the daytime on weekdays in F'ham and some nearby towns. The local busses connect to commuter rail, and go to some big malls in F'ham, so the presence of the local transit busses helps with shopping, and with connecting to the metro area beyond F'ham and vicinity. Because of that local transit service's limited hours, it would require some careful planning to get to the places you would need to be, but with that careful planning, the means to get around town are there.

Framingham in particular comes to mind for me because I'm familiar with the general area where F'ham is located. Depending on the details of your budget, what kind of work you're seeking, etc., you might find other nothing-fancy, but safe and decent, suburbs of Boston which could work for you.

[wmass]

The Springfield area is way more affordable than esatern mass. However, I would not recommend Springfield itself due to the schools. Look at South Hadley (Falls) or Ludlow which have better school systems, are on bus routes and have some affordable neighborhoods.

[ogre]

Good info, WMass.

LostGirl, as I re-read the original post, I see that you don't state that you're primarily interested in living in MA, just that Springfield in particular met a lot of your criteria. If you're flexible about the region where you live, you may have quite a few options outside MA or New England. Unless part of what you're looking for is the chance to see a new part of the country, you might find what you're looking for without even leaving the Midwest. Off the top of my head, Omaha, Columbus, and possibly Indianapolis all seem as if they might work for you, based on the criteria you've specified. In general you'll most likely find these cities to be less expensive than most urban areas in the Northeast. I'm thinking you may find some good options in the South and the interior West as well.

Now, if you feel yourself drawn to New England in particular, WMass has given you some good inside advice about the vicinity of Springfield.

[western mass and love it]

Well if i were in your shoes and was going to move to the Springfield area i would seriously look into West Springfield. It has decent schools an abundance of shopping, has very good public transit support via PVTA and a much lower crime rate and better quality of living than Springfield itself. West Springfield has plenty of 2-3 family style homes and also apartment complexes in which to choose from. I personally would stay away from S.Hadley or Ludlow not because they are bad places to live but kind of put you out on the periphery of the busses and farther away from the jobs and shopping,which in your situation is where you need to be.

[wmass]

Originally Posted by western mass and love it

Well if i were in your shoes and was going to move to the Springfield area i would seriously look into West Springfield. It has decent schools an abundance of shopping, has very good public transit support via PVTA and a much lower crime rate and better quality of living than Springfield itself. West Springfield has plenty of 2-3 family style homes and also apartment complexes in which to choose from. I personally would stay away from S.Hadley or Ludlow not because they are bad places to live but kind of put you out on the periphery of the busses and farther away from the jobs and shopping,which in your situation is where you need to be.

Agreed. I didn't suggest because I wasn't sure about the schools.

[western mass and love it]

The schools are fine,i had one go through and one currently attending. The oldest received a full academic scholarship to Endicott and the younger is doing just fine for himself.